(i) Chawls were multi storeyed structure had been built from atleast the l860s in the native parts of the town. (ii) Like the tenements in London, these houses were largely owned by private landlords, such as merchants, bankers, and building contractors, looking for quick ways of earning money from anxious migrants. (iii) Each chawl was divided into smaller one- room tenements which had no private toiler. (iv) Ttiete was an open, space in the middle of chawls for social and cultural gatherings. (v) People who belonged to the ‘depressed classes’ found it even more difficult to find housing. Lower castes were kept out of many chawls and often had to live in shelters made of corrugated sheets, leaves, or bamboo poles.