|
 The
Temple of Thanjavur
Today Thanjavur or Tanjore is an ordinary little town in Tamil Nadu.
However, as the capital city of the Cholas, nothing surpassed it in
wealth and power in the 11th century. In 1000 A.D. the Chola king
Rajarajeshwara the Great commissioned a temple, which was
revolutionary by its sheer size, dwarfing all efforts made so far in
the south. So the Rajaraja temple at Tanjore was 180 feet high from
the ground, with a spire of 130 feet, fully 70 feet higher than the
tallest spire so far attempted. This soaring height was capped by an
enormous domical monolith, weighing at least 80 tons.
In this temple, which is arranged as always around a central axis,
the two mandapas in front of the Vimana are also proportionately
bigger. The entire complex of the main temple and its ancillary
structures and subsidiary shrines is in the middle of a rectangular,
defined by a portico with a double colonnade. The Vimana, though not
much shorter than the projected spire at Konark, is structurally
intact even after a thousand years. In this respect, the Tamil
architects proved themselves far more adept than their northern
peers. This was to be seen again in a later example. It was also
true, of course, that the form chosen was far more prudent, a
comparatively stable pyramid rather than the complex curvilinear
profile of the shikhara.
 The
Quwwatu'l Islam - The Towers of God
There were two ways of consolidating power - militarily and
theocratically. Once the immediate military aims were achieved,
Qutb-ud-Din set about to establish himself not just as a marauding
invader, but a proselytizing missionary. The first mosque in India,
the Quwwatu'l Islam (The Might of Islam) was constructed by
destroying, in Qutb-ud-Din's own words, 27 Hindu and Jain temples in
the region. The mosque originally consisted of a rectangular court
43.2 m by 33 m, enclosed by colonnaded cloisters. This enclosure
formed the heart of the mosque, delineating a space where the
faithful could kneel to pray.
It is with a closer examination of the columns that the otherwise
undistinguished mosque begins to assume significance. Dismantled
from temples, the columns still betray a riot of carving - human
forms, gods and goddesses, flora and fauna, jewelry and other motifs
- which was characteristically Hindu, but was expressly forbidden in
Islamic architectural expression.4 The shortage of both time and
money forced the Muslim ruler to reuse inherently sacrilegious
elements.
A compromise was effected by knocking off the faces of the deities
and other human and animal forms. The result is a curious
combination - a structure which is architectonically a mosque with
apparently vandalized Hindu components. The riot of defaced carving
is complemented with the difference in the columns - they came from
not one, but several demolished temples. Above the cloisters rise
imperfect corbelled domes - the result of Hindu craftsmen striving
to erect a form of which they had no prior experience.
 Pleasures
at Mandu
Situated as it was on a plateau, with numerous water bodies through
its length, and the home of a prosperous dynasty, Mandu became the
site for various pleasure-palaces and resorts for royalty, be they
for the women of the harem, the fine arts or hunting. In Mandu we
have architecture dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure on a large
scale, in the form of the Jahaz, Lal, Chappan, Baz Bahadur and
Rupmati palaces.
The Jahaz Mahal, built by Mahmud Khilji, was a departure from the
previously stolid and somber style at Mandu. The most striking thing
about this monument is its location between two water bodies, the
Kaphur Talao and the Munja Talao, which gives the building the
appearance of floating on water, hence its name, literally the ‘ship
palace’.
Architecturally, the building consists of a series of compartments
and corridors over the Munja Talao, with terraces, kiosks and
numerous open-air baths conforming to the lifestyle at Mandu, which
was slowly sliding into decadence.
The Jahaz Mahal proved an inspiration for later Khilji sultans to
dot the landscape with their own pleasure pavilions and summer
retreats. The esoteric character of Mandu later prompted the
like-minded Mughal emperor Jahangir to spend a considerable amount
on its maintenance.
And so, even though the city of Mandu was eventually absorbed into
the Mughal empire, its legend lives on as the city of Joy, and in
the forests of the Vindhyas today, if you listen hard enough, echo
the strains of the romantic tales of Rupmati and Baz Bahadur to this
day.
Gwalior
Fort
The strategically located Gwalior fort was fair game, in its
position as the gateway to central India, for all would-be
potentates. The climb up to Gwalior plateau is tortuous and not
easily accomplished even by a motor vehicle. This no doubt
contributed to its fine system of defences designed to slow down and
eventually stop any attacker.
Among its many remarkable buildings, its greatest is perhaps the
palace of Man Singh Tomar built in the 15th century.
Unlike even its successors, Man Singh’s palace is in an excellent
state of preservation, with even the blue and yellow tile work on
the façade still visible.
 Red
Fort
The Red Fort in plan consists of outer walls in a near-perfect
rectangle except where they border the course of the Yamuna to the
north.
The walls themselves are clad with finely dressed red and pink
sandstone, the joints of which are surprisingly fine. The massive
round bastions set off the main Delhi and Lahore gates, massive
defensive entry portals which tower over the walls. The entries from
these gates meet in a square public place which finally leads off to
the hall of public audience, or the Diwan-i-am.
The roof of this building, today looking strangely naked and
exposed, is supported on columns and arches which are more ornate
than utilitarian, the simple pointed arch giving way to a
multi-cusped version. Various bays of these arches make up the hall,
the whole being clad in white marble with inlays of semi-precious
stones. Inside the hall, the emperor’s dais is raised on a high
platform.
The other buildings in the complex are the tiny Moti Masjid – a
mosque entirely in marble. This, though started by Shah Jahan, was
completed by his son Aurangzeb, and is different in style, with the
extra decoration that was the first sign of impending decadence and
decay. the Shish Mahal or the Hall of Mirrors, the treasury and
magazine or Daulat Khana, the emperor’s private chambers and harems
for the queens.
Running through and around most of these structures is a system of
open water channels which, combined with carved marble screens
fronting the river, kept the interiors amazingly cool. A visitor
today to the Red Fort can still not help be surprised by the
coolness of the interiors even in the hottest summer.
The Red Fort was a defensive structure, a last resort for an attack
that seemed improbable and even impossible during the heyday of the
Mughal empire. Who could tell that in less than a hundred years an
irreversible decline would begin? Those days, however, were still
far away, and outside the walls of the fort, a city flourished, full
in its importance as the capital of one of the richest empires of
the world.
 Jaisalmer
Late mediaeval Rajput architecture was noted both for its town
planning and urban architecture. Rulers patronized research into
ancient treatises and shastras of Hindu architecture and attempts
were made to build accordingly. It would be fair, thus, to discuss
two notable examples.
Jaisalmer is particularly noted for its havelis or private houses
belonging to the noblesse. Here the court style fusing Mughal and
Rajput elements was first emulated by Rawal Amar Singh (1661-1702)
for the palaces and temples surrounding the lake and at Bada Bagh.
His 18th and 19th century successors continued the eclectic
tradition by importing the late architecture of Marwar, with its
prominent oriels and balconies, many-cusped arches, half-circular
roofs and luxuriant sculptural ornament. The palaces in the fort
although elaborately floral, are not however Jaisalmer’s most
celebrated buildings.
This status belongs to the dense network of havelis in the town
below the fort – the private houses of the rich and wealthy, and the
noblesse, who in the dwindling of royal power became the de facto
rulers, an oligarcy very much like that of late mediaeval Venice.
The havelis of Jaisalmer are thus world-famous for their dense
interlocking structure and their architectural devices which keep
out the heat and dust. Many examples of modern Indian architecture
take their inspiration from Jaisalmer’s urban planning and house
clustering pattern, a notable one being Raj Rewal’s Asiad Games
Village built for the Asian Games at Delhi in 1984.
 Bom
Jesus
The rich façade of the Bom Jesus incorporates much leathery
scroll-work and oddly proportioned pilasters at variance with the
canonical four-storey sequence from Doric at the base to Composite
at the top. This cathedral is also famous for housing the mortal
remains of St. Francis Xavier, whose extremely floral tomb rests in
one niche of the building.
It should be noted that all Portuguese colonial architecture was
very much influenced by contemporaneous developments in Europe at
the time – the Renaissance and the influence of the Italian
architects of the time – Alberti, Serlio, Maderne, and the German
Dietterlin. However, the pattern books ensured that none of the
styles advocated by each of these would be followed in its entirety
– the Goan churches are often a reinterpretation of Renaissance
principles and aesthetics to suit local colonial tastes, finances
and materials.
Though Goa would continue for some time to be one of the richest
cities in India, the Portuguese attempts of controlling the spice
trade would eventually come to an end from increased competition and
lack of support from the homeland. In the end, the Portuguese
retained control only of Goa, Daman and Diu, a far cry from the
original Estada da India, the Indian state that they hoped to
establish. Goa today retains a significant Christian population and
its Portuguese heritage in art and architecture continues to shape
much modern building and architects in the city and the surrounding
region, and has considerably enriched the variety of regional
architecture in India.
 Mutiny
Memorial
Colonial architecture in India closely followed the developments in
the metropole – but also sought, for greater legitimacy, inspiration
from existing architecture in India, sometimes with quite unexpected
results.
From the 1840s it was the norm for the Anglo-Indian church builder
to follow the precedent set by the revivers of the many permutations
of Gothic in England. Most usually, fervent ethical principle – and
imperialism – rather than practicality recommended the translation
to India of the great expanse of glass that was the principal
characteristic of British Perpendicular Gothic. Other mediaeval
styles, weightier than Gothic, served for momentous exercises such
as the Mutiny Memorial Church at Kanpur – or the last garrison
church built in New Delhi by Lutyens’ associate.
 India
Gate War Memorial
An equilateral triangle is defined by the ceremonial, administrative
and commercial centers of the new metropolis. The commercial centre
in the north forms the apex. Rajpath, the east-west axis of power,
provides their base. The north-east diagonal serves the Law; the
north-west diagonal bypasses the cathedral and the originally
unforeseen parliament. Rajpath is aligned with the entrance to the
Purana Quila. It runs through the India Gate War Memorial and the
portal buildings of Baker’s secretariat, from the chattri in which
the city’s founder, the King-Emperor, stood in imperial majesty to
the durbar hall of the house where his Viceroy sat.
Lutyens had arrived in India to undertake this great work with
little or no respect or appreciation for the architectural legacy
which preceded him, and his views grew only the more derogatory with
first-hand familiarity – especially with the Anglo-Indian Imperial
hybrids developed by his immediate predecessors. Many Europeans in
India were of a similar opinion. The Viceroy, Lord Hardinge,
however, asserted that the new capital was being built for a joint
British-Indian administration and must symbolize reciprocity between
the British and Indians of all creeds.
 Taj
Mahal Hotel, Bombay
The Taj Mahal Hotel blends Oriental, Moorish and Florentine styles
of architecture. This hotel, opened in 1903, offers a panoramic view
of the Gateway of India and the Arabian Sea
The Taj Mahal Palace hotel resort was commissioned by Jamsedji Tata
and first opened its doors to guests on December 16, 1903. Tata
allegedly decided to build the luxurious hotel after he was refused
entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time, Watson's Hotel,
as it was restricted to 'whites only'. The original Indian
architects were Sitaram Khanderao Vaidya and D. N. Mirza, but the
project was completed by an English engineer W. A. Chambers. The
cost of construction was £250000 (£127 million today). During World
War I, the hotel was converted into a 600-bed hospital.
The Taj Mahal Palace is a prestigious hotel located in the Colaba
region of Mumbai, India, next to the Gateway of India. Part of the
Taj Hotels, Resorts and Palaces, this 105-year old heritage building
retains its stature as the flagship property of the group and
contains 565 rooms. It boasts a long list of notable guests
including Mick Jagger, Jacques Chirac, The Duke & Duchess of Kent,
Joan Collins, The King & Queen of Norway, Marianne Faithfull, The
Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Beatles, Bill Clinton
and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Many cricket teams also stay here
when they are on tour.
From an historical and architectural point of view, The Taj Mahal
Palace and the Tower are two distinct buildings, built at different
times and in different architectural designs.
The side of the hotel seen from the harbour is actually its rear.
The front faces away to the west. There is a widespread
misconception that the architects' building plans were confused by
the builder so that he built it facing away from the harbor. This is
not true, as the hotel was deliberately built facing inland. This
decision was probably a deliberate snub to the British king by
Jamsedji Tata due to nationalist feelings. Some people believe that
the front of the hotel had to face inland because the horse
carriages, in which guests came to the hotel, could easily approach
the hotel from the city. The carriages were then taken to Wellington
Mews. Five decades ago, the old front was closed off, and since
then, access has been made through the harbor-side entrance.
There used to be a Green's Hotel at the Apollo Bunder, which was
purchased by the Taj Mahal Hotel. It was at the Green's Hotel, that
a small group of pro-Indian Goans (largely employees of the Indian
state and communists) assembled and formed the Goan Liberation
Council demanding that Portugal cede Goa to India, in the 1950s.
This was done at the instigation of Jawaharlal Nehru, and funded by
the Kamani Group of Companies. In 1973, Green's hotel was demolished
and the present Tower wing was constructed in its place.
 Lakshmi
Narayan Temple
A
curious movement would be started by Sris Chandra Chatterjee in the
1930s, curious because it was called the Modern Indian Architectural
Movement but referred in the main to a pastiche of traditional
symbology and elements stuck on the facades of fairly functional
structures. In this sense it made for easy identification and was
popular with indigenous clients because it contained visibly
identifiable symbols from the past. In 1940, Chatterjee was one of
the patrons of the ‘All India League of Indian Architecture’, which
had strong ideological roots in the architectural styles of
Shantiniketan and Sabarmati Ashram. The stated intent of the League
was the search for a specifically ‘Indian’ Architecture and among
its aims were to write textbooks and manuals to further hone the
skills of people who already had a background in construction or the
arts (for example architects, engineers and painters).
Chatterjee’s most famous work is the Lakshmi-Narayan Temple at
Delhi, near Connaught Place, a colossal place of worship funded by
the Birlas in 1938. Apart from this, he also built the Arya Dharma
Sangha Dharamsala at Sarnath in 1935, as well as a project for the
Deshbandhu memorial to the Princess of Agartala.
 The
Matri Mandir - Auroville
Aurobindo Ghose retired from active participation in the Indian
nationalist movement in 1910 after being acquitted in the ‘Alipore
Bomb Case’. Frustrated by the slow progress of the movement and his
activities fettered, Aurobindo finally sought asylum in French
Pondicherry. In 1926, Aurobindo turned over his responsibilities to
Mira Richards – ‘The Mother’ – who became the spiritual head of the
Aurobindo Ashram. An émigré from Paris, Mira continued Aurobindo’s
stated purpose to function as an agency facilitating the evolution
of humankind into ‘Supermind’, a sort of divinity on earth.
Mira, however, was not only a yogic Oracle of sorts, but also, it
would seem, had a natural talent for organization. Under her aegis
the Aurobindo Ashram began attracting people and funds that would
promote her ‘dream’ project – a city that would be, in her words:
“…a place that no nation could claim as its sole property."
In February 1968, with government approval, the utopian community of
Auroville was inaugurated. Its master plan – strikingly empty for
the moment – consisted of a formal expression of Mira’s vision –
that of four arms radiating from a center marking off four zones of
activity – residential, cultural, international and industrial.
 Akshardham
Temple, New Delhi
Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi epitomises 10,000 years of
Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom and
bliss. It brilliantly showcases the essence of India’s ancient
architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The
Akshardham experience is an enlightening journey through India’s
glorious art, values and contributions for the progress, happiness
and harmony of mankind.
The grand, ancient-styled Swaminarayan Akshardham complex was built
in only five years through the blessings of HDH Pramukh Swami
Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan
Sanstha (BAPS) and the colossal devotional efforts of 11,000
artisans and BAPS volunteers. The complex was inaugurated on 6
November, 2005.
Akshardham means the eternal, divine abode of the supreme God, the
abode of eternal values and virtues of Akshar as defined in the
Vedas and Upanishads where divine bhakti, purity and peace forever
pervades.
For the first time ever in the world witness the heritage of India
in all its facets, insights and beauty at the Swaminarayan
Akshardham through its mandir, exhibitions, verdant gardens and
other attractions. |
00 + 91 + 97607 25000
