Journal of The Indo Nordic Author’s Collective

BUNAGLOWS …then and now

Srishti Dokras,ARCHITECT
Dr. Uday Dokras PhD Stockholm,SWEDEN

Lets begin this article with some Ghost Stories:

Some of the dak bungalows of the British days were said to be haunted by the ghosts of
sahibs long dead and gone. Then there were the spectres of ‘native’ women who had fallen
in love with a passing firangi and died of a broken heart when he left them in the lurch.
Besides these, there were old khansamas whose spirit could not rest in peace and made an
occasional appearance at midnight to surprise some young Englishman with a tray of
whisky-soda.

Provisions for sahib

In Delhi there were some PWD dak bungalows, like the ones of Alipur Road, Nizamuddin
and Mehrauli, for which the khansama bought weekly provisions. But the meat was bought
only when an officer in transit arrived. If he came late in the evening, he could only be
served vegetable soup, egg curry and potato cutlets, rounded off with a dessert of pudding
made of baker’s bread and milk brought from a nearby gwala (milkman). The ‘sahib’ had to
make do with his own bottle of whisky or rum.

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Once a sahib went looking for the khansama and found him hanging from a tree. When he
called out to him, the man just vanished. But who would ever imagine a Baby Morris
suddenly emerging in front of a dak bungalow at midnight, depositing a ghostly form and
then zooming off with a headless driver, who wore a muffler round his bleeding neck?
Believe it or not, that was what William Chinga, the late PWD supervisor, who had six
fingers on his left hand, used to say.
Such strange happenings at dak bungalows were not uncommon. Ever heard of Siri dak
bungalow made famous by Kipling where the old khansama had lost touch with the world
and used to call dinner “ratab” or dog’s food?

Scary bungalow
The dak bungalow at Fatehpur Sikri was frequented by British officers on their way to the
erstwhile Rajputana. It now serves tourists and other visitors to Akbar’s dream city – and
also officials of the Uttar Pradesh government. But some confess to feeling scared there at
night.
The dak bungalow at Sikandra was until lately preserved in 19th century style, complete
with a lantern that mysteriously got extinguished at midnight. There are extensive grounds
all around with shady trees. If one doesn’t mind the bugs that infest its ancient beds and the
scary yarns associated with it, one can enjoy a stay there.
Delhi Dak Bungalow was situated near where the ‘Mutiny’ memorial now stands, opposite
the erstwhile telegraphic office. It was the abode of officers in transit – or on holiday. Some
of the old residents used to recall how it looked and provided easy access to Skinner’s
church, the Kashmere Gate, the Civil Lines and the Delhi main railway station.

Unusual incidents
This dak bungalow also had its share of strange happenings, for a young British officer shot
himself dead in it after an affair with a woman.
Some said she was already married, others that she decided to get engaged to someone else.
The girl’s name was Madeline but she was better known as “Maddie”.
To end this bizarre yarn, one can only add that the officer’s Baby Morris one night drove
off on its own and was found wrecked near the ruins of the Purana Qila.
Believe it or not, but the late Mrs Whelpdale of St. Xavier’s School, Raj Niwas Marg, used
to swear that it was true. You may perhaps even spot it on a stormy night. Beware!
(https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/nostalgic-tales-of-dak- From The
Hindu-bungalows/article29679532.ece)

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Bungalow, single-storied house with a sloping roof, usually small and often surrounded by
a veranda. The name derives from a Hindi word meaning “a house in the Bengali style” and
came into English during the era of the British administration of India. In Great Britain the name
became a derisive one because of the spread of poorly built bungalow-type houses there. The
style, however, gained popularity in housing developments of American towns during the 1920s.
Its general design—with high ceilings, large doors and windows, and shade-giving eaves or
verandas—makes it especially well suited for hot climates, and bungalows are still frequently
built as summer cottages or as homes in warm regions such as southern California.

The roots of the bungalow in India lie in the early attempts of British military engineers in the
eighteenth century to design a standardised and permanent dwelling based on indigenous
domestic structures for the East India Company when the British were still traders in the
subcontinent. In its later version, the archetypal bungalow in the nineteenth century consisted of
a low, one-storey, spacious building, internally divided, having a symmetrical layout with a
veranda all around, situated in a large compound. This basic model was also adopted with
modifications almost everywhere British imperial rule existed at that time.

Broadly speaking, there were two bungalow categories: the urban and the rural. The latter were
inhabited by British residents of India such as managers of various kinds of plantations or
factories. They also included the dak bungalows (government guest houses, usually in remote
localities) and other dwelling structures that were spread all over the districts of British India. In
urban areas, large pieces of land adjacent to the city were reserved by the British for their
cantonment and civil lines. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the bungalow, set in a
spacious lot, was the norm as the residential house type for British military officers associated
with the Indian Army, colonial administrators and business people as well as a small group of
wealthy Indian elites. The early bungalows were austere, with simple volumes and a stark

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whitewashed finish. This basic model developed into a more European classical form in outward
appearance as time passed. It was symmetrical in form and largely so in spatial organisation .1

The bungalow style has its roots in the native architectural style of Bengal, India. During the late
19th century and the waning days of the British Empire, English officers had small houses built
in the "Bangla" style. The houses were one story with tile or thatched roofs and wide, covered
verandas. These houses were provided as rest houses for travelers, so the association was created
early on that these were small houses for a temporary retreat. In 1906, an article appeared in
Stickley's "The Craftsman" magazine suggesting "Possibilities of the Bungalow as a Permanent
Dwelling." Once they were accepted as full time, year around residences, the simplicity of a
summer home fused with the idealistic philosophy of the Arts & Crafts Movement. KEY
TAKEAWAYS

 A bungalow is a style of house or cottage that is typically either a single story or has a
second, half or partial story, that is built into a sloped roof.
 Bungalows are typically small in terms of size and square footage and often are
distinguished by the presence of dormer windows and verandas.
 Bungalows are cost-efficient, easy to maintain and due to increased square footage versus
multi-story homes, relatively easy to modify.
 On the downside, Bungalows have smaller and fewer rooms than multi-story houses, and
are more vulnerable to break-ins, due to how low they sit on the ground.
Bungalows Explained
Bungalows are most often one-story houses, although they often also include an additional half
story, usually with a sloped roof. There are various types of bungalows, including
raised bungalows that have basements partially above ground to let in additional sunlight. There
are also some bungalows that branch away from the original definition by adding additional
levels such as lofts and half levels. Common features of the bungalow include a dormer window
and a veranda.

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Bungalow Characteristics
They are small and easy to maintain and are therefore great homes for the elderly or people with
disabilities. Bungalows are also cost-efficient; heating and cooling costs tend to be lower, and the
property value tends to remain relatively high. Because bungalows occupy more square footage
than multi-story homes, they tend to allow more space for modifications and additions. They also
afford more privacy than most traditional homes, as they're low to the ground and the windows
can easily be blocked by trees, shrubs, and fences.

On the other hand, bungalows tend to occupy a larger area of land than their multi-story
counterparts; since they don't extend upwards, they take up more square footage on the first
floor. This means that the initial costs are higher since they cost more per square foot, and they
also require more material for roofing. Bungalows also tend to have smaller and fewer rooms
extending off a larger living room, as opposed to large bedrooms or an open floor plan. Also,
because they're low to the ground, they're more susceptible to break-ins; therefore, it's a good
idea to invest in a home security system if you purchase a bungalow.

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A charming design story unfolds inside this British colonial bungalow in Goa

Currently-popular Bungalow styles include California, Chicago, and the chalet.

History of Bungalows
Bungalows were first built in the South Asian region of Bengal. Bungalows, which derive their
name from Hindi, were first identified as such by British sailors of the East India Company in the
late 17th century. As time progressed, a bungalow came to refer to a large dwelling, often
representing high social status in both Britain and America.

The term bungalow as we now know it – a small dwelling, typically one story – developed in
the 20th century, although its definition varies in different areas of the world. For example, in
India today, the term generally refers to any single-family dwelling, regardless of how many
stories it has.

In Canada and the United Kingdom, a bungalow almost exclusively refers to one-story units.
Australia tends toward the California bungalow, a type of bungalow that was popular in the
United States from about 1910 to 1940 and expanded abroad as Hollywood became popular and
increased the desirability of American-made products.

The California bungalow is one to one-and-a-half stories and features a large porch, sloping
roof, and Spanish-inspired details. Other types of now-popular bungalow styles include the
Chicago bungalow, which has Chicago roots circa the 1920s and is typically made of brick, and
the chalet bungalow, which deviates from the one-story norm by having a second-story loft.

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The Arts & Crafts movement inspired American architects and craftsmen like the Greene
brothers in Pasadena and Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago, Gustav Stickley in Michigan, and
many others to rediscover the value in hand crafting buildings and their contents using natural
materials, creating a more holistic life style for their occupants. At the same time, there were
other notable movements, such as the first wave of nature conservancy and the establishment of
national parks and social activism that was of a decidedly populist bent. The Industrial Age's
backlash was a yearning desire among many Americans to own their homes and have small
gardens. The success of the bungalow was due to its providing a solution to this desire. Thus,
we'll go out on a limb here and define the bungalow by its populist appeal, affordability, and
easy livability and charm. The essential distinction between the Craftsman "style" and the
derivative bungalow is the level of fine detail and workmanship.

Bungalow homes, usually one story, aim to be comfortable, colorful, and bright. Decorative
eaves, porches, and columns, give Houston bungalows their colorful charm. India

A modern Indian bungalow in an affluent area near Bangalore, India

In India, the term bungalow or villa refers to any single-family unit, as opposed to
an apartment building, which is the norm for Indian middle-class city living. The normal custom
for an Indian bungalow is one storey but as time progressed many families built larger two-
storey houses to accommodate humans and pets. The area with bungalows built in 1920s–1930s
in New Delhi is now known as Lutyens' Bungalow Zone and is an architectural heritage area.
In Bandra, a suburb of India's commercial capital Mumbai, numerous colonial-era bungalows
exist; they are threatened by removal and replacement of ongoing development.
In a separate usage, the dak bungalows formerly used by the British mail service have been
adapted for use as centers of local government or as rural hostels.

A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-storey or has a second storey
built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by
wide verandas. However, in Classic Houses in Portland by Hawkins and Willingham, a
bungalow is described as "one facet of the Craftsman movement." Clearly, trained architects and
art historians don't agree, so some confusion is inevitable. However, if we refer to Harry Saylor's
book Bungalow published in 1911, then we can derive our definition from him - that is, open
floor plans, low-pitched roofs, and the essential large front porch.

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The first house in England that was classified as a bungalow was built in 1869. In America it
was initially used as a vacation architecture, and was most popular between 1900–1918,
especially with the Arts and Crafts movement
The term is derived from the Gujarati bangalo (meaning "Bengali") and used elliptically to mean
"a house in the Bengal style"
Design: Bungalows are very convenient for the homeowner in that all living areas are on a
single-story and there are no stairs between living areas. A bungalow is well suited to persons
with impaired mobility, such as the elderly or those in wheelchairs.

Bungalows in the Inman Park neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Neighborhoods of only bungalows offer more privacy than similar neighborhoods with two-story
houses. As bungalows are one or one and a half stories, strategically planted trees and shrubs are
usually sufficient to block the view of neighbors. With two-story houses, the extra height
requires much taller trees to accomplish the same, and it may not be practical to place such tall
trees close to the building to obscure the view from the second floor of the next door neighbor.
Bungalows provide cost-effective residences. On the other hand, even closely spaced bungalows
make for quite low-density neighborhoods, contributing to urban sprawl. In Australia, bungalows
have broad verandas to shade the interior from intense sun. But as a result they are often
excessively dark inside, requiring artificial light even in daytime.
Cost and space considerations
On a per unit area basis (e.g. per square meter or per square foot), bungalows are more expensive
to construct than two-story houses, because a larger foundation and roof area is required for the
same living area. The larger foundation will often translate into larger lot size requirements, as
well. Due to this, bungalows are typically fully detached from other buildings and do not share a
common foundation or party wall: if the homeowner can afford the extra expense of a bungalow
relative to a two-story house, they can typically afford a fully detached property as well.
Although the 'footprint' of a bungalow is often a simple rectangle, any foundation is theoretically
possible. For bungalows with brick walls, the windows are often positioned high, and are close to
the roof. This architectural technique avoids the need for special arches or lintels to support the
brick wall above the windows. However, in two-story houses, there is no choice but to continue
the brick wall above the window (second-story windows may be positioned high and close to the
roof.)

Singapore and Malaysia

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In Singapore and Malaysia, the term bungalow is sometimes used to refer to a house that was
built during the colonial era. The structures were constructed "from the early 19th century until
the end of World War II."[ They were built by the British to house their "military officers, High
Court judges and other members of the colonial society's great and good."
At present, there is still a high demand for colonial-era bungalows in Singapore and Malaysia.
Most of the units are used as residences. Over the years, some have been transformed into
offices, hotels, galleries, spas and restaurants.
In the post-colonial period, the term bungalow has been adapted and used to refer to any stand-
alone residence, regardless of size, architectural style, or era in which it was built. Calling a
house a bungalow often carries with it connotations of the price and status of the residence, and
thus the wealth of its owner. Local real estate lingo commonly includes the word "bungalow"
when referring to residences that are more normally described as "detached", "single-family
homes", or even "mansions" in other countries. The pervasiveness of the word in the local jargon
has resulted in bungalow being imported into the Malay language as the word banglo with the
same meaning.
Australia

A California bungalow-inspired style house in the Sydney suburb of Lindfield

From 1891 the Federation Bungalow style swept across Australia, first in Camberwell, Victoria,
and through Sydney's northern suburbs after 1895. The developer Richard Stanton built in
Federation Bungalow style first in Haberfield, New South Wales, the first Garden Suburb (1901),
and then in Rosebery, New South Wales (1912). Beecroft, Hornsby and Lindfield contain many
examples of Federation Bungalows built between 1895 and 1920.
From about 1908 to the 1930s, the California Bungalow style was very popular in Australia with
a rise of interest in single-family homes and planned urban communities. [5] The style first saw
widespread use in the suburbs of Sydney.[6] It then spread throughout the Australian states and
New Zealand.
In South Australia, the suburb of Colonel Light Gardens contains many well-preserved bungalow
developments.
Bangladesh
In rural Bangladesh, the concept is often called Bangla ghar ("Bengali Style House") and remain
popular. Today's main construction material is corrugated steel sheets or red clay tiles, while past
generations used wood, bamboo, and khar straw. This straw was used to form roofs, keeping the
house cooler during hot summer days.
Commenting on the second picture from the top, illustrating bungalow, with the description:
"The bungalow style house in Bangladesh, locally known as Banglaghar": The house pictured

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does not fit the main characteristic of "bungalow." That is, it does NOT have "a second storey
built into a sloping roof." The exterior walls are complete up to the full height of the second
storey, where the roof begins.
Canada
Canada uses the definition of bungalow to mean a single-family dwelling that is one storey high.
India

In India, the term bungalow or villa refers to any single-family unit, as opposed to
an apartment building, which is the norm for Indian middle-class city living. The normal custom
for an Indian bungalow is one storey, [8] but as time progressed many families built larger two-
storey houses to accommodate humans and pets. The area with bungalows built in 1920s–1930s
in New Delhi is now known as Lutyens' Bungalow Zone and is an architectural heritage area.
In Bandra, a suburb of India's commercial capital Mumbai, numerous colonial-era bungalows
exist; they are threatened by removal and replacement of ongoing development.
In a separate usage, the dak bungalows formerly used by the British mail service have been
adapted for use as centers of local government or as rural hostels.

Ireland
A typical small bungalow near Moville, Donegal in Ireland./ A modern Indian bungalow i
The bungalow is the most common type of house built in the Irish countryside. During the Celtic
Tiger years of the late 20th century, single-storey bungalows declined as a type of new
construction, and residents built more two-storey or dormer bungalows.There was a trend in both
the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland of people moving into rural areas and buying their
own plots of land. Often these plots were large, so a one-storey bungalow was quite practical,
particularly for retirees.
Germany
In Germany a single storey house with a flat roof is referred to as a bungalow. The height of this
building style was during the 1960s. The two criteria are mentioned in contemporary literature
e.g. Landhaus und Bungalow by Klara Trost (1961).
Singapore and Malaysia

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A mock Tudor-styled bungalow, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, West Malaysia(ABOVE) Modern one Below

In Singapore and Malaysia, the term bungalow is sometimes used to refer to a house that was
built during the colonial era. The structures were constructed "from the early 19th century until
the end of World War II." They were built by the British to house their "military officers, High
Court judges and other members of the colonial society's great and good." [12]
At present, there is still a high demand for colonial-era bungalows in Singapore and Malaysia.
Most of the units are used as residences. Over the years, some have been transformed into
offices, hotels, galleries, spas and restaurants.
In the post-colonial period, the term bungalow has been adapted and used to refer to any stand-
alone residence, regardless of size, architectural style, or era in which it was built. Calling a

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house a bungalow often carries with it connotations of the price and status of the residence, and
thus the wealth of its owner. Local real estate lingo commonly includes the word "bungalow"
when referring to residences that are more normally described as "detached", "single-family
homes", or even "mansions" in other countries. The pervasiveness of the word in the local jargon
has resulted in bungalow being imported into the Malay language as the word banglo with the
same meaning.
South Africa
In South Africa, the term bungalow never refers to a permanent residential building but means a
small holiday residence, a small log building, or a wooden beach hut.
United Kingdom

History The first two bungalows in England were built in Westgate-on-Sea in 1869 or 1870. A
bungalow was a prefabricated single-story building used as a seaside holiday home.
Manufacturers included Boulton & Paul Ltd, who made corrugated iron bungalows as advertised
in their 1889 catalogue, which were erected by their men on the purchaser's light brickwork
foundation.[14] Examples include Woodhall Spa Cottage Museum. and Castle Bungalow
at Peppercombe, North Devon, owned by the Landmark Trust; it was built by Boulton and Paul
in the 1920s. Construction of this type of bungalow peaked towards the end of the decade, to be
replaced by brick construction.
Bungalows became popular in the United Kingdom between the two World Wars and very large
numbers were built, particularly in coastal resorts, giving rise to the pejorative adjective,
"bungaloid", first found in the Daily Express from 1927: "Hideous allotments and bungaloid
growth make the approaches to any city repulsive". Many villages and seaside resorts have large
estates of 1960s bungalows, usually occupied by retired people. The typical 1930s bungalow is
square in plan, with those of the 1960s more likely to be oblong. It is rare for the term
"bungalow" to be used in British English to denote a dwelling having other than a single storey,
in which case "chalet bungalow", (see below) is used.
STYLES
1.Airplane bungalow
This variant developed in California in the 1910s, had appeared in El Paso, Texas by April 1916,
and became most prevalent in the western half of the U.S., and southwestern and western
Canada.
Although stylistically related to others, the special characteristic of the Airplane Bungalow was
its single room on a second story, surrounded by windows, designed as a sleeping room in
summer weather with all-around access to breezes.
2.American Craftsman bungalow
The American Craftsman bungalow typified the styles of the American Arts and Crafts
movement, with common features usually including low-pitched roof lines on a gabled or hipped
roof, deeply overhanging eaves, exposed rafters or decorative brackets under the eaves, and a
front porch or veranda beneath an extension of the main roof.
3.Bungalow colony

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A special use of the term bungalow developed in the greater New York City area, between the
1930s and 1970s, to denote a cluster of small rental summer homes, usually in the Catskill
Mountains in the area known as the Borscht Belt. First- and second-generation Jewish-
American families were especially likely to rent such houses. The old bungalow colonies
continue to exist in the Catskills, and are occupied today chiefly by Hasidic Jews.
4.California bungalow

California Bungalow //A 1925 Chicago bungalow/british bunglow

The California bungalow was a widely popular 1 1⁄2-story variation on the bungalow in the
United States from 1910 to 1925. It was also widely popular in Australia within the period 1910–
1940.
5.Chalet bungalow
A bungalow with loft has a second-storey loft. The loft may be extra space over the garage. It is
often space to the side of a great room with a vaulted ceiling area. The building is still classified
and marketed as a bungalow with loft because the main living areas of the house are on one
floor. All the convenience of single-floor living still applies and the loft is not expected to be
accessed on a daily basis.
True bungalows do not use the attic. Because the attic is not used, the roof pitch can be quite
shallow, constrained only by snow load considerations.
6.Chicago bungalow
The majority of Chicago bungalows were built between 1910 and 1940. They were typically
constructed of brick (some including decorative accents), with one-and-a-half stories and a full
basement. With more than 80,000 bungalows, the style represents nearly one-third of Chicago's
single-family housing stock. One primary difference between the Chicago bungalow and other
types is that the gables are parallel to the street, rather than perpendicular. Like many other local
houses, Chicago bungalows are relatively narrow,[19] being an average of 20 feet (6.1 m) wide on
a standard 24-foot (7.3 m) or 25-foot (7.6 m) wide city lot. Their veranda (porch) may either be
open or partially enclosed (if enclosed, it may further be used to extend the interior rooms).
7.Michigan bungalow
There are numerous examples of Arts and Crafts bungalows built from 1910 to 1925 in the
metro-Detroit area, including Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge, Hazel Park, Highland

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Park and Ferndale. Keeping in line with the principles of the Arts and Crafts movement, the
bungalows were constructed using local building materials.
8.Milwaukee bungalow
A large fraction of the older residential buildings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are bungalows in a
similar Arts and Crafts style to those of Chicago, but usually with the gable perpendicular to the
street. Also, many Milwaukee bungalows have white stucco on the lower portion of the exterior.

Tourist water villas in French Polynesia

9.Overwater bungalow
A bungalow built on stilts in a tropical lagoon was first built in 1967 by a resort operator who did
not have beach front property and has since become an iconic symbol of tropical vacations. The
Maldives contain many overwater bungalows or water villas constructed for tourists.
10.Raised bungalow
A raised bungalow is one in which the basement is partially above ground. The benefit is that
more light can enter the basement with above ground windows in the basement. A raised
bungalow typically has a foyer at ground level that is halfway between the first floor and the
basement.
11.Ranch bungalow
A ranch bungalow is a bungalow organized so that bedrooms are on one side and "public" areas
(kitchen, living/dining/family rooms) are on the other side. If there is an attached garage, the
garage is on the public side of the building so that a direct entrance is possible, when this is
allowed by legislation
12.Ultimate bungalow
The term ultimate bungalow is commonly used to describe a very large and detailed Craftsman-
style house in the United States. The design is usually associated with such California architects
as Greene and Greene, Bernard Maybeck, and Julia Morgan.

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The Indian Bungalow: Contextualizing the Bungalow in the country of its origin-Surabhi
Kanga

https://www.chicagobungalow.org/Alfred

The following text is republished from an article in our Spring 2014 e-newsletter, written by our
then-intern, Surabhi Kanga, who was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Surabhi wrote this research article as part of her internship, and we thank her for this valuable
historical information on the origin of the "bungalow"!

The origin story of the bungalow is an odd, two-sided narrative. Historians confirm that the word
‘bungalow’ came from the word ‘bangla,’ meaning ‘of or from Bengal,’ as in the western
province of the Indian subcontinent. The original ‘bungalows’ were huts, with mud walls and
thatched roofs, built by and for peasants in rural areas. These structures remained largely
unchanged until the arrival of the British Raj on Indian shores.
For the British, the idea of a single, outward-facing dwelling that was separated and private
seemed much more like their idea of residence than the courtyard-centric houses that were the
norm in towns and villages. Most Indian housing was very communal; neighbors and families
shared huge courtyards and walked in and out of each others’ rooms and lives. They adopted the
idea of the bungalow as a structure that they could reinvent to suit themselves.

Illustration from 1876 of a colonial bungalow in India / colonial bunglow Candy

.
Bungalows were usually large, built on sprawling compounds, initially with a kuccha
(impermanent) canvas or thatched roof that was reinforced in brick or mortar in later models.
The layout was fairly standardized, with a large central room, leading off to several others that
could be used as bedrooms, studies or dens. In most designs, a verandah (opened gallery or
porch) surrounded the building on three or all four sides. The colonial bungalow came with an
entourage of workers, each with a specific task. The nature of development was such that it

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would have been impossible to service such a building without help. There was the khitmatgar
(head cook and cleaner), the punkawallah (literally, fan-puller, responsible for keeping the fan
moving with a rope), the ayah (nanny), the dhobi (laundry man) and many more, all to be
managed by the British memsahib (madam). The servants were often accompanied by their
wives, children and in some cases, even their parents and parents-in-law resulting in a compound
teeming with people. “I did a count one day,” recounted one Major-General, “I think it came to
sixty-seven.”
For the elite and professional Indian, the bungalow life was the symbol of everything that was
not possible for them during the Raj: a prosperous, leisurely lifestyle, with lush personal gardens
for farming small fruits and vegetables, a verandah for afternoon tea and evening cigars, and a
parade of servants to boot. Writer Malavika Karlekar quotes the daughter of a civil servant from
present-day Bangladesh, describing it as a “life dependent on the labor of others. Once the
British left in 1947, this life was adopted and carried on by the bureaucrats and politicians,
unfortunately condemning the bungalow to signify elitism and class divide once again.
However, the associations of the bungalow life with leisure had started to make their way back to
England in the late 1860s. And thus began the second dimension of the bungalow life, which is
quite often overlooked by the land from which it came.
The bungalow, as a symbol of leisure, was translated into the first ever ‘summer cottages’ near
London. The first of these appeared in the Kent development of Westgate-on-Sea in 1869-70 .
The urban middle and upper-middle class were emerging in Britain, and the idea of alternate
living, of a slower pace and more secluded lifestyle seemed to be making its rounds. The ideas of
simple, open spaces, with wide courtyards and gardens were gaining momentum, especially in
the form of the Arts and Crafts movement that made its way from Britain to North America. The
idea took a back seat during the First World War, but the discontent with the status quo increased
by the end of the war, as did the attraction of ‘alternate living’. As farming and industrialization
increased, technology made it very easy for the communication of the bungalow to most parts of
the world. Wealth was increasing, and so were leisure hours; an urban international culture
emerged, with a yearning for a simpler life and closeness to nature, all of which could trace its
roots to the image of the simple and small community lifestyle of the Indian bungalow. For the
world, it would seem that the bungalow was an idea whose time had come.

It is possible, perhaps, to argue that the bungalow living that made its way around the world was
in fact, a remnant of the colonial bungalow. After all, leisure during the Raj was afforded only to
the colonial officers or the wealthy. But it must be considered that the idea of a bungalow as sort
of family home, with a compound large enough for the children to play in, or enough room to
house even fruit and vegetable gardens, was very much Indian. Many aspects of the architecture
itself were suited to Indian sensibilities, and often left the British residents feeling an ‘absence
from Old England’ [4]. While reading memoirs of men and women from the time, one can glean
that although quite a few of them adapted or were charmed by the communal lifestyle, many of
them seemed to find it disquieting to be living in such an environment. Rudyard Kipling, whose
writings are some of the most famous products of the time, paints extensively vivid portraits of
the servants as akin to ghosts; always a nagging presence, never to be fully a part of one’s life,
hanging around one’s shoulder or behind the curtain. His writings contain clear confirmations of
his discomfort with bungalow life and his distaste for the customs that came to be associated
with it. “My grievance, so far as I can explain in writing, is that there are too many tenants in the
eight, lime-washed rooms for which I pay,” he writes [5]. Unlike what the rest of the world

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began to believe by the end of the century, it seems that for Kipling and his compatriots, the
colonial bungalow life was “not a pretty thing when [looked] into too much" .

It is clear that while the British colonials attempted to appropriate the Indian bungalow and the
sort of rural community lifestyle, they were for most part largely unsuccessful. Even the ones
who adapted well seemed to be speaking of their experiences as interesting aberrations in their
lives; most were skeptical of allowing their kids to be brought up in the bungalow environment,
preferring instead to send them to England and to private schools. For the colonials, the
bungalow life was an unavoidable circumstance; the simple construction, community-reliant life
and their stay in India was to them as kuccha (impermanent) as the roof they lived under.

Over the past sixty decades and more of Indian freedom, the bungalow has seen various layers of
identity coat its walls. After the colonial layer came the post-colonial bungalow, which was
occupied by the maharajas and nobles that started to lose relevance after democracy was
established. Soon the bungalow began to transform according to the reigning architectural style
of a city: in Mumbai (then Bombay) it was Art Deco, and in Bengaluru (then Bangalore) it was
Gothic style. In the rest of the world, even the British Isles, bungalow living was a significant
and important choice, as was the simple and open living it suggested. It was a choice to have a
more open home, to be closer to nature and the ground from which grew the food. While the
relationship of Indians with the bungalow is still rather fraught with colonial overtones, maybe it
is time to recognize them as one of the greatest architectural contributions of India to the world,
to give them credit in a global context. Maybe, it is time for a fresh coat of paint.

During the 20th century the bungalow thus went through stylistic, social and technological
transformations. In the 21st century, it is fast disappearing as a result of rapid population growth
and accelerated urbanisation. The single family detached home sitting in its own compound is
becoming a home only for the wealthy. Nevertheless, historically speaking, as a generic building
type, it influenced domestic architecture across the breadth and width of the country. It proved to
be a robust, resilient house form. An imperial socio-political house concept metamorphosed in
the colonial and post-colonial period into a widely popular and aesthetically rich cultural icon. It
became part of the mind-set of the populace, and developed many socio-cultural meanings along
with spatial, stylistic and technological variations, terminating in the farm house. However, as a
cultural concept it retains a significant place in the collective memory of the people of India.2

REFERENCES
1. https://www.iias.asia/sites/default/files/nwl_article/2019-05/IIAS_NL57_2627.pdf
2. The origin and indigenisation of the Imperial bungalow in India22 JUNE 2016 BY MIKI
DESAI AND MADHAVI DESAI INDIA

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