Village houses, Bengal. Etching, signed 'Elliot'

Etching of village houses in West Bengal by John Edmund Elliot (1788-1862) dated sometime between 1807 and 1825. Much of India's populace is rural and the simple vernacular buildings which form their dwellings have remained largely unchanged for centuries. The onslaught of concrete has begun to have an impact on the scenery, and thatch is not as favoured a medium of roofing in present-day India. However, it was these humble square or rectangular single-storeyed mud or brick houses with their over-arching roofs and shaded verandahs on all sides which led to the development of the bungalow (the name derived from 'bangla' in Bengali) as a favoured building style for Europeans in India.