Chennai’s Bhoot Bungla, Creepy Yet Beautiful

The Nawab and Lord Hobart

Nawab Humayun Jah (aka Mubarak Ali Khan II) was the Nawab of Bengal
for 14 years. He died when he was 28.

In 1873, Lord Hobart, the then governor of Madras State asked the Nawab
for his ‘bungalow’ in Madras, to house a school for Muslim girls. The Nawab
readily agreed. And so the Hobart (Govt) School was born. This is where
 progressive Muslims would send their daughters to study, braving the
ire of the society and their own community. 

Putting the Bhoot
 in the Bungalow

Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumder
 compiled Bengali ghost tales into
the book, Thakurmar Jhuli,
 in 1907. Ghumonto Puri (sleepy mansion), is the second story in the book.

Haunted bungalows by then had been around long enough to
be folk tales!

Curiously, almost all of the haunted house stories across cultures
 and continents involve single-storied bungalow type houses.

When unused or decrepit, or even when not maintained, this form of
construction gives room (he he he) to an excess of creaking sounds,
odd noises, funny smells, dank spots of oddly-shaped moss, and sudden
chills in places where the wind pushes through holes in the wood.

Or, all of the ghost stories might actually be true.

Roman Pillars and Roof Tiles

‘Chajjas‘ are sloped projections from the top of a wall that protect from
rain and sun. This is an intrinsic feature of Bengali architecture, and has
also been adopted by Akbar in his Bengali Mahal. It gives the entire
building a ‘droopy-eyed’ look that makes it more endearing, somehow.

And then there are the pillars in typical, traditional Roman style. Somehow,
 I’m not a fan of the spit-curls at the top, but I see the appeal.

I spotted this on the first floor. I mention this because this is a praiseworthy
achievement, considering my unenviable slipped disk(s) and negligible levels
of courage when faced with decrepit bungalows.

But it was worth it. It’s called a ‘Plantation Chair’ and is by far one of the most
 beautiful and stylish things literally every male ancestor across South India
has laid his posterior-to-back-in-a-comfortable-curve on.