1 · POSITION
The dak bungalow was the rest house of British India: a government bungalow on the main roads, first built as such in the 1840s as a staging post for the imperial mail — dak means post. It continued the older Indian tradition of caravanserais, dharamshalas and pilgrim guest houses. The register holds it as the colonial equivalent of the yeok and the yam. [1, 2]
2 · A HOUSE A STAGE APART
Bungalows stood twelve to fifteen miles apart by one account, eighteen to twenty miles by another, often deep in forest or on hills. They were European in plan, with wide verandahs and high ceilings, a central room with bedrooms on either side; J. Lockwood Kipling thought them about as handsome as a stack of hay. [1, 2]
3 · THE KHANSAMAH
A postman, a caretaker and often a khansamah — cook and butler in one — ran the house. Officials brought their own bedding and servants; otherwise the khansamah cooked, and chicken from the yard was the staple. Officials stayed free; others with permission paid a small fee, in the 1920s eight annas a day, twelve for a couple. [1, 2]
4 · AFTER THE RAJ
The bungalows sheltered British officers fleeing Delhi in 1857. Many have since decayed or been replaced by circuit houses; some survive as lodges, at Misrod, Kasauli, Munnar and in wildlife sanctuaries. [1, 2]
5 · ⚑ CANDOUR
⚑ Checked on 22 October 2026. The order is not dated 1836–42 by any source read. The bungalows were first built in the 1840s, and the first is said to have been commissioned by Lord Auckland after his journey to Simla in 1837; the note now says that. The hill-station hotel as the bungalow’s descendant is the register’s reading. Spacing differs between the sources and both figures are printed. [1–3]
Sources & Further Reading
Sources checked 22 October 2026.