Mangalore: The pride of Lobos

The Hindu

Mangalore, 31 Jan 2012: “Nandigudda House” in Attavar will interest all those who like history and culture. Owners Derek and Patsy Lobo said that the house has been a home to five generations of Lobos and is one of the 20 to 25 houses in Mangalore that still retains the original tiled frontage. Its 90-feet long verandah makes it the longest in any house in Mangalore, said Derek Lobo, who worked with the World Health Organisation.

 

The house has a high ceiling and the windows retain the original etched glass. The kitchen, which has been used by three generations, has the original attic, which can be accessed by a wooden staircase. In the bathroom, water is heated with firewood , said Patsy Lobo, who has been teaching.

 

The house, which has been with the family since 1850, has a living room, a dining room , a passage to the kitchen, and four bedrooms. It earlier had seven entrances. Inside the house, the floor tiles have been replaced with maroon red-oxide tiles. However, a part of the original flooring has been preserved with a label on the ground indicating that it is original.

 

The dining table, consists of two planks of teakwood measuring 18 ft and can seat 14 people.

 

It was made during Derek’s father’s time. The benches in the verandah are original and date back to the time of Derek’s grandfather. An addition to the verandah is a bullock cart, which the Lobos say is the last in Mangalore. They bought it from a person who used it in Bunder. Other than the house, the collectibles in it are equally curious. From their travels all over the world, particularly Ethiopia and Bangladesh, the Lobos have collected antiques.

 

The centre table in the living-room is made of a ‘laato’ (Konkani for the pulley over a well) and another table with a glass top is actually a ship’s porthole. The ice bucket in the bar is a brass bucket from a well. Railway lanterns act as light sources and old chandeliers with yellow and green glass, which light up throwing coloured light in the rooms. There is a wooden chair with extended arms, a children’s dressing table with a low-level mirror, and the guest room has, from Bangladesh, calligraphy on cloth, of Bengali alphabets. Mr. Lobo, who collects clocks, showed an antique clock with a ceramic clock face.