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A dak bungalow, dak-house or dâk-bungalow was a government building in British India under Company Rule and the Raj. It may also refer to some similarly-built or -used structures in modern India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. __NOTOC__ The India Office possesses a diary with the entry for 25 November 1676 noting "It was thought fitt... to sett up Bungales or Hovells... for all such English in the Company's Service as belong to their Sloopes & Vessells".〔.〕 The dak bungalows proper were first erected in the 1840s,〔.〕 serving as staging posts for the ''dak'', the imperial mail service. Rudyard Kipling's father J. Lockwood Kipling described them as "about as handsome as a stack of hay" and forming a kind of "'irreducible minimum' of accommodation".〔 Each was about from the next along the major roads of the subcontinent.〔 They also provided free accommodation for government officials〔.〕 and, upon their permission, "incomparably cheap" lodging for other travellers.〔.〕 The structures are therefore sometimes also known as posthouses, resthouses, travellers' bungalows, &c. Officials at the dak bungalows included the ''dakwala'' (postman), the ''durwan'' (caretaker), and sometimes a ''khansamah'' (attendant). Fees were set by the government; in the 1920s, they were 8 annas a day for single persons and 12 for married couples 6 or 9 g of .917% silver). Guests were liable for reïmbursing them for any damage and for the costs of supplies used, including grass for the horses, firewood, and food. Beds were uncommon, as the Raj officials were expected to travel with their own bedding and servants. The ''khansamah'' could provide dining for those without their own cook, the common fare being eggs and chicken dishes. In remote areas, most government work—including hearing legal cases—occurred at the dak bungalows when the district officials visited. At district headquarters, the circuit house provided a larger courtroom and better accommodations for visiting sessions judges. Larger cities might have still more specialized buildings. During the Sepoy Rebellion, the network of bungalows were used by escaping British civilians and soldiers but saw several massacres outside Delhi.〔.〕 Following the suppression of the rebellion and the assumption of rule by the British government, thatch was prohibited for use in official buildings.〔.〕 They feature in the fiction of Rudyard Kipling: "a fair proportion of the tragedy of our lives out here acted itself in dâk-bungalows... () many men have died mad in ()..."〔.〕 "...nothing is too wild, grotesque, or horrible to happen in a dâk-bungalow."〔Kipling, "(My Own True Ghost Story )", (p. 37 ).〕 The dak bungalows carried on a tradition of caravanserais, dharamshalas, and other guesthouses erected by Indian rulers for both Hindu and Muslim pilgrims.〔.〕 Many fell into disrepair or were later replaced by circuit houses,〔 although some have been maintained and continue in use, as the lodges at the Sipahijola and Radhanagari wildlife sanctuaries. ==See also== * Architecture of Chennai 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dak bungalow」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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