The group of monuments at Mahabalipuram consists of ten mandapas or excavated halls besides seven monolithic rathas, so called because they resemble the big temple cars in which the images of the deities are taken out in procession. The mandapas, which are no higher that 4.5 or 6 mts, are remarkable for the shape and design of their pillars and roll cornices and for the blending of figure sculpture enclosed with architecture. The panels of sculptures enclosed within plasters and mouldings on the interior walls of the Durga and Varaha mandapas represent the finest achievement of the Pallava style.
The Architecture of the monolithic rathas is based on the older Buddhist monasteries (Viharas). They are square or oblong on plan and pyramidal in elevation, but varying on size and some minor details. The largest and the most complete of them is what is called the Dharmaraja Ratha, which combines all the feature of the Pallava style-pillars in the portico with rampant lions, the pyramidal tower and the turreted roof. The Bhima, Ganesh and Sahadeva rathas are oblong in plan and are based on the architecture of the Buddhist Chaitaya hall. They are two or three storeys high, and are surrounded by a barrel roof with the Chaitaya gable at the ends.
The solidity of the masonry of the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram is vouched for by the fact that for over 12 centuries is has withstood the pitiless onslaught of the monsoons, the battering of sea waves and the treachery of drifting sands.
Located on the banks of the Yamuna, 2 km northwest of the Taj Mahal, the fort was designed and built by Akbar in 1565 A.D. The fort houses the beautiful Pearl Mosque and numerous palaces including the Jahangir Mahal, Diwan-I-Khas, Diwan-I-Am.
The high red sandstone ramparts of this great monuments stretch for almost 2.5 kms, dominating a bend in the river Yamuna. Emperor Akbar laid the foundation of this majestic citadel and it developed as a stronghold of the Mughal Emperor under successive generation Shahjahan construction the graceful Diwan-I-Am or the hall Public Audience in 1628.
Three rows of white polished stucco pillars topped by peacock arches support the flat roof. Today, this hall is bereft of brocade decoration, silk carpet and satin canopies that would have enhanced the elegant of the settings when the emperor sat down with his subjects for discussions.
Mysore Palace
Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal, Located on the banks of the Yamuna River is one the Seven Wonders of the World. The Mughal Emperor Shahjahan as a memorial built this marble tomb for his wife, Mumtaz. A dream etched in milky white pristine marble is the peerless monument portraying the beauty of eternal love. A commemoration of the memory of Shahjahan’s beloved wife, Taj Mahal is indeed India’s rich tribute to womanhood. The construction of the Taj commenced in 1631 and was completed in 1653. A worker was gathered from all over the country and from central Asia. About 20,000 people were recruited to translate the wild dream into reality. The main architect was Ustad Isa Khan, who was brought all the way from Shiraz in Iran. The walled complex includes two Mosques and an imposing gateway. The tomb is encased in white marble that is decorated with flawless sculptures and Inlaid design of flowers and calligraphy.
India Message Beyond Words
Town Planning
Built as early as 3000 BC, the Indian towns had quality materials of superior finish and high standard of manipulation, giving perfect stability to construction. Straight roads at right angles, main thoroughness running almost to south, east to west. It possessed a network pf covered draining that was new in the ancient world.
The reconstruction Of Kusinagar, of the 7th century BC, had horizontally placed cylindrical rooftop so designed as to permit free flow of air and light. No other city in the ancient world outside India had such a design Incorporated.
The great Bath, built at Mohen-jo-daro is unique. The tank has a rectangular structure. It is situated in the center of a courtyard and measures 11.89 mts from north and south and 7.01 mts from east to west, the depth being 2.44 mts. A double ringed of well in one of the rooms for supply of water to the bath, the floor of which is approached by a flight of steps on the north and south.
An interesting feature of the construction was the care bestowed in water tightening of the structure. A two cms, thick damp-proof course of bitumen was used between the facing baked bricks of the basin and the intermediate wall, which inturns was retained be a mud – brick packing the outermost baked-brick wall.
Across the lane to the north of the Great bath there is a block with eight bath rooms arranged in two rooms, one on either of a drain. Each bathroom on Mohen-jo-daro had a staircase that was leading to the upper storey and privacy was secured by ensuring that the doors were not disposed opposite to one another.
We Rocketed the idea of Rocketing!!!!
Tipu Sultan army was the first to use rockets. Abdul Kalam tells the story, in HALF JEST AND HALF PAIN that the British learnt about accurate rocket propulsion from Tipu Sultan Armory.
We premiered through the pass
The Jammu Kashmir state Road Transport Corporation (JKSRTC) operated the first vehicle Khardung La Pass at 18,380 ft in 1962 – the highest motorable road in the world.
Log on to India
Stupas
The earliest surviving religious structures are the Buddhist Stupas. The Stupas is a large burial mound, hemispherical in shape, with a central chamber in which a small casket containing the relics of the Buddha are preserved. The core of the mound was of burnt bricks; its outer face of burnt bricks and the entire structures was given a skin of thick plaster. On top of the hemisphere stood the harmika, a stylized umbrella of stone or wood. A fence made first of wood but later replaced by stone ran round the Stupas enclosing a path for the ritual of circumambulation. Some of the Stupas as at Sabchi (2nd century B.C.E) were provided with beautiful entrance arches (torana) at the four cardinal points. Smaller Stupas and monasteries and theological colleges gradually sprung around the main Stupas converting the site into a colony of monks and learned men.
The biggest and best preserved is the Sanchi Stupa of Madhya Pradesh, Stupas at Sarnath near Varanasi and Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh.
Lothal city was planned on similar lines as Harappa and Mohen-jo-daro. The features of which are an orderly array of streets and lanes crossing one another at right angles and the division and the division of the town into various blocks, which distinguish Indus cities from Mesopotamian and Egyptians towns. Initially, Lothal dock was rectangular on plan measuring 300 mts from north to south and 400 mts from east to west, and was protected against floods by a 13 mts thick wall of mud bricks.
Lothal city’s engineers made the greatest contributions to the advancement of science and technology by building an artificial dock for berthing ships.
The Lothal dock is noted for its unique water-locking device, introduced in the spillway, which could be closed or kept open according to necessity, It regulated the flow of water at high tide and ensured flotation of ships at low tide without necessitating the basin to be silted up. The perfect verticality of the inner face to the walls enabled ships to come right up to the edge of the wharf for loading and unloading. A trapezoid basin measuring an average 214 * 36 mts was excavated on the eastern flank of the city and closed by masonry wall of kiln-fired bricks with necessary gaps for the inlet and spillway in the shorter arms on the north and south respectively.
This technology was applied for laying canal network, with intervening water holding tanks and sluice gates put in place to control the volume and direction of water flow.
India Unveiling The Curtain
Chaitanya Hall at Karla, Maharashtra 1st year century BC has a cylindrical vault. Hewn out of a single rock are the details of the journey and rock-cut columns. It is an apsidal hall excavated into solid rocks with rows of pillars running along the walls that supports a curved roof, resting on ribs in imitation of the barrel vaulting of a wooden structure. Most notable development in rock-architecture happened the period from the seventh to the 10th centuries. The entire kailas temple as Ellora, Maharashtra (6th century AD), is the largest single piece of sculpture in the world. Worked from the top to the ground level, this temple complex occupies twice the plinth area of the Parthenon in Greece. Indian craftsmen had mastered the technique of transferring the load from top into the earth by balancing it through the application of poise, counterpoise and load bearing.
|
Debt Management
Compare debt management plans using our calculator - Search online now! www.trapped.co.uk |
