Traditional Homes of Urban India
"The homes of an Indian city are many, for the houses lie close packed along the narrow streets, and they vary from the tiny one-roomed cottage of the labourer to…
From: Unknown To: 1918 C.E.
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
“Homes in the City,” from Home Life in India by John Finnemore, 1917.
The homes of an Indian city are many, for the houses lie close packed along the narrow streets, and they vary from the tiny one-roomed cottage of the labourer to the fine mansion of the wealthy merchant. Of the great mass of dwellings where the working poor live there is little to be said. The single room contains mats, perhaps a native bedstead, and an array of cooking-pots—that is all. The younger children tumble about in the sun; the elder are set to some task as soon as they can earn a pice—which is worth one farthing—and the parents toil as coolies, bearing heavy burdens, in order to keep the wolf from the door.
In the chief streets the houses are of two or more stories, with balconies and flat roofs, where the people take the air, and often sleep when the nights are very hot. Sometimes the balconies are of woodwork, beautifully carved in quaint shapes and figures, and painted in bright colours, so that the street looks very gay in the sunshine. On the ground-floor are the shops, each like a big cupboard in the wall, with the doors thrown back. Inside the shop sits the owner. If he is a craftsman, he is hard at work at his trade, and you see him making the very goods he has to sell. If he is a trader, he squats on a rug and waits for customers, nor does he by sign or sound attempt to call upon the passers-by to examine his wares.
The street is packed with a throng of men and women, mostly bare-footed, some clad in robes of bright colours, some men wearing so little that they look like bronze statues come to life; through the crowd jostle ox-carts laden with goods, and sacred bulls wander about as calmly as if they owned the place. And so they do. The bulls which belong to a Hindu temple ramble about the streets as a pet-dog rambles about the home of his master. If the bull sees something he would like to eat in a shop, he marches in and eats it, and the dealer bows low before him. If he smells something nice in a house, in he goes and sniffs round till he finds it. No one dreams of driving him out or of refusing him the dainty. He is at once offered the best the people have, and his entrance is looked upon as an honour, and sure to bring a blessing on the house.
The homes of wealthy natives lie in a part of the town well away from the busy quarters. The houses are sometimes built close together, with only very narrow alley-ways between them, and the alleys twist and wind between high walls. This makes for safety. It is not possible for large mobs to enter these winding ways, and, again, there is often a very strong door placed at the entrance of a lane, so that the people within can shut themselves up in times of disorder. From the alley the house is entered by a doorway, beautifully carved, and on the flat walls near at hand are paintings of animals or gods.
The visitor enters a court around which the house is built. The men's rooms are on the ground floor, and the upper walls are pierced by windows, which are closed by latticed shutters. These windows give light and air to the zenana—the women's portion of the house—and through the slats of the shutters the ladies can peep into the court and see the coming and going of those who call at the house.
They never see visitors more nearly than that. A Hindu lady of high caste is shut up closely in the zenana, and no man save her husband ever sees her face. She very rarely leaves her apartments, but occasionally she does pay a visit to another zenana. Then she is carried in a palanquin so closely curtained that no one may peep into it, and when she leaves her own house or enters that of her friend, some of her women surround her and enfold her in a sort of small tent of muslin, so that she moves quite unseen.
The rooms on the ground floor of this dwelling may be paved, but the upper rooms have, of course, floors of wood. But the wood is not seen. It is not considered clean enough to eat from, and all Hindus use the floor as a table. So the planks are covered with earth, and the earth is finally plastered with cow-dung. This floor is very carefully swept, and the plastering renewed as it wears away.
The crowd of people in a Hindu household would seem remarkable to a Western visitor. There are a number of men, and if a lady goes into the zenana, she finds a large number of women and swarms of children tumbling about. The reason is simple. The Hindu son does not set up a house for himself when he marries. He stays on at home, and, as every Hindu marries, there are as many families as there are sons, all under the one roof.
Finnemore, John. Home Life in India. A. & C. Black. 1917.
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