To quote from https://aturquoisecloud.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/the-monkey-top-trail/ , "Across Bangalore Cantonment, there soon emerged two predominant styles. One was the classical bungalow, with its stately columns, flat roof and wide portico running along the length of the house. The other was defined by the `Monkey Top’ with its characteristic A shaped pointed hood and canopy of clay tiles over a window with flat slats above shuttered windows. Each slat ended in a small, intricate, embellished detail. This feature was very well suited to the climate of Bangalore and protected the house from uninvited sunlight in the summer months and surreptitious rain during the grey monsoons. Often, there was a complementary, harmonious colour palette – white walls, terracotta coloured tiles and slats that were usually painted Bottle Green.
Urban legend has it that they were built to ward off monkeys but this may not be so, as there seems to have been plenty of space for the marauders to sit and devour fruits anyway !"
And we got to meet the owner of one bungalow, the redoubtable old Mr Nath ... nearing a 100 years himself. He loves his home and was happy to tell us how the neighborhood had evolved. Recounting his journey and bonding with his home, he regaled the kids with stories of the many Christmas trees which were replaced with fruit and flower trees and the 4 British families which had inhabited the property before them.
The garden was in the front of the house and the courtyard was at the back of the main house - very typical of the British constructions in Richmond Town. Post-independence, most of the Anglo-Indian families re-located to UK (if they had citizenship) or to Australia (where it was easy to pick up citizenship).
It was interesting to see the structure at the back which was once the kitchen area and now serves as a studio.
The 'Monkey Top" style characterizes Mr. Nath's bungalow.
The kids walked in and fell in love with 'the magic car'.
The long columns hold up the roof in the front to make up a drive-way used for carriages and cars to park and allow the owners to enter the house without getting wet (in the old times, Bangalore rains used to start by the end of March and early April)
Photo 1 - the old car
Photo 2 - Mr Nath and the kids
Photo 3 - the ceiling tiles have designs
Photo 4 - The ceilings are so very high
Our Exhibit is on the 31st of March and then on the 6th and 7th of April. Do join us, we start in the park.
Please do reach out to Tanya ( 98451 31025) or Cauvery (99720 45903) to join us for the displays !!
Amanda says about the Old Bungalow
This early 20th-century bungalow may date as early as 1900. It is the last standing among 6 or 7 of similar design that used to line either side of the street. Each bungalow stood at the center of a large parcel of land with front, side, and rear yards, with outbuildings that included the kitchen, stable and residential cottages for domestic workers at the back. The floor plan of these villas was similar. A covered, front veranda, hidden from street view by open wood trellis-work, met an arched driveway. The main entrance would lead to a large, high-ceilinged sitting room with a second door to the large dining room behind it. The bedrooms, each with its own bathroom, were placed on either side of these two main rooms. Each bathroom would also have a side door leading outside so that in the days before modern plumbing, any waste, or ‘night soil,’ could be directly collected.
