The ancient and medieval architecture of India: a study of Indo-Aryan civilisation

MODERN

BENGALI

ROOFS 2 I

Fig.7.—Seven-rafteredBambuRoofof

ModemThatchedBengaliCottage.

grain-seller

isemptying

a measureful.

Outside, his

assistant

is

waitingwith

hisload oftwobaskets

slungon a

pole. There

is

asmall

windowinthe centreof

thegable

wall, andalarger

one

beneath it.

Theroomsof

the

frontcottage,

on eithersideof the

doorway, are

also lighted by

win-

dowsin the

centre.

The

roofs of the

cottages at

Bharhut

are barrel-shaped,

with

semicircular

gables,as

in PI. I, b,

or builtwith pointed

gables as in

fig. A of the

same plate. The

exactmaterial

used to coverthem

isnot

quiteclear,butsimilar

forms

of roof

and the methods of

con-

struction applicable to them

survive in the Bengali

thatched

cottage ofthe presentday(PL II, and figs.

7

and

8).

Itisnecessarytoexplainthatthepeculiar

doublecurvature

given tothese Bengali roofsandthe drawing-out

of theeaves

at thefourcorners ofthe

cot-

tageare notmerefreaksofthe

unpractical Oriental builder,

but thoroughly scientific in-

ventionsdesigned

forthrowing

off heavy rain. A thatched

roofof

thestraight-linedEuro-

peantypecouldhardlybe

made

water-tightfor a longtime in

thetorrentialmonsoon

rainsof

thelower
Ganges

valley. The

same reasonapplies

tothe morepermanent roofsof brickand

plaster, designed onsimilar

lines, usedin the oldtemples

and

mosquesofBengal,

Fig.8.—PlanofFig.7.