A History of Agriculture in India v1.c35.s5.3

v1.c35.s5.3

Vatsyayana recommends the building of a house close to a pond with an *udyan* (garden) outside. Lilies and lotuses were grown in the pond. Geese, ducks and swans were also kept in these ponds. In the garden attached to the house, a swing was invariably set up from the thick branches of a shady *neem* or a *pipal* and in the stifling monsoon weather when there was oppressive heat before the coming of the rains and there was not a breath of air, these swings were especially popular. The dry and hot May and June were spent in darkened rooms inside houses, and during the rains, from July to September, people mostly lived, worked and enjoyed life in the shade of trees.