In India there are lots of different types of houses.
Rich people's houses
Very rich people live in very big houses and have servants and drivers to do all the hard work for them. They usually live in the cities where they have very good jobs that pay them lots of money. They have electricity and running water so they have lots of the things that we have in our houses, televisions, bathrooms, hairdryers and probably even a computer.
City houses
Lots of people go to the cities to try to find work but can sometimes only find poorly paid jobs and than they end up living in tower blocks in the middle of the cities or on the edge of them. The tower blocks have lots of people living in them so they have to share a bathroom and kitchen with lots of other people. They do usually have water and electricity but they don’t have all the technology that we have. The houses on the edge of the cities tend to be smaller but still cramped together and are no nicer to live in.
Lots of people go to the city to find a job and can’t so they end up sleeping on the street instead. |
A street that shows city houses where poor people live. |
Village houses
|
A village built out of bamboo. |
¾ of the population of India live in villages. The houses there are usually made from a mixture of clay, straw and cow dung. This mixture goes really hard when it is dry so it is very useful and also cheaper than bricks or stone. The houses have thick walls and this keeps the houses cool in the summer because the heat can’t get through. Even though the families do all they can to keep cool they often sleep outside on the flat roofs where it is breezy and cool at night. |
| |
| |
Most houses in India have 2 rooms and a courtyard where they keep their animals if they have any. |
|
| |
|
|
Cooking dinner in an Indian home using a small stove on the floor. |
They don’t have lots of furniture in village houses just some shelves or storage bins to keep their food in and some mats for the floor where people can sit.
The kitchen is usually in the corner of 1 room and has a stove low down on the floor. They gave very few tools for the kitchen, some pots and pans, utensils and a flat pan for cooking chapattis. The floor is kept very clean because they get food ready while sitting or crouching on the floor. A traditional Indian family eats on the floor in a circle but the men eat first.
|
These houses do not have running water, indoor toilets, fridges and hairdryers like we do. Most houses have a radio but if they want to watch the television they have to go to their local community centre with lots of other people. More and more villages are beginning to get their own electricity supply.
Houses near water
|
Houses in India near water are in danger of being flooded when the monsoon rain comes. Some farmers are lucky and can afford to build houses that are higher up on stilts so that when the rain comes it washes underneath and doesn’t destroy the houses. These houses are very useful but more expensive than ordinary village houses. |
A bamboo hut built on stilts is useful in monsoon season. |
| |
|
Street houses
|
|
Some people in India are very poor and don’t live in a village or in the middle of towns. They build their houses where ever they can and build them out of whatever they can find. They use bits of old wood, fabric, straw, anything at all. |
|
