British

During the days of the British Raj in India, the officers of the Indian Civil Services used to travel throughout the length and breadth of the country touring their domains to discharge their duties. On these travels they needed accommodation, sometimes in some of the most remote corners of India, and most often, Dak Bungalows offered this. These bungalows, variously called Circuit houses or Forest Rest houses, were set up by the methodical British in their efforts to bring order to a chaotic country. In Raj on the move, Rajika Bhandari combines her love of Dak Bungalows with some fine writing to bring out the essence of these forgotten buildings. She talks about the buildings in multiple chapters each devoted to one aspect of the building including purpose, architecture, food, locations and perhaps most interestingly for some, myself included, the famous resident ghosts.