Hawa Mahal....an intricate jewel in Indian architecture!!!

Most of us, me included might never have heard of 'Hawa Mahal', a beautiful & delicate architectural wonder situated in Jaipur, India. I came across it while searching for some other information & the detailing of the building just caught my eye!!!


Also called as the 'Wind Palace', because of its numerous windows which allows wind (hawa) to pass through, it was constructed under the reign of Maharajah Sawai Pratap Singh & designed by Lal Chand Ustad in 1799. A symbol of fanciful architecture, it was in the form of the Hindu God, Lord Krishna’s crown or mukuta.

It consists of 5 stories of small semi-octagonal overhanging windows covered with lattice screens meant for a purpose!!! An extension of the royal city palace, the building was used to house the ladies of the harem who could view the old city below through these windows, while remaining hidden from public view. The building construction is so delicate, that the building acts like an architectural veil, a thin screen with many niches, carved grills & domes & lots of filigree work giving the building a honeycomb appearance & its inbuilt uniqueness. It was made of red & pink sandstone & combined both the Hindu & Muslim architectural heritage, domed canopies, fluted pillars, floral patterns etc
The palace affords a panoramic view of most of Jaipur, its deserts & market places & can be easily located due to its pinkness which stands testimony to the epithet given to Jaipur, that of being a ‘Pink City’

The beauty of the palace, shines through even in photographs & the vision of its ruler is embodied in this architectural marvel that reflects a profound contradiction, that of being delicate yet strong enough to stand the test of time!!!

The folding bamboo house.....a creative & eco-friendly architectural design initiative!!!

As the name suggests, these houses inspired by the art of origami are created from bamboo & are intended to be used as a temporary shelter in the aftermath of an earthquake. They are elegant & beautiful & are the brainchild of Ming Tang, an architectural designer who has designed them making use of renewable materials.

Ming Tang came up with this idea after a magnitude of 7.9 earthquake struck central China in May 2009 killing nearly 69,000 people. On learning that the Chinese Government planned to create about 1 million temporary homes, he designed a shelter that was cheap, easily produced & environment friendly & at the same time which can be folded into a variety of structurally sound shapes.

Going by the design of the house, Ming aims to have achieved what he set out to do thus creating houses that are dynamic & easily adaptable to different situations.

The concept utilises bamboo poles which are pre-assembled into rigid geometric shapes. This geometry provides each structure's integrity thus allowing a range of lightweight modular structures to be quicky assembled depending on the need & transported to their final destination when required. Once constructed, the shelters are then covered using re-cycled paper making the whole process eco-friendly.

There is no doubt that such a product will have a huge impact both in terms of the environment & also considering the fact that earthquakes are no more a rarity in different parts of the world!!

Ajantha & Ellora....cave monuments that have stood the test of time!!!

The caves of Ajantha & Ellora situated just outside the village of Ajantha in Aurangabad district, India, are monuments that stand testimony to the ravages of time. They consist of 30 cave monuments hewn out of rock whose walls are filled with pictorial art in general & Buddhist paintings & sculptures in particular. They have been a part of the Unesco World Heritage site ever since 1983 to protect their cultural & creative significance.

The Ajantha caves were partly created in the 1st century BC under the Satavahana dynasty & the remainder of the monuments were created in the 7th century under the Vakataka dynasty, ruled by emperor Harishena. The murals found here are considered to be the oldest monuments of painted art in India. At the end of his dynastic rule, these caves were abondoned & undisturbed for 1300 years, aided by the dense jungle growth & were re-discovered only in 1819 by the British army officer John Smith, whose name is visible on the walls even today.

The caves are beautiful to behold, because of their impressive architecture, paintings & the stories they tell. The whole structure is hewn into the surrounding rocks, including the pillars, the spacious courtyard, the pillard portico & the various vestibules.

The paintings, carvings & decorative motifs present all over the cave, although eroded by time & human interference, are fairly visible & detailed narrating the Jataka tales & depicting the stories & scenes of the Buddha's life in great detail. The murals found in the caves use the techniques & processes that are unlikely ever to be found in the art history of other civilizations. To create these murals, the rock surface was first chiselled, a plaster made of clay, dung & lime was applied, drawings were done & colours applied while the plaster was still wet. The colour was then soaked in by the wet plaster, becoming a part of the surface & thereby retarding decay & peeling to a major extent, elongating the murals life. 

The Ajantha & Ellora caves are a must see for their uniqueness & for the belief that true art can surely stand the test of time!!!

The Roman Colosseum......a learning in Architecture!

Recently on the net, while going through some of the most visited places in the world, I came across the Roman Colosseum...a building considered as one of the world's greatest architectural marvel!!!!

Now why would it get this tag, is something one can believe only when its seen & felt.

Truly, to actually comprehend that this marvel was made around 72AD, at a time when there were no means of transport, no communication, no architects is rather difficult!!!!

The Colosseum stands just east of the Roman forum & was constructed under the reign of Emperor Vespasian & thereafter Titus. It was modelled on the Pagan God Apollo complete with a dome at the top but later was converted into an amphitheatre after the dome was pulled apart. It has a seating capacity of 50,000 & was originally used in the gladiatoral games & other public spectacles like executions, animal hunts. Subsequently, it has been used for various other purposes & now evantually serving as a tourist attraction. There have been many people & animals who have died in this place, thus it has both, been condemned as well as regarded sacred.

In recent times, it has also found a mention in songs & movies like the 'Gladiator' in the year 2000 & 'Jumper' in 2008.

Although it has been partially damaged due to earthquakes, stone robbers, flaura etc it is one of Rome's most iconic symbols, a leading tourist attraction & a great engineering & architectural marvel.