In the olden times, the houses were constructed of mud bricks and wood. The final touches and plastering were also done with mud only. These were known as Kucha houses. Even the paint on these houses was also a kind of coloured mud. With the passage of time, these structures are now replaced by Pucca houses made up of cement and pucca bricks.
With the upcoming shortage of wood supply due to decreasing forests, now many wooden components in pucca houses are constructed of either steel or aluminium. As compared to pucca houses, the old houses of mud were cool in summers and warm in winters but these had the disadvantage of difficult maintenance.
During my recent travel in a hilly area of North India I just clicked this picture of a kucha house which I may not find on my next visit to this area.
