Military Digest: As a new era dawns over Cantonments, a look at one of the first ones in Ambala

The fact that Karnal in Haryana was also a cantonment once upon a time has largely been forgotten. An important outpost of the then British empire in Punjab, Karnal and Sirhind Cantonments ceased to exist in the mid-1800s and their military establishments moved to Ambala. The primary reason for Karnal to be abandoned was the spread of disease which caused large number of deaths among the British rank and file.

It is for this reason that Robert Napier laid out an extensive and extravagant design, by the standards of his time, of Ambala cantonment which stands testimony even today to the designers idea of open spaces to ensure that a repeat of Karnal does not take place. Napier was convinced that one cause of disease at Karnal had been the want of adequate ventilation.

The massive old bungalows built in several acres of land, the bazars and havelis criss cross Ambala cantonment and the titles to these properties are embroiled in a maize ot litigation which has been going on for decades. At the heart of the legal battles is the ownership of the land which rests with the Army and the residents have the properties on lease which continues from the times of the British.

Interestingly, it was Robert Napier who also designed the cantonment of Kasauli along with another one in nearby Subathu. The details of Napier’s endeavours are mentioned in his biography ‘Field Marshal Lord Napier of Magdala, a Memoir’ written by his son Lt Col HD Napier.

What makes Ambala cantonment and its bungalows special is the fact that this was the first place where the British adopted the vast expansive style of building bungalows and barracks. The success achieved here in reducing fatalities due to illness made them replicate the style in other cantonments across India. The size of plots of the bungalows varies from 1.2 acres to 2.6 acres.

The vast acreage of these bungalows is what makes them a very lucrative possession today even though the residents have no ownership rights over the land and only the superstructure built on the land is legally accepted as theirs to dispose.

“Convinced that one cause of disease at Karnal had been the want of adequate ventilation, Napier conceived the bold and novel idea of laying out the lines in echelon, so as to secure the maximum of air to all the buildings. The result proved so satisfactory that the government subsequently adopted this system in other cantonments,” the memoirs mention.

The memoirs further say, “…the wide roads and spacious gardens and the lofty barracks of ‘Umballa’ constituted the beginning of a new epoch in the structure of Indian Cantonments . . . the shady avenues of that station were all planted by Napier . . . while the Napier barrack for the British soldier was cited in those days as a patent example of the innate extravagance of the Engineer. It is now (1890) recognised to be in reality of a most economical kind.”

Ambala-based Eva Prasher has done extensive research on the bungalows of Ambala. The study titled ‘Bungalows and their Typology in the Colonial Town: Ambala Cantonment’ explores the history of these bungalows and their design.

Prasher says Ambala cantonment was originally designed with two major grid layouts, one housing all the basic requirements of a garrison and the other as the civic area, which was occupied by thirty-six odd families of diferent professions as a support system.

“The bungalows of Ambala Cantonment were constructed in and after the year 1843 and by this time; the bungalows had flourished as a typology. Thus, these bungalows bear the basic elements of what had developed as a style for this particular part of the country. Typically, the bungalows are placed in the middle of the plot with gardens on all sides. This feature grants the bungalow its gigantism and authoritative ambience. Besides this, the gardens or the open green spaces on all sides help tackle the harsh summers in the composite climate of Ambala. Unlike the indigenous houses, the shophouses, the bungalows did not have the central courtyard to bring down the temperature of the rooms and keep the air circulating. It was rather the green space around that brought in the fresh and cool air to the interior spaces,” says Prasher in her study.

As is usual in all Cantonments, Ambala also has an imposing church and a very old graveyard. The foundations of St Paul’s church were laid around 1852 and it was consecrated in 1857. The imposing structure of the church still survives to this even though it was partially destroyed in bombing in 1965 Indo-Pak war.

As with the man who laid the foundations of Ambala cantonment, Capt Robert Napier, the church too was designed by an officer of the Bengal Engineers, Capt George Atkinson.

Interestingly, apart from designing Army buildings in Ambala, Atkinson also devoted time to writing books on Indian cooking. Some of his writings include ‘Curry and Rice on forty plates–the ingredients of social life at our station in India’ and ‘Indian spices for English Tables, or, A rare relish of fun from the Far East’.

Today, Ambala cantonment has come a long way from being just a tract of land lying between the rivers “Ghuggar (now Ghaggar) and Sursuti (Saraswati), about 4 miles south of the town of Umballa,” as mentioned in Napier’s memoirs. A cantonment which awaits new beginnings after 180 years of existence.