Jodhpur

Historical/Social Context:Jodhpur was a princely state under indirect British rule. The area was known for brutal summers and sparse population perfect for Kipling’s theme of imperial isolation. Hummil’s Bungalow acts as the central stage of the narrative. Bungalows were standard colonial housing for British officers.They were meant to be “little pieces of England,” but in remote regions they often became claustrophobic, lonely, and poorly maintained. Servants (often unnamed Indian workers) kept them running, reflecting colonial hierarchies.This is the Whist Table (the men’s weekly gathering) in which British officers often formed small social circles to cope with isolation. Card games, alcohol, and routine are often seen as coping mechanisms for loneliness and boredom. These gatherings reinforced class and racial boundaries; only British men participated. Their faces are described as “very white,” emphasizing racial identity and vulnerability. It shows how the empire depends on rituals of Britishness to maintain psychological stability and connection to empire.

In the story:The bungalow is darkened to escape the heat. It becomes a psychological “pressure cooker” where Hummil’s insomnia and hallucinations intensify. It is also the site of his death. Hummil’s body is prepared for burial at the end of the story (standard practice for British officers who died in remote postings). His death is treated as a tragic but expected outcome of service, symbolizing the ultimate cost of empire—British bodies left forever in foreign soil. The bungalow is a microcosm of the imperial project: British men isolated from home, dependent on Indian labor, trying to impose order on an environment that resists them. The collapse of Hummil inside his own home symbolizes the collapse of the imperial body under strain.