Spaces of Power and Authority: Colonial Bungalows in Travancore
Keywords:
space, colonialism, architecture, symbols and authorityAbstract
In scholarly discourses the bungalow is frequently considered as an architectural form with a significant imperial import. At the same time the bungalows are a remnant of colonial life and cultural exchange between the natives and the British. Bungalow, in the colonial setting characterized the opposite of the more or less communal living that was exhibited in the urban and rural houses of a sizable number of Indian indigenous towns. While traditional home designs resembling bungalows do exist in West Bengal, Karnataka, and Kerala, their settings are not the same as those of British residents. This paper unravels historical and architectural symbols in Travancore that record a specific time and space under colonial regimes. It resembles symbols of power and centering authority in the social relations of colonial production of space.
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