[tourist, bungalows during british rule of india]FREE PHOTOS]

Perils of Dawk Traveling in India," from the Illustrated London News, 1858;

Travelling in India--officers joining the Indian army on service," from the Illustrated London News, 1850

*"Chota Haziree, or Little Breakfast, in India," Illustrated London News, 1858*

 
 *"Indian Cook House-Novel Mode of Straining Coffee"*

 

*"Modes of travelling in India," from the Illustrated London News, 1863* "Tramps, Hindoo pilgrim, Palky dawk, Camel caravan, Bhylie, Elephant, Charry dawk, Ekha, and the East Indian Railway"
 


  *"The Lieutenant Governor of Bengal's camel carriages," c.1860's*
 

*Interior of a house in Chandannagar, a photo, c.1870*
 


*"Going to the races--an upcountry scene in India," from The Graphic, 1872*



*"The new game of badminton in India," from The Graphic, 1874*

 

*"Private tent of the Prince of Wales at the camp of Delhi," from the Illustrated London News, 1876*

 


Two views from 'Illustrated India: its Princes and People' by Julia A. Stone (Hartford, CT: American Publishing Company, 1877)


*"The Poonah Boat Club--bringing down the boats," from The Graphic, 1877*

 Travellers' Bungalow[ടൂറിസ്റ്റ് ബംഗ്ലാവുകള്‍]

"Rooms in my bungalow, Sitapur," a photo from the 1880's;
 
 




 

"Incidents in a Young Civilian's First Year in India," from the Illustrated London News, 1888; very large scans of this engraving from my own collection: *upper half*; *lower half*
 
 My sitting room, Gorakhpur 1893"*

 

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*In a coach drawn by four horses; a photo from the 1890's*

 

*"Life in and about an Indian bungalow," from The Graphic, 1895*



After the British forces defeated and captured Thibaw, the erudite king of Burma (Myanmar) in 1885, they shipped him first to Madras and then Ratnagiri to prevent a possible revolt back home. The rented bungalow where he was placed under house arrest was unfit for a king and the British permitted him to build a royal residence for himself. The king supervised the construction of Thibaw Palace every day till 1910 and both he and his wife breathed their last in the same building. Built out of laterite, mortar and Burmese teak, the majestic brick red palace on a grassy embankment had a small museum dedicated to the king.

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"The travellers received on the frontier of the State of Punnah," an engraving from 'India and its Native Princes' by Louis Rousselet, 1878

 A British Bungalow-1876 India

"My gharry preparing to start," from William Howard Russell, 'My Diary in India', vol. 1, 1860

 A Palanquin-travelling in India 1870

*"Interior of my tent, High Ground, Bangalore," a watercolor by Harold Esdale Malet, 1863-68* (BL)

 A Water Carrier or Bhestie

 Bullock Garry

"Chopaya," a wood engraving, 1878

"Our caravan, Rajasthan"
 
 "Our encampment at Rajpoor"*;
 
 Our Gwalior escort"*
 
 "The Rajah of Bunera visiting the travellers"*
 

*"Mountain travelling in India--the shortest way down the Coonoor Ghaut," from The Graphic, 1881*
 

*"Christmas in Southern India," from The Graphic, 1884*

The Ajmer Bungalow is in the Civil Lines area of Ajmer City.
Built in 1908, it is a typical British colonial bungalow, standing in its own grounds. With a varied roof line which hints at cool, high-ceilinged interiors protected from the hot desert air by thick walls and deep, shaded verandas....

This was indeed a majestic building dating back to the 18th Century, built by the Danish East India Company in what was once a pepper trading post of Tranquebar. The Tamil village of Tharangambadi, which translate to ?The Singing Waves?, was once a Danish colony set up by Adminral Ove Gedde with a sea fort  ?Dansborg? and several Lutheran Protestant Churches was once a flourishing sea port and centre of pepper trade. This bungalow, situated at the end of the King?s Street, past the Memorial of the Lutheran Protestant evangelist Bartholomaus Ziegenblog,>[now converted into a hotel] ,see below

 

Bernard bungalow an old British bungalow Cochin ,converted into hotel

This photo of Hotel Ros Common was an old British bungalow,Mall Road, Kasauli 173204, India-now a hotel

This photo of Hotel Ros Common 

Traveller's Bungalow-Antique Print 1850,see the hand pulled fan(punkah) on top.Indian servants are coming with drinks for the rare tourist British sahib

Below photo of another tourist bungalow ,with British officers enjoying the lonely life in India ,under a hand pulled cloth punkah(fan)

easy chair of that era 

below you can see the old "DINNER WAGON" so called kitchen cabinet of British era






                                           parlor

 








                                        Library,

Two Views of the Dining Room,-
below painting 1850 shows

British Doctor in India, British Raj, Antique Lithograph,

below painting shows British family in India 1860's,punkah man{fan cord puller}is on his knees busy pulling the cloth fan on top ;while another servant is serving drinks



Sinna Dorai"bungalow  - an assistant manager to the populace of a South Indian tea plantation[sinna means small/assistant and dorai means white man in colonial language]


Typical Colonial Bungalow of white ruler in India


british dak bungalow in India [dak-bungalows Lt.-Col. J.K. Stanford describes them as “the equivalent all over India of the hotel for travellers” (see the whole article for further details, “Dak Bungalows”, Kipling Journal,]

In The Raj on the Move: Story of the Dak Bungalow, Rajika Bhandari weaves together history, architecture, and travel to take us on a fascinating journey of India's British-era dak bungalows and post houses, following, quite literally, in the footsteps of travelers who stayed in these bungalows over the past two centuries. Her search takes her from the early-19th century memoirs and travelogues of British women, to traveling from the original colonial outpost of Madras in the south to the deep interiors of Madhya Pradesh, the heart of British India. Evoking the stories of Rudyard Kipling and Ruskin Bond, and filled with fascinating tidbits and amusing anecdotes, the book unearths local folklore about these remote and mysterious buildings, from the crotchety cooks and their delectable chicken dishes to the resident ghosts that still walk the halls at night.



lunch party for fifteen people at the Gyantse Dak Bungalow on July 1st 1927. This photograph was taken on that occasion

 
indian soldiers attacking a european bungalow 1857

 

The Residences of Sadras :[near chennai city]  British texts talk of houses in Sadras and many a time refer to the residence of the Dutch governor which was later used as a traveller's bungalow. Atpresent there are a few old dilapidated residential buildings in Sadras whose origins need to be deciphered.

Raj-era bungalows in Kodaikanal . These are on a 'prime-site' location overlooking the lake.

 below:- stan more bungalow in valparai -an estate bungalow of a white man
 












 















below:- British life in Bombay city




below:- life in bungalows
 

 

 
  hand pulled punkah(fan) hanging above can be seen
 
 

This photo of Red Hill Nature Resort British bungalow



below:-learning horse riding -British India

 
 below:- mostly it was a lonely life for the British
 
Below:- British bungalow 1920
 

below:- hunting dogs and horses.hunting was an important part of British life in India
 
below:- British army officer and Indian soldiers .Indians were not allowed to be senior officers or commanders ,after the 1857 Indian revolt
 

below:- British officer [with both legs up on easy chair] ,while the khansamah(cook) opens a bottle of whiskey

Beating the heat and ruling India

Cooling tales from the Raj by Pran Nevile

An English family at dinner under a hanging punkah. Drawing by Sir Charles D’oyly c. 1810

The heat of the Indian summers scared the English.


 Before the advent of punkhas and American ice in early the 19^th century, the English dreaded the oppressive heat and miseries of the hot season.

One of the earliest comments on the Indian summer was recorded by an English surgeon in 1774. He refers to his horrible experience of a sultry day "when not a breath of air was there for many hours; man and every fowl of the air so sensibly felt it that some species fell down dead". The heat, dust and hot winds and the awful devastation they caused earned them the title of "angels of death" by many a memsahib in her letters home.


It was even jokingly remarked that the deadly heat of Calcutta was more dangerous to British life than any uprising by the natives.

An amusing tool to battle the heat as recommended to the sahibs by the English editor of Calcutta Gazette in 1783 was to sleep with Indian women to keep themselves cool in the beastly summer of Calcutta. The Portuguese actually secured a firman from Emperor Shahjahan to keep Bengali women during summer to save themselves from the heat of the delta.

The early British settlers in the 18^th century used to wear loose fitting and airy cotton garments at home suitable for the hot climate. Later, however, in the light of increasing political power and prestige they began wearing clothing designed for the English climate which was completely unsuitable for the Indian summer. Their attire and the habit of excessive consumption of alcohol were not conducive to alleviate the effects of the heat.

Building defence

As a protection against the hot Indian climate, the English built their bungalows within compounds of shady trees and the rooms had very thick walls and high ceilings surrounded by covered verandas. 


Some wealthy high-ranking sahibs in Calcutta even maintained garden houses on the banks of the river. Some British officials like Metcalfe 

Sir Thomas Metcalfe, Bt
Sir Thomas Metcalfe, Bt, on a picture from the Delhi Book

Dilkhusa (Delight of the Heart) the country house of 


Metcalfe, in Mehrauli,Metcalfe album, 1843

and William Fraser, in Delhi followed the Mughal practice and built tehkhanas-Tehkhana literally means basement. In the olden days, tehkhanas served as prisons or were used to store treasures] in their residences where they entertained their guests.

Another novel feature of the English bungalows was the terrace or housetop accessible through a winding staircase from without and often from within the house also. Many sahibs, especially bachelors, had their cots carried to the housetop during the hot season, and there, with heaven as their canopy, they slept during the night.

Some sahibs would set up special enclosures on the terrace and put their cots over there. Colesworthy even writes about a person known to him, who used to sleep on the bare terrace with nothing except a pillow and would remain lying there even when it rained. We come across an interesting case of a young Company civilian who beat the heat by lying down on a cot with a mushq for a pillow and the contents of a secondmushq poured over him. 


There were others who slept in sheets which had been previously soaked in water. As it was unbearable to sleep indoors during the hot weather, some of them selected open spaces in their compounds.

An indigenous cooling device adopted by the sahibs was the installation of tatties made of khus-khus grass over all openings — windows and doors — of a house. Tatties were kept continually wet by a bhishtee,



bhishtee,or a water carrier,


 or a water carrier, engaged to throw water against these from outside.



 Tatties[MAT] made of khus khus Summer Curtain Made with Vetiver Roots


 This was very effective in cooling when winds, hot or cool, blew. The rapid evaporation of sprinkled water and the refreshing odour of khus-khus made the inner spaces both cool and comfortable. The khus-khus tatties were highly valued in the upper provinces, which had far more hot winds than in Calcutta.


 The use of tatties, however, was also prevalent during the Mughal times and the invention of this device is attributed to the Mughal emperor Akbar.

Punkah perfect

The punkah bears the stamp of the Orient and the tropics. The use of hand punkha dates from olden times. There were many different kinds and sizes of the hand punkha. These were waved to and fro by servants called punkhawalas. There is also a mention of hand fans made of peacock tails and feathers in South India where servants also held umbrellas over their masters. 


The hanging punkha suspended from the ceiling was introduced towards the end of the 18^th century. Col Yule in Hobson Jobson refers to the use of this device by the Arabs and attributes its invention to Caliph Mansur (AD 753-74). It was known as the Marwaha al Khaish (linen fan). There is no reference to swinging punkah in Mughal India or in the East India Company records until 1780.

William Hicky in 1785 records the luxury of hanging fans while sahibs were having their meals. It is a French seaman — Captain de Grandpre’ — who first describes the Calcutta punkha in 1790. "In many houses, there was a large fan, hanging from the ceiling over the eating table, of a square form and balanced on an axle fitted to the upper part of it. A servant standing at one end of it, puts it in motion by means of a cord which is fastened to it in the same manner as he would ring a bell".

According to one authority, hanging punkhas were accidentally invented by a Eurasian clerk in Calcutta when he suspended the leaf of a table which was waved by a visitor to and fro resulting in a breath of cool air, which suggested the idea of developing this device.

Besides the punkah, there was another mostly forgotten device used in some British homes for beating the heat called the ‘thermantidote’. 

MODERN DAY THERMANTIDOT OR AIR COOLER

It was a huge box containing a revolving hand-operated fan like a steamboat’s paddle with tatties- fitted windows on each side. The hot air sucked in by this gadget passing through moist tatties filled the entire house with cool air, bringing relief to the memsahib, who would write home about various modes of cooling during the ghastly Indian summer. There is a mention of this novel device in the writings of Fanny Parks in 1831. This invention is attributed to Dr George Green Spilsbury, who came to India in 1823 and was, for some years, surgeon to the Saugor Political Agency.

Before the introduction of ice, an important servant of the sahib’s household was the Abdar. He was entrusted with the job of cooling the water, wines, beer and other table delicacies, which depended more on their refreshing coolness than flavour for value and acceptance. He was the walking refrigerator of those days and went with his master to every dinner party for cooling the master’s wine, using saltpetre in a container for the bottle.

Imported ice

Icepits near Allahabad. Drawing by Fanny Parks c. 1830

The introduction of American ice in 1833 was an event of great jubilation and feasting in Calcutta. The American ice replaced the mountain ice brought down at heavy cost and inconvenience, and the other 


native ice produced in ice pits 


during winter nights and preserved for the summer, entailing colossal wastage. Small earthen pots filled with water were placed in an open field, and in the morning the coating of ice formed in the cold temperature of the night was collected and stored in ice-pits.

It was after more than 20 years of experiment in the early 19^th century that an American entrepreneur, Fredrick Tudor, succeeded in transporting ice from a cold to a hot climate.

The ice blocks cut from the frozen ponds rented near Boston were stored in an icehouse before loading them on board the vessel, which had an in-built icehouse.


 The first shipment of American ice



 arrived in Calcutta by S.S. Tussany in September, 1833,

Icemen, on the rocks.

 after a four-month voyage around the Cape. Wrapped in felt and pine saw dust, two-thirds of the ice cargo in solid form was received with great excitement in Calcutta. So much so that the Governor-General Lord Bentinck 



presented an inscribed silver-gilt cup to the ship’s captain William C. Rogers for having successfully landed the first shipment of American ice in India. 


This encouraged the exporter Fredrick Tudor



 to make ice shipments to Bombay and Madras also. Icehouses were soon constructed at all three ports to store the precious ice cargo and preserve it against heat.

ICE STORAGE HOUSE 19 TH CENTURY

 There was a growing demand for this crystal clear ice among the local European population as well as wealthy Indians. Selling at four annas a seer, half the price of Indian ice, the American ice became popular with all who could afford it. 
Tudor made a fortune by carrying on this ice trade for over 30 years till the technology of making ice was introduced in India.

Super sola

Another useful device, which served as a shield against the killer sun of the tropics was the sola topi. 



People had used various kinds of head covers for protection against the sun’s rays.


 It was after 1857 that the sola topi attained its supremacy and eliminated all other kinds of sun hats. It became even a symbol of the Imperial might as no sahib ever appeared in public without a hat. They wore them even during the rain and some sahibs got them enamelled to make them waterproof.

The heat, no doubt, haunted the English and even determined their life-style in India. After consolidating their hold on major parts of India,


they created their "little Englands" at the hill stations with English-style cottages. These relics of the Raj with their cool climate, lush greenery and glorious views of snow-covered peaks offered a pleasant escape from the grilling heat of the plains.


Simla, the pride of the`Raj, became the summer capital of India from 1830 followed by Ooty for Madras, Nainital for Lucknow, Mahableshwar for Bombay and Darjeeling for Calcutta.

With their holiday atmosphere enriched by picnics and parties in the cool and picturesque surroundings, the hill stations provided an escape from the heat, a refuge for the invalid and the bored and a fun place for the pleasure seekers, both sahibs and memsahibs.


 Emily Eden, sister of Governor-General Auckland, described Simla as "the nearest place to dear home that one could hope for in this dreadful country".


 From 1864, Simla became the seat of the government from April till October, and the ruling elite and their staff would move en bloc from Calcutta to run the administration from there. With Kipling’s writings, Simla acquired a reputation for merriment, gaiety, high living and not so harmless flirting. Nevertheless, the hill stations became popular centres for rest and recreation in summer, especially for memsahibs, who supposedly wilted under the heat much more rapidly than their men folk.

EACH BRITISH FAMILY HAD MANY SERVANTS AS SEEN BELOW:-
Postcards depicting household servants; produced by both Indian publishers, such as Moorli Dhur and Sons of Ambala, and British, such as Higginbotham and Company of Madras and Bangalore; early 20th century. 

A bearer or head servant; an ayah holding a European child

a dhoby or laundryman; the laundryman's wife. Company School paintings

MALEE -GARDNER

DOG BOY FOR ENGLISH RULERS

A SWEEPER WOMAN

THE BARBER


; 

"Khansamah Followed by Coolie Bringing Home the Provisions for the Day," Company School painting, Patna artist; c. 1880.



Indian clerk, Malabar Coast; Company School painting, 19th century.

Imperial Diversions:
The Club, the Hills, the Field

Paying off the beaters after a tiger hunt; 20th century; photograph courtesy of the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge.

Joining in field sports enabled English women to participate more fully in the pleasures of life in India; photograph courtesy of Major General R.C.A. Edge. 

"A Little Over Ridden"; lithograph; 19th century. Hog hunter, probably along the Ganges River. The sport of hog hunting (or "pig sticking") involved chasing on horseback and spearing dangerous wild hogs. Though limited geographically, the sport had a very popular image, perhaps because it seemed to evoke ancient ways and almost feudal methods of organization. 



"The Return from Hog Hunting"; aquatint by Samuel Hewett from a drawing by Captain Thomas Williamson; 1819. 

"The Line of Beaters," color illustration (from a water color by the author) in Pig-Sticking or Hog-Hunting: A Complete Account for Sportsmen--and Others by Sir Robert Baden-Powell, Bart. (London: Herbert Jenkins, 1924).
The founder of the Boy Scouts, who had seen Army service in India, was a notable devotee of the sport. 



British soldiers on the Mall at Murree, a popular hill station; postcard; 1920s. 



"Simla--the Mall"; postcard, photograph by R. Hotz; c. 1900. Simla, where the Government of India functioned during the hot weather, was a vibrant temporary capital. The architecture seen here is notably European, as though the Hills were meant to be psychologically as well as physically removed from the terrible heat and related pressures of the Indian plains. 

Women in dandi, sedan chairs



European travellers through the Hills; postcards (Umballa: Herman Dass and Sons); 1890s

Simla"; lithograph by Captain J. Luard; 19th century. Only the workers in Indian garb suggest that this is not a European landscape, as though the Hills were not merely a refuge from the heat but a kind of symbolic return to a more culturally familiar place. 

Club scene; color illustrations in Lloyd's Sketches of Indian Life by W. Lloyd (London: Chapman and Hall, 1890). 









Garden party with British and Indian guests at the Viceroy's Palace, New Delhi; photograph courtesy of Brigadier Richard Gardiner; 1930s. 

Indian man with Englishwomen at a fete to aid the Indian Red Cross; photograph courtesy of Major General Sir Charles and Lady Dalton; 1930s.

Constraints in social relations sometimes meant that Britons interacted with Indians mostly in formal or superficial situations. 

British and Indian guests of a maharajah, dining in a tent; photograph courtesy of the Centre of South Asian Studies, University of Cambridge; early 20th century.

Socializing with Indian princes was a high point of life in India according to many recollections. Connections to this world of royalty could validate British status.

BRITISH Family life  photo album; 1920s-1930s

 
 

 






below:-
















  British family taking rest after a hunt .can see the skin of a tiger on the ground.the cook standing behind a table with tea ready in jug


MORE BELOW:-
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 TRAVANCORE KING MADE TRAVELLERS BUNGALOWS FOR PEOPLE OF TRAVANCORE ,CALLED 'VAZHIYAMBALAM' IN MALAYALAM LANGUAGE

Vazhi Mandapam/AmbalamOn the way to Thazhakudi village

[THE GOVERNMENTS OF 

TAMIL NADU AND KERALA ARE NOT TAKING ENOUGH INTEREST FOR THE UP KEEP 

OF HISTORICAL MONUMENTS -SEE THE SAD STATE OF THE VAZHIAMBALAM]

vazhi ambalam or mandapamThakallai, Kanyakumari district

Vellayambalam is a prominent junction in the city of Thiruvananthapuram and is situated on the Rajapatha (Royal Path) that stretches from Kowdiar to East Fort.Before the widening, the Vellayambalam junction was a tiny place, where four narrow roads met. A Wayside Inn (Vazhiambalam) of the revenue department occupied the south east corner of that junction at the foot of the diamond hill. As the Maharajah often passed through that junction, the inn was kept clean and whitewashed. Because of that white wayside inn (Vella Vazhi Ambalam ) that junction came to be known as ‘ Vellayambalam’ (shortened form of Vella Vazhi Ambalam) and in due course the locality around was also named Vellayambalam.

a few notes about 'vazhiambalam' or 'government run way side inns' of ancient times:-

i am talking about 1700 to 1900 period

those days travel was very difficult due to :-

no roads,no populated area or village on the way,wild animals,most area of travancore was covered by forest

Chengannur River [Travancore]--1900-see the forest on river side , underpopulated area

in fact in 1850 an English man was attacked by a tiger few miles from thiruvalla ,near pallom

TRAVANCORE RAJAS WERE KIND ,AND ALWAYS ;I SAY ALWAYS CARED FOR THE RULED.

SO THEY MADE WAY SIDE INNS ON MAIN ROADS (NO ROADS TILL 1800 ,WHEN SOME RESEMBLANCE OF A ROAD WAS MADE BETWEEN THIRU ANANTHA PURAM AND KOTTAYAM ;KNOWN AS M.C. ROAD OR MAIN CENTRAL ROAD ;BUT WITHOUT BRIDGES -WHICH WERE BUILT LATER ON .THE ROAD WAS JUST PAVED WITH STONE (MACCADAMISE) .NO TAR THEN .

TRAVELLING WAS DIFFICULT ON LAND .MOST TRAVELLING TOOK PLACE VIA CANALS AND LAKES

TRAVEL ON LAND WAS, JUST WALKING ALL THE WAY, MOST TIMES .

EVEN IN 1960 I CAN REMEMBER PEOPLE WALKING DOWN THE ROAD FROM KOTTAYAM TO TRIVANDRUM CITY IN 3 DAYS WITH HALTS ON THE WAY [170 KMS OR 105 MILES]

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF THAT ERA:-

Marthanda Varma1706–1758) was a king ofTravancore (Trippappur Swaroopam) from 1729 till his death in 1758. Marthanda Varma had to flee the capital for the safety of the northern states such as Kottarakara, Kayamkulam etc. where he lived in difficulty for many years, travelling from one place to another to escape his enemies, Ettuveetil Pillamar .Ettuveetil Pillamar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

THE RAJA HAD TO FLEE,AND TRAVELLED BY FOOT TO KAYAMKULAM AND KOTTARAKKARA KINGDOMS .FROM THIRU ANANTHA PURAM WHICH WAS HIS CAPITAL..

SO FROM THE TIME MARTHANDA VARMA REGAINED POWER IN TRAVANCORE BY DEFEATING HIS ENEMIES ;HE DECIDED TO MAKE SUCH WAY SIDE INNS FOR TRAVELERS ON ROAD SIDE

AT GOVERNMENT EXPENSES PEOPLE WERE GIVEN LIGHT FOOD FOR EG:-RICE KANJI AND BUTTER MILK FOR THE THIRSTY AND PLACE TO REST

IT WAS WELL KNOWN THAT VAZHI VELLAM ( VELLAM=WATER, SUPPLIED IN SUCH WAY SIDE INNS ) WERE JUST WATER AND NOT RICE KANJI OR BUTTER MILK AS ORDERED BY THE KING ;BECAUSE OF THE CORRUPTION OF THE INN KEEPER

THE ABOVE PHOTO OF THE ANCIENT WAY SIDE INNS SHOW THAT NO BODY CARES FOR ITS UPKEEP .HOPE EITHER GOVERNMENT OR OTHERS WILL LOOK AFTER ITS UP KEEP FOR THE FUTURE GENERATIONS TO ENJOY

OTHER FAMOUS WAY SIDE INNS NEAR MAVELIKKARA TOWN WERE KNOWN AS OLA KETTIYA(PALM LEAF ROOF ) AMBALAM

AND OODITTA(TILED ROOF) AMBALM