Journeying to a place of special significance plays an important role in all cultures and religions. The destination may be a shrine of a Deity, a Saint or a venerated figure or could be a site marked by particular events. It involves journeying alone or in a group, reaching a destination, encountering unique rituals, enjoying particular experiences along the way and returning home. The Pandharpur Wari is one such enlightening and rewarding journey.

Velapur, a small agricultural town in the Malshiras Tehsil of Solapur district, serves as a place for rest for the Warkaris, for a night, before resuming their journey onward to Pandharpur. In the span of one night, a Dindi of around 500 people, collectively engage in Kirtan (the narration of stories, either vocally or through enactment), welcoming the Palkhi into the town, chanting Bhajans (devotional songs and music), apart from cooking, sleeping and other rudimentary activities. Accommodating the above transient activities for 500 Warkaris using a maximum area of 15,000 sq.ft. in the form of a systematic, open, semiopen or partially built structure formed the design brief. ‘The Incompleteness in Design or the Design of Partially Completed Structures’ should facilitate temporary additions, interventions by the Warkaris. Drinking water facility, parking provision and hygiene and sanitation were integral to the brief. The proposed intervention should not only recognize and respect the surrounding environment, but also should transform and adapt to absorb the activities of the inhabitants of Velapur and be converted into a shanty market, a festive square or a multipurpose facility with temporary additions.