The Bungalow in the Colonial and Post-colonial Twentieth Century

Using the construct of gender, this chapter examines the colonial typology of the bungalow as it evolved in twentieth century Gujarat with respect to several structural changes in a modernizing Indian society. The idea of the modern in India is deeply gendered. Colonially mediated modernity led to a rethinking of tradition and culture, transforming woman’s role. Aspects like the nationalist struggle, increasing education, a nuclear family system and a limited number of children, including radical changes in the notions of privacy and personal space, shifted the spatial organization from gender segregation and inclusion of a designated “women’s room” to the modernist house and more egalitarian open floor plans.