A type of low-cost residential building, common in South Asia (especially Maharashtra), typically consisting of small rooms arranged around a central courtyard.
From Marathi चाल (chāl), possibly derived from Hindi चलना (chalnā) meaning 'to move or function.' The term became standardized during the British colonial period when these buildings proliferated in industrial cities.
Chawls were essentially India's answer to industrial-era tenements—rows of tiny rooms housing factory workers—but they became cultural centers where entire neighborhoods shared cooking facilities, wells, and social spaces that created real community.
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