THE PEOPLE

HOUSES AND HOUSING

The district had 3,04,484 census houses in 1961 giving an average of 27.9 houses per square kilometer. Of these, 2,77,989 were rural houses (average 26.2 houses per square km.) and 26,495 were urban houses (average 82.1 houses per square km.). This shows the concentration of houses in the urban areas as compared to rural areas. The unoccupied houses numbered 23,675 or 1 in 12.9. On an average there are 3.5 persons to each occupied house The accompanying table shows the number of houses in Bid district in 1961 and the uses to which they are put.

TABLE No. 13

HOUSES ACCORDING TO THEIR USES

The housing pattern of the past was mainly governed by security considerations. In olden days, due to unsettled conditions and the difficulty in guarding a house of large windows and doors against the dacoits and robbers, even the well-to-do were forced to live in houses with no openings in outer walls and doors except doors purposefully kept low, so that they could not be entered without stooping. Building material recently used not being available then, stone, mud, unbaked bricks and wood were used. In the absence of piped water-supply system the houses of the middle class and well-to-do invariably had a well, and the lower classes flocked at the public well or stream. Closed bathrooms were to be seen only in the houses of the well-off. The latrines were built a little apart from the living quarters.

The housing pattern in the urban centres underwent a considerable change during the last half a century or so. The rural housing pattern, however, has remained much the same because the forces leading to a change have not so far reached there to any considerable magnitude.

The changing housing pattern at the urban centres is a resultant of varied causes like the changing ideas of sanitation and hygiene, availability of new kinds of building material like mortar, cement, etc., provision of piped water-supply and electricity to a number of urban centres and bye-laws of the local authorities regulating the construction of new houses. Coupled with these are various socio-economic changes. As a result of industrialisation new urban centres have emerged and the existing ones developed and grew in extent as well as concentration. The development of communication and educational facilities has exposed the population to new ideas. The joint family of the past is slowly yielding to smaller families.

In towns viz., Bid, Ambejogai, Parali, Asti, Dharur, Gevral, Manjleganv, etc., the houses are built according to a certain plan with reference to its neighbourhood. The town committees have their bye-laws and before any building plan is sanctioned, the town committee is to be satisfied regarding the prescribed minimum provision for sanitation and drainage. Bid, Parali, Ambejogai, Manjleganv, Gevral, Dharur, Asti and Patoda have been provided with piped water and electricity.

The old-time mansions and houses still exist but in a worn-out condition which hardly speaks about their original grandeur. These havelis and mansions belonging to merchants and landlords tower high above the surrounding buildings. However, such havelis are few and far between in Bid district. In the past some of these mansions were surrounded on all sides by high stone walls, obviously for safety and in some stray instances there were bastions at the four corners. Of these, nothing but traces have remained now. The mansion is entered by a huge wooden door which is generally kept closed. Fitted to this huge door is a small door. This door is kept open for entrance but it keeps away cattle from entering in. On either side of this entrance door is a rectangular chamber called a dhalaj or a devali. Here the head of the family attends to business at his low wooden desk and receives people. A square court-yard in the middle is surrounded on all sides by a verandah. The verandah leads to a number of rooms, some occupied by women and others used by different members of the family. Further, space is provided for bathing, dining, cooking and storing sundry things. An outlet for smoke called dhurade (chimney) is provided for in the kitchen. General. ly a big house has a separate corner where the family deities are worshipped. In smaller houses usually a corner in the kitchen or dining room is spared for the purpose. Adjacent to the outer chambers and a little away from the living quarters are a cow. shed and a store-room for fodder.

Old mansions have windows opening in the court-yard only and have no windows in the outer walls. Windows are fitted with iron or wooden bars for safety. The window doors have no hinges but are fitted in the frame by means of knobs. This is to prevent house-breaking. The stair-cases are of a peculiar type, fitted closely between two walls. Beneath the stair-case is a cupboard fitted with wooden doors. This hides the family treasure in a steel safe fitted in the mud wall. This was originally intended to protect the treasure from fire or robbery. The havelis usually have an upper storey (called madi) with rooms used as sleeping chambers. The roofs of such houses are tiled and the walls are of baked or unbaked bricks. The superstructure is raised on a plinth of a few feet. The havelis were originally built to suit a single family and in course of time they were partitioned among the brothers of the family. They offer a rather grotesque appearance.

The houses of the better class of cultivators are built in stone or brick masonry. Its low door opens into a court-yard and across it to an open verandah of the main building with several rooms used as god-room, sleeping chambers and cooking apartments. These houses have low flat-terraced roofs with strong wooden beams running from wall to wall and plastered with clay. Some of the houses have tiled roofs.

The houses of ordinary cultivators and middle class people have generally flat roofs and are known as dhabyaci ghare after their flat roofs. Above the plinth they are built in bricks laid in mud. The material used and the number of apartments depend upon the financial condition of the owner. Such houses built in olden times are poorly ventilated. Recent constructions are somewhat airy and allow more light.

The houses of poor people consist of a single room of four to six khans (each khan of 3½' by 8') and having a flat roof. Such a house is called a dhabade (a diminutive of dhabayace ghar or flat roofed house). Adjoining it, is a covered verandah with a low sloping roof of tin or straw where the kitchen and the store room are housed. A portion of the room is reserved as a sitting room (called dhalaj). It is decorated with photo frames of gods and national heroes. The poorest people live in huts of bamboos or cotton stalks.

Almost all the houses have a cattle-shed or a provision to house the cattle.

Open spaces (called angan) and raised basil (tulas) platforms (vrndavans) are rarely seen. Windows and doors often have arches.

After the Second World War, new types of building material became available. The new constructions are of burnt bricks laid in mortar and cement and built on raised plinths called jote. These have bathrooms and allow sufficient light and air. The roofs are either of round or flat country tiles laid on a sloping wooden framework. The ceiling (taktaposi) is made of wooden beams and boards laid from wall to wall. The upper storey, if there is any, has tiled flooring which rests on the wooden ceiling. Some of the houses have balconies or open terraces.

The new colonies and the new Government buildings are built on latest designs. The schools and office buildings built by the Buildings and Communications Department, the civil hospital at Bid, the College, and Pancayat Samiti office are examples of the latest designs. The system of residential flats and rented houses is increasingly coming into vogue especially in urban areas.

Houses in villages do not usually conform to any plan. The pattern of houses is much the same as it was in the past. Most of the village houses are of stone or brick laid in mud. These have a flat roof.