Architecture of India
The architecture of India is rooted in its history, cuwture and rewigion. Among a number of architecturaw stywes and traditions, de contrasting Hindu tempwe architecture and Indo-Iswamic architecture are de best known historicaw stywes. Bof of dese, but especiawwy de former, have a number of regionaw stywes widin dem. An earwy exampwe of town pwanning was de Harappan architecture of de Indus Vawwey Civiwisation, uh-hah-hah-hah. Peopwe wived in cities wif baked brick houses, streets in a grid wayout, ewaborate drainage systems, water suppwy systems, granaries, citadews, and cwusters of warge non-residentiaw buiwdings. Much oder earwy Indian architecture was in wood, which has not survived.
Hindu tempwe architecture is mainwy divided into Dravidian and Nagara stywes. Dravidian architecture fwourished during de ruwe of de Rashtrakuta, Hoysawa, Chowa, Chera, and Pandyan empires, as weww as de Vijayanagara Empire.
The first major Iswamic kingdom in India was de Dewhi Suwtanate, which wed to de devewopment of Indo-Iswamic architecture, combining Indian and Iswamic features. The ruwe of de Mughaw Empire, when Mughaw architecture evowved, is regarded as de zenif of Indo-Iswamic architecture, wif de Taj Mahaw being de high point of deir contribution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Indo-Iswamic architecture infwuenced de Rajput and Sikh stywes as weww.
During de British cowoniaw period, European stywes incwuding neocwassicaw, godic revivaw, and baroqwe became prevawent across India. The amawgamation of Indo-Iswamic and European stywes wed to a new stywe, known as de Indo-Saracenic stywe. After independence, modernist ideas spread among Indian architects as a way of progressing from de cowoniaw cuwture. Le Corbusier, who designed de city of Chandigarh infwuenced a generation of architects towards modernism in de 20f century. The economic reforms of 1991 furder bowstered de urban architecture of India as de country became more integrated wif de worwd's economy. Traditionaw Vastu Shastra remains infwuentiaw in India's architecture during de contemporary era.
Indus Vawwey Civiwization (2600 BCE – 1900 BCE)
The Indus Vawwey Civiwization covered a warge area around de Indus River basin and beyond in wate Bronze Age India. In its mature phase, from about 2600 to 1900 BCE, it produced severaw cities marked by great uniformity widin and between sites, incwuding Harappa, Lodaw, and de UNESCO Worwd Heritage Site Mohenjo-daro. The civic and town pwanning and engineering aspects of dese are remarkabwe, but de design of de buiwdings is "of a startwing utiwitarian character". There are granaries, drains, water-courses and tanks, but neider pawaces nor tempwes have been identified, dough cities have a centraw raised and fortified "citadew". Mohenjo-daro has wewws which may be de predecessors of de stepweww. As many as 700 wewws have been discovered in just one section of de city, weading schowars to bewieve dat 'cywindricaw brick wined wewws' were invented by de Indus Vawwey Civiwization, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Architecturaw decoration is extremewy minimaw, dough dere are "narrow pointed niches" inside some buiwdings. Most of de art found is in miniature forms wike seaws, and mainwy in terracotta, but dere are very few warger scuwptures of figures. In most sites fired mud-brick (not sun-baked as in Mesopotamia) is used excwusivewy as de buiwding materiaw, but a few such as Dhowavira are in stone. Most houses have two storeys, and very uniform sizes and pwans. The warge cities decwined rewativewy qwickwy, for unknown reasons, weaving a wess sophisticated viwwage cuwture behind.
600 BCE—250 CE
After de Indus Vawwey Civiwization, dere are few traces of Indian architecture, which probabwy mostwy used wood, or brick which has been recycwed, untiw around de time of de Maurya Empire, from 322 to 185 BCE. From dis period for severaw centuries onwards, much de best remains are of Indian rock-cut architecture, mostwy Buddhist, and dere are awso a number of Buddhist images dat give very usefuw information, uh-hah-hah-hah.
Buddhist construction of monastic buiwdings apparentwy begins before de deaf of Buddha, probabwy around 400 BCE. This first generation onwy survives in fwoor-pwans, notabwy at de Jivakarama vihara in Bihar.
Wawwed and moated cities wif warge gates and muwti-storied buiwdings which consistentwy used chaitya arches, no doubt in wood, for roofs and upper structures above more sowid storeys are important features of de architecture during dis period. The rewiefs of Sanchi, dated to de 1st centuries BCE-CE, show cities such as Kushinagar or Rajagriha as spwendid wawwed cities, as in de Royaw cortege weaving Rajagriha or War over de Buddha's rewics. These views of ancient Indian cities have been rewied on for de understanding of ancient Indian urban architecture.
In de case of de Mauryan capitaw Patawiputra (near Patna), we have Greek accounts, and dat of Faxian; Megasdenes (a visitor around 300 BCE) mentions 564 towers and 64 gates in de city wawws. Modern excavations have uncovered a "massive pawisade of teak beams hewd togeder wif iron dowews". A huge apadana-wike haww wif eighty sandstone cowumns shows cwear infwuence from contemporary Achaemenid Persia. The singwe massive sandstone Patawiputra capitaw shows cwear Hewwenistic features, reaching India via Persia. The famous Ashoka cowumns show great sophistication, and a variety of infwuences in deir detaiws. In bof dese cases a now-vanished Indian predecessor tradition in wood is wikewy.
Such a tradition is extremewy cwear in de case of de earwiest-known exampwes of rock-cut architecture, de state-sponsored Barabar caves in Bihar, personawwy dedicated by Ashoka circa 250 BCE. The entrance of de Lomas Rishi Cave dere has a scuwpted doorway dat cwearwy copies a wooden stywe in stone, which is a recurrent feature of rock-cut caves for some time. These artificiaw caves exhibit an amazing wevew of technicaw proficiency, de extremewy hard granite rock being cut in geometricaw fashion and given de Mauryan powish, awso found on scuwpture. Later rock-cut viharas, occupied by monastic communities, survive, mostwy in Western India, and in Bengaw de fwoor-pwans of brick-buiwt eqwivawents survive. The ewaboratewy decorated facades and "chaitya hawws" of many rock-cut sites are bewieved to refwect vanished free-standing buiwdings ewsewhere.
The Buddhist stupa, a dome shaped monument, was used in India as a commemorative monument associated wif storing sacred rewics. The stupa architecture was adopted in Soudeast and East Asia, where it became prominent as a Buddhist monument used for enshrining sacred rewics. Guard raiws—consisting of posts, crossbars, and a coping—became a feature of safety surrounding a stupa. Tempwes—buiwd on ewwipticaw, circuwar, qwadriwateraw, or apsidaw pwans—were constructed using brick and timber. The Indian gateway arches, de torana, reached East Asia wif de spread of Buddhism. Some schowars howd dat torii derives from de torana gates at de Buddhist historic site of Sanchi (3rd century BCE – 11f century CE).
Rock-cut stepwewws in India date from 200 to 400 CE. Subseqwentwy, de construction of wewws at Dhank (550–625 CE) and stepped ponds at Bhinmaw (850–950 CE) took pwace. Cave tempwes became prominent droughout western India, incorporating various uniqwe features to give rise to cave architecture in pwaces such as Ajanta and Ewwora.
A very important devewopment, de emergence of de shikara or tempwe tower, is today best evidenced by de Buddhist Mahabodhi Tempwe. This was awready severaw centuries owd when de first very verticaw structure repwaced an Ashokan originaw, apparentwy around 150–200 CE. The current brick-buiwt tower, probabwy a good deaw warger, dates to de Gupta period, in de 5f or 6f centuries.
For reasons dat are not entirewy cwear, for de most part de Gupta period represented a hiatus in Indian rock-cut architecture, wif de first wave of construction finishing before de empire was assembwed, and de second wave beginning in de wate 5f century, after it ended. This is de case, for exampwe, at de Ajanta Caves, wif an earwy group made by 220 CE at de watest, and a water one probabwy aww after about 460. Instead, de period has weft awmost de first surviving free-standing structures in India, in particuwar, de beginnings of Hindu tempwe architecture. As Miwo Beach puts it: "Under de Guptas, India was qwick to join de rest of de medievaw worwd in a passion for housing precious objects in stywized architecturaw frameworks", de "precious objects" being primariwy de icons of gods.
The most famous remaining monuments in a broadwy Gupta stywe, de caves at Ajanta, Ewephanta, and Ewwora (respectivewy Buddhist, Hindu, and mixed incwuding Jain) were in fact produced under oder dynasties in Centraw India, and in de case of Ewwora after de Gupta period, but primariwy refwect de monumentawity and bawance of Guptan stywe. Ajanta contains by far de most significant survivaws of painting from dis and de surrounding periods, showing a mature form which had probabwy had a wong devewopment, mainwy in painting pawaces. The Hindu Udayagiri Caves actuawwy record connections wif de dynasty and its ministers, and de Dashavatara Tempwe at Deogarh is a major tempwe, one of de earwiest to survive, wif important scuwpture.
Exampwes of earwy Norf Indian Hindu tempwes dat have survived after de Udayagiri Caves in Madhya Pradesh incwude dose at Tigawa (earwy 5f century), Sanchi Tempwe 17 (simiwar, but respectivewy Hindu and Buddhist), Deogarh, Parvati Tempwe, Nachna (465), Bhitargaon, de wargest Gupta brick tempwe to survive, and Lakshman Brick Tempwe, Sirpur (600–625 CE). Gop Tempwe in Gujarat (c. 550 or water) is an oddity, wif no surviving cwose comparator.
There are a number of different broad modews, which wouwd continue to be de case for more dan a century after de Gupta period, but tempwes such as Tigawa and Sanchi Tempwe 17, which are smaww but massivewy buiwt stone prostywe buiwdings wif a sanctuary and a cowumned porch, show de most common basic pwan dat continues today. Bof of dese have fwat roofs over de sanctuary, which wouwd become uncommon by about de 8f century. The Mahabodhi Tempwe, Bhitargaon, Deogarh and Gop awready aww show high superstructures of different shapes. The Chejarwa Kapoteswara tempwe demonstrates dat free-standing chaitya-haww tempwes wif barrew roofs continued to be buiwt, probabwy wif many smawwer exampwes in wood.
The Hindu Tigawa Tempwe, earwy 5f century.
The current structure of de Mahabodhi Tempwe dates to de Gupta era, 5f century CE. Marking de wocation where de Buddha is said to have attained enwightenment.
Vishnu tempwe in Eran, 5f-6f century.
The Buddhagupta piwwar at Eran (c.476–495 CE).
The basic ewements of de Hindu tempwe remain de same across aww periods and stywes. The most essentiaw feature is de inner sanctuary, de garbha griha or womb-chamber, where de primary Murti or cuwt image of a deity is housed in a simpwe bare ceww. Around dis chamber dere are often oder structures and buiwdings, in de wargest cases covering severaw acres. On de exterior, de garbhagriha is crowned by a tower-wike shikhara, awso cawwed de vimana in de souf. The shrine buiwding may incwude an ambuwatory for parikrama (circumambuwation), one or more mandapas or congregation hawws, and sometimes an antarawa antechamber and porch between garbhagriha and mandapa. There may be furder shrines or oder buiwdings, connected or detached, in warge tempwes, togeder wif oder smaww tempwes in de compound. The whowe tempwe compound is usuawwy encwosed by a waww, and de tempwe itsewf, or sometimes de whowe compound, is often raised on a pwinf (adhiṣṭhāna). Large areas of de structure are often decorated wif carving, incwuding figurative images of deities and oder rewigious figures. Beyond dese basic but cruciaw simiwarities, de visibwe stywistic forms of de tempwe vary greatwy and have a very compwicated devewopment.
By about de 7f century CE most main features of de Hindu tempwe were estabwished awong wif deoreticaw texts on tempwe architecture and buiwding medods. Awready dree stywes of tempwe were identified in dese: nagara, dravida and vesara, dough dese were not yet associated wif regions of India, and de originaw meanings may not fuwwy awign wif modern uses of de terms. In Karnataka, de group of 7f and 8f-century tempwes at Pattadakaw famouswy mixes forms water associated wif bof norf and souf, as does dat at Aihowe, which stiww incwudes apsidaw chaitya haww-type pwans.
For most modern writers, nagara refers to norf Indian stywes, most easiwy recognised by a high and curving shikhara over de sanctuary, dravida or Dravidian architecture is de broad Souf Indian stywe, where de superstructure over de sanctuary is not usuawwy extremewy high, and has a straight profiwe, rising in series of terraces to form a sort of decorated pyramid (today often dwarfed in warger tempwes by de far warger gopuram outer gateways, a much water devewopment). The ancient term vesara is awso used by some modern writers, to describe a tempwe stywe wif characteristics of bof de nordern and soudern traditions. These come from de Deccan and oder fairwy centraw parts of India. There is some disagreement among dose who use de term, as to de exact period and stywes it represents, and oder writers prefer to avoid it; tempwes some describe as vesara are mostwy assigned to de nordern tradition by dose, but are regarded as a kind of nordern dravida by oders.
There are hardwy any remains of Hindu tempwes before de Gupta dynasty in de 4f century CE; no doubt dere were earwier structures in timber-based architecture. The rock-cut Udayagiri Caves are among de most important earwy sites. The earwiest preserved Hindu tempwes are simpwe ceww-wike stone tempwes, some rock-cut and oders structuraw, as at Sanchi. By de 6f or 7f century, dese evowved into high shikhara stone superstructures. However, dere is inscriptionaw evidence such as de ancient Gangadhara inscription from about 424 CE, states Meister, dat towering tempwes existed before dis time and dese were possibwy made from more perishabwe materiaw. These tempwes have not survived.
Exampwes of earwy major Norf Indian tempwes dat have survived after de Udayagiri Caves in Madhya Pradesh incwude Deogarh, Parvati Tempwe, Nachna (465 CE), Lawitpur District (c. 525 CE), Lakshman Brick Tempwe, Sirpur (600–625 CE); Rajiv Lochan tempwe, Rajim (7f-century CE).
No pre-7f century CE Souf Indian stywe stone tempwes have survived. Exampwes of earwy major Souf Indian tempwes dat have survived, some in ruins, incwude de diverse stywes at Mahabawipuram, from de 7f and 8f centuries. However, according to Meister, de Mahabawipuram tempwes are "monowidic modews of a variety of formaw structures aww of which awready can be said to typify a devewoped "Dravida" (Souf Indian) order". They suggest a tradition and a knowwedge base existed in Souf India by de time of de earwy Chawukya and Pawwava era when dese were buiwt. Oder exampwes are found in Aihowe and Pattadakaw.
From between about de 7f and 13f centuries a warge number of tempwes and deir ruins have survived (dough far fewer dan once existed). Many regionaw stywes devewoped, very often fowwowing powiticaw divisions, as warge tempwes were typicawwy buiwt wif royaw patronage. In de norf, Muswim invasions from de 11f century onwards reduced de buiwding of tempwes, and saw de woss of many existing ones. The souf awso witnessed Hindu-Muswim confwict dat affected de tempwes, but de region was rewativewy wess affected dan de norf. In wate 14f century, de Hindu Vijayanagara Empire came to power and controwwed much of Souf India. During dis period, de distinctive very taww gopuram gatehouse actuawwy a wate devewopment, from de 12f century or water, typicawwy added to owder warge tempwes.
The Souf Indian tempwe consists essentiawwy of a sqware-chambered sanctuary topped by a superstructure, tower, or spire and an attached piwwared porch or haww (maṇḍapa or maṇṭapam), encwosed by a peristywe of cewws widin a rectanguwar court. The externaw wawws of de tempwe are segmented by piwasters and carry niches housing scuwpture. The superstructure or tower above de sanctuary is of de kūṭina type and consists of an arrangement of graduawwy receding stories in a pyramidaw shape. Each story is dewineated by a parapet of miniature shrines, sqware at de corners and rectanguwar wif barrew-vauwt roofs at de centre.
Norf Indian tempwes showed increased ewevation of de waww and ewaborate spire by de 10f century. On de shikara, de owdest form, cawwed watina, wif wide shawwow projections running up de sides, devewoped awternative forms wif many smawwer "spirewets" (urushringa). Two varieties of dese are cawwed sekhari, where de sub-spires extend verticawwy, and bhumija, where individuaw sub-spires are arrayed in rows and cowumns.
Richwy decorated tempwes—incwuding de compwex at Khajuraho—were constructed in Centraw India. Exampwes incwude de Lingaraj Tempwe at Bhubaneshwar in Odisha, Sun Tempwe at Konark in Odisha, Brihadeeswarar Tempwe at Thanjavur in Tamiw Nadu. Indian traders brought Indian architecture to Souf east Asia drough various trade routes.
Stywes cawwed vesara incwude de earwy Badami Chawukya Architecture, Western Chawukya architecture, and finawwy Hoysawa architecture. Oder regionaw stywes incwude dose of Bengaw, Kashmir and oder Himawayan areas, Karnataka, Kawinga architecture, and Māru-Gurjara architecture.
Hoysawa architecture is de distinctive buiwding stywe devewoped under de ruwe of de Hoysawa Empire in de region historicawwy known as Karnata, today's Karnataka, India, between de 11f and de 14f centuries. Large and smaww tempwes buiwt during dis era remain as exampwes of de Hoysawa architecturaw stywe, incwuding de Chennakesava Tempwe at Bewur, de Hoysaweswara tempwe at Hawebidu, and de Kesava Tempwe at Somanadapura. Oder exampwes of fine Hoysawa craftmanship are de tempwes at Bewavadi, Amridapura, and Nuggehawwi. Study of de Hoysawa architecturaw stywe has reveawed a negwigibwe Indo-Aryan infwuence whiwe de impact of Soudern Indian stywe is more distinct. A feature of Hoysawa tempwe architecture is its attention to detaiw and skiwwed craftsmanship. The tempwes of Bewur and Hawebidu are proposed UNESCO Worwd Heritage Sites. Approximatewy 100 Hoysawa tempwes survive today.
Vijayanagara architecture of de period (1336–1565 CE) was a notabwe buiwding stywe evowved by de Vijayanagar empire dat ruwed most of Souf India from deir capitaw at Vijayanagara on de banks of de Tungabhadra River in present-day Karnataka. The architecture of de tempwes buiwt during de reign of de Vijayanagara empire had ewements of powiticaw audority. This resuwted in de creation of a distinctive imperiaw stywe of architecture which featured prominentwy not onwy in tempwes but awso in administrative structures across de deccan. The Vijayanagara stywe is a combination of de Chawukya, Hoysawa, Pandya and Chowa stywes which evowved earwier in de centuries when dese empires ruwed and is characterised by a return to de simpwistic and serene art of de past.
Jain tempwe architecture is generawwy cwose to Hindu tempwe architecture, and in ancient times Buddhist rewigious architecture. Normawwy de same buiwders and carvers worked for aww rewigions, and regionaw and period stywes are generawwy simiwar. The basic wayout of a Hindu and most Jain tempwes has consisted of a smaww garbhagriha or sanctuary for de main murti or cuwt images, over which de high superstructure rises, den one or more warger mandapa hawws.
The earwiest survivaws of Jain architecture are part of de Indian rock-cut architecture tradition, initiawwy shared wif Buddhism, and by de end of de cwassicaw period wif Hinduism. Very often numbers of rock-cut Jain tempwes and monasteries share a site wif dose of de oder rewigions, as at Udayagiri, Bava Pyara, Ewwora, Aihowe, Badami, and Kawugumawai. The Ewwora Caves are a wate site, which contains tempwes of aww dree rewigions, as de earwier Buddhist ones give way to water Hindu excavations.
There is considerabwe simiwarity between de stywes of de different rewigions, but often de Jains pwaced warge figures of one or more of de 24 tirdankaras in de open air rader dan inside de shrine. These statues water began to be very warge, normawwy standing nude figures in de kayotsarga meditation position (which is simiwar to standing at attention). Exampwes incwude de Gopachaw rock cut Jain monuments and de Siddhachaw Caves, wif groups of statues, and a number of singwe figures incwuding de 12f-century Gommateshwara statue, and de modern Statue of Vasupujya and, wargest of aww at 108 feet (32.9 meters) taww, de Statue of Ahimsa.
Regionaw differences in Hindu tempwes are wargewy refwected in Jain ones, except dat Māru-Gurjara architecture or de "Sowanki stywe" has become to some extent a pan-Indian, indeed pan-gwobaw Jain stywe. This is a particuwar tempwe stywe from Gujarat and Rajasdan (bof regions wif a strong Jain presence) dat originated in bof Hindu and Jain tempwes around 1000, but became enduringwy popuwar wif Jain patrons, spreading to oder parts of India and de gwobaw Jain diaspora of de wast century. It has remained in use, in somewhat modified form, to de present day, indeed awso becoming popuwar again for some Hindu tempwes in de wast century. The stywe is seen in de groups of piwgrimage tempwes at Diwwara on Mount Abu, Taranga, Girnar and Pawitana.
The main buiwdings of de wargest Diwwara tempwes are surrounded by "cwoister" screens of devakuwikā shrines, and are fairwy pwain on de outer wawws of dese; in de case of de Vimaw Vasahi dis screen was a water addition, around de time of de second tempwe. Surrounding de main tempwe wif a curtain of shrines was to become a distinctive feature of de Jain tempwes of West India, stiww empwoyed in some modern tempwes.
Mostwy funded by private individuaws or groups, and catering to a smawwer popuwation, Jain tempwes tend to be at de smaww or middwe end of de range of sizes, but at piwgrimage sites dey may cwuster in warge groups – dere are awtogeder severaw hundred at Pawitana, tightwy packed widin severaw high-wawwed compounds cawwed "tuks" or "tonks". Tempwe charitabwe trusts, such as de very warge Anandji Kawyanji Trust, founded in de 17f century and now maintaining 1,200 tempwes, pway a very important rowe in funding tempwe buiwding and maintenance.
The earwiest exampwes of Indo-Iswamic architecture were constructed during dis period by de Dewhi Suwtanates, most famouswy de Qutb Minar compwex, which was designated a UNESCO Worwd Heritage Site in 1993. The compwex consists of Qutb Minar, a brick minaret commissioned by Qutub-ud-Din Aibak, as weww as oder monuments buiwt by successive Dewhi Suwtans. Awai Minar, a minaret twice de size of Qutb Minar was commissioned by Awauddin Khiwji but never compweted. Oder exampwes incwude de Tughwaqabad Fort and Hauz Khas Compwex.
Significant regionaw stywes devewoped in de independent suwtanates formed when de Tughwaq empire weakened in de mid-14f century, and wasted untiw most were absorbed into de Mughaw Empire in de 16f century. Apart from de suwtanates of de Deccan Pwateau, Gujarat, Bengaw, and Kashmir, de architecture of de Mawwa and Jaunpur suwtanates awso weft some significant buiwdings.
The stywe of de Bengaw Suwtanate mostwy used brick, wif characteristic features being indigenous Bengawi ewements, such as curved roofs, corner towers and compwex terracotta ornamentation, uh-hah-hah-hah. which were wif bwended . One feature in de suwtanate was de rewative absence of minarets. Many smaww and medium-sized medievaw mosqwes, wif muwtipwe domes and artistic niche mihrabs, were constructed droughout de region, uh-hah-hah-hah. The wargest mosqwe in de Indian subcontinent was de 14f century Adina Mosqwe. Buiwt of stone demowished from tempwes, it featured a monumentaw ribbed barrew vauwt over de centraw nave, de first such giant vauwt used anywhere in de subcontinent. The mosqwe was modewwed on de imperiaw Sasanian stywe of Persia. The Suwtanate stywe fwourished between de 14f and 16f centuries. A provinciaw stywe infwuenced by Norf India evowved in Mughaw Bengaw during de 17f and 18f centuries. The Mughaws awso copied de Bengawi do-chawa roof tradition for mausoweums[which?] in Norf India.
The most famous Indo-Iswamic stywe is Mughaw architecture. Its most prominent exampwes are de series of imperiaw mausowea, which started wif de pivotaw Tomb of Humayun, but is best known for de Taj Mahaw.
It is known for features incwuding monumentaw buiwdings wif warge, buwbous onion domes, surrounded by gardens on aww four sides, and dewicate ornamentation work, incwuding pachin kari decorative work and jawi-watticed screens.
The Red Fort at Agra (1565–74) and de wawwed city of Fatehpur Sikri (1569–74) are among de architecturaw achievements of dis time—as is de Taj Mahaw, buiwt as a tomb for Queen Mumtaz Mahaw by Shah Jahan (1628–58). Empwoying de doubwe dome, de recessed archway, de depiction of any animaw or human—an essentiaw part of de Indian tradition—was forbidden in pwaces of worship under Iswam. The Taj Mahaw does contain tiwework of pwant ornaments. The architecture during de Mughaw Period, wif its ruwers being of Turco-Mongow origin, has shown a notabwe bwend of Indian stywe combined wif de Iswamic. Taj Mahaw in Agra, India is one of de wonders of de worwd.
Later regionaw stywes
The Mughaw architecture and painting infwuenced indigenous Rajput stywes of art and architecture. Rajput Architecture represents different types of buiwdings, which may broadwy be cwassed eider as secuwar or rewigious. The secuwar buiwdings are of various scawes. These incwude tempwes, forts, stepwewws, gardens, and pawaces. The forts were speciawwy buiwt for defense and miwitary purposes due to de Iswamic invasions.
Rajput Architecture continued weww into de 20f and 21st centuries, as de ruwers of de princewy states of British India commissioned vast pawaces and oder buiwdings, such as de Awbert Haww Museum, Lawgarh Pawace, and Umaid Bhawan Pawace. These usuawwy incorporated European stywes as weww, a practice which eventuawwy wed to de Indo-Saracenic stywe
The architecture of Bengaw, which comprises de modern country of Bangwadesh and de Indian states of West Bengaw, Tripura, and Assam's Barak Vawwey, has a wong and rich history, bwending indigenous ewements from de Indian subcontinent, wif infwuences from different parts of de worwd. Bengawi architecture incwudes ancient urban architecture, rewigious architecture, ruraw vernacuwar architecture, cowoniaw townhouses and country houses, and modern urban stywes.
The bungawow stywe is a notabwe architecturaw export of Bengaw. The corner towers of Bengawi rewigious buiwdings were repwicated in medievaw Soudeast Asia. Bengawi curved roofs, suitabwe for de very heavy rains, were adopted into a distinct wocaw stywe of Indo-Iswamic architecture, and used decorativewy ewsewhere in norf India in Mughaw architecture.
Bengaw is not rich in good stone for buiwding, and traditionaw Bengawi architecture mostwy uses brick and wood, often refwecting de stywes of de wood, bamboo and datch stywes of wocaw vernacuwar architecture for houses. Decorative carved or mouwded pwaqwes of terracotta (de same materiaw as de brick) are a speciaw feature. The brick is extremewy durabwe and disused ancient buiwdings were often used as a convenient source of materiaws by wocaw peopwe, often being stripped to deir foundations over de centuries.
Dakshineswar Kawi Tempwe, Kowkata. It features de Navratna stywe of roof.
European cowoniaw architecture
As wif de Mughaws, under European cowoniaw ruwe, architecture became an embwem of power, designed to endorse de occupying power. Numerous European countries invaded India and created architecturaw stywes refwective of deir ancestraw and adopted homes. The European cowonizers created architecture dat symbowized deir mission of conqwest, dedicated to de state or rewigion, uh-hah-hah-hah.
British Cowoniaw Era: 1757–1947
Britain's wegacy in India remains among oders in buiwding and infrastructure. The major cities during de period of British ruwe were Madras, Cawcutta, Bombay, Dewhi, Agra, Bankipore, Karachi, Nagpur, Bhopaw and Hyderabad, which saw de rise of Indo-Saracenic Revivaw architecture.
Bwack Town described in 1855 as "de minor streets, occupied by de natives are numerous, irreguwar and of various dimensions. Many of dem are extremewy narrow and iww-ventiwated ... a hawwow sqware, de rooms opening into a courtyard in de centre." Garden houses were originawwy used as weekend houses for recreationaw use by de upper cwass British. Nonedewess, de garden house became ideaw a fuww-time dwewwing, deserting de fort in de 19f Century.
Mumbai, (den known as Bombay) has some of de most prominent exampwes of British cowoniaw architecture. This incwuded de godic revivaw (Victoria terminus, University of Mumbai, Rajabai Cwock Tower, High Court, BMC Buiwding), Indo-Saracenic (Prince of Wawes Museum, Gateway of India, Taj Mahaw Pawace Hotew) and Art Deco (Eros Cinema, New India Assurance Buiwding).
Cawcutta – Madras and Cawcutta were simiwarwy bordered by water and division of Indian in de norf and British in de souf. An Engwishwoman noted in 1750 "de banks of de river are as one may say absowutewy studded wif ewegant mansions cawwed here as at Madras, garden houses." Espwanade-row is fronts de fort wif wined pawaces. Indian viwwages in dese areas consisted of cway and straw houses which water transformed into de metropowis of brick and stone.
The Victoria Memoriaw in Cawcutta is de most effective symbowism of British Empire, buiwt as a monument in tribute to Queen Victoria's reign, uh-hah-hah-hah. The pwan of de buiwding consists of one warge centraw part covered wif a warger dome. Cowonnades separate de two chambers. Each corner howds a smawwer dome and is fwoored wif marbwe pwinf. The memoriaw stands on 26 hectares of garden surrounded by refwective poows.
Exampwes of Neocwassicaw architecture in India incwude British Residency (1798) and Fawaknuma Pawace (1893) in Hyderabad, St Andrews Church in Madras (1821), Raj Bhawan (1803) and Metcawfe Haww (1844) in Kowkata, and Bangawore Town Haww (1935) in Bangawore.
The Art Deco movement of de earwy 20f century qwickwy spread to warge parts of de worwd. The Indian Institute of Architects, founded in Bombay in 1929, pwayed a prominent rowe in propagating de movement. The New India Assurance Buiwding, Eros Cinema and buiwdings awong de Marine Drive in Mumbai are prime exampwes.
Oder Cowoniaw powers
The Portuguese had cowonized parts of India, incwuding Goa and Mumbai. The Madh Fort, St. John de Baptist Church, and Castewwa de Aguada in Mumbai are remnants of Portuguese Cowoniaw ruwe. The Churches and convents of Goa, an ensembwe of seven churches buiwt by de Portuguese in Goa are a UNESCO Worwd Heritage Site.
Repubwic of India (1947 onwards)
In recent times dere has been a movement of popuwation from ruraw areas to urban centres of industry, weading to price rise in property in various cities of India. Urban housing in India bawances space constrictions and is aimed to serve de working cwass. Growing awareness of ecowogy has infwuenced architecture in India during modern times.
Cwimate responsive architecture has wong been a feature of India's architecture but has been wosing its significance as of wate. Indian architecture refwects its various socio-cuwturaw sensibiwities which vary from region to region, uh-hah-hah-hah. Certain areas are traditionawwy hewd to be bewonging to women, uh-hah-hah-hah. Viwwages in India have features such as courtyards, woggias, terraces and bawconies. Cawico, chintz, and pawampore—of Indian origin—highwight de assimiwation of Indian textiwes in gwobaw interior design, uh-hah-hah-hah. Roshandans, which are skywights-cum-ventiwators, are a common feature in Indian homes, especiawwy in Norf India.
At de time of independence in 1947, India had onwy about 300 trained architects in a popuwation of what was den 330 miwwion, and onwy one training institution, de Indian Institute of Architects. Thus de first generation of Indian architects were educated abroad.
Some earwy architects were traditionawists, such as Ganesh Deowawikar, whose design for de Supreme Court imitated de Lutyens-Baker buiwdings down to de wast detaiw, and B.R. Manickam, who designed de Vidhana Soudha in Bangawore reminiscent of Indo-Saracenic architecture.
In 1950, French architect Le Corbusier, a pioneer of modernist architecture, was commissioned by Jawaharwaw Nehru to design de city of Chandigarh. His pwan cawwed for residentiaw, commerciaw and industriaw areas, awong wif parks and transportation infrastructure. In de middwe was de capitow, a compwex of dree government buiwdings – de Pawace of Assembwy, de High Court, and de Secretariat. He awso designed de Sanskar Kendra at Ahmedabad. Corbusier inspired de next generation of architects in India to work wif modern, rader dan revivawist stywes.
Oder prominent exampwes of modernist architecture in India incwude IIM Ahmedabad by Louis Kahn (1961), IIT Dewhi by Jugaw Kishore Chodhury (1961), IIT Kanpur by Achyut Kanvinde (1963), IIM Bangawore by B. V. Doshi (1973), Lotus Tempwe by Fariborz Sahba (1986), and Jawahar Kawa Kendra (1992) and Vidhan Bhawan Bhopaw (1996) by Charwes Correa.
Skyscrapers buiwt in de internationaw stywe are becoming increasingwy common in cities. This incwudes The 42 (2019) and The Imperiaw (2010) by Hafeez Contractor. Oder projects of de 21st century incwude IIT Hyderabad by Christopher Benninger (2015).
Gowden Pagoda in Namsai, compweted in 2010.
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- Rowwand, 31–34, 32 qwoted; Harwe, 15–18
- Livingstone & Beach, 19
- Rowwand, 31–34, 33 qwoted; Harwe, 15–18
- Though a variety of dates are proposed, some 80 of so years earwier.
- Rowwand, 60
- Rowwand, 60–63 60 qwoted)
- Rowwand, 63–65
- Rowwand, 72; Harwe 22–24
- Rowwand, 65–72; Harwe 24
- Harwe, 24; Rowwand, 64–65
- Buddhist Architecture, Le Huu Phuoc, Grafikow 2009, pp. 97–99
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- Ajanta chronowogy is stiww under discussion, but dis is de view of Spink, accepted by many.
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- These are de usuaw terms, but dere are many variants or different ones in de many Indian wanguages, ancient and modern, uh-hah-hah-hah.
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