The Ancient and Medieval Architecture of India: A Study of Indo-Aryan Civilisation c8.17

c8.17

It is necessary to explain that the peculiar double curvature given to these Bengali roofs and the drawing-out of the eaves at the four corners of the cottage are not mere freaks of the unpractical Oriental builder, but thoroughly scientific inventions designed for throwing off heavy rain. A thatched roof of the straight-lined European type could hardly be made water-tight for a long time in the torrential monsoon rains of the lower Ganges valley. The same reason applies to the more permanent roofs of brick and plaster, designed on similar lines, used in the old temples and mosques of Bengal.