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Jali
A ''jali'' or ''jaali'' (''jālī'', meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy, geometry or natural patterns. This form of architectural decoration is common in Indo-Islamic architecture and more generally in Indian architecture. It is closely related to ''mashrabiya'' in Islamic architecture. According to Yatin Pandya, the ''jali'' allows light and air in while minimizing the sun and the rain, as well as providing cooling through passive ventilation. The holes are nearly the same width or smaller than the thickness of the stone, thus providing structural strength. It has been observed that humid areas like Kerala and Konkan have larger holes with overall lower opacity than compared with the dry climate regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. With the widespread use of glass in the late 19th century, and compactness of the residential areas in modern India, ''jalis'' becam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal; it also houses the tomb of Shah Jahan himself. The tomb is the centrepiece of a complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in formal gardens bounded on three sides by a crenellated wall. Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around 32 million, which in 2015 would be approximately 52.8 billion (827 million). The building complex incorporates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified by adherence to the concept of ''dharma'', a Ṛta, cosmic order maintained by its followers through rituals and righteous living, as expounded in the Vedas. The word ''Hindu'' is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described by the modern term ''Sanātana Dharma'' () emphasizing its eternal nature. ''Vaidika Dharma'' () and ''Arya dharma'' are historical endonyms for Hinduism. Hinduism entails diverse systems of thought, marked by a range of shared Glossary of Hinduism terms, concepts that discuss God in Hinduism, theology, Hindu mythology, mythology, among other topics in Hindu texts, textual sources. Hindu texts have been classified into Śruti () and Smṛti (). The major Hin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Architecture
Indian architecture is rooted in the History of India, history, Culture of India, culture, and Indian religions, religion of India. Among several architectural styles and traditions, the best-known include the many varieties of Hindu temple architecture and Indo-Islamic architecture, especially Rajput architecture, Mughal architecture, Dravidian architecture, South Indian architecture, and Indo-Saracenic architecture. Early Indian architecture was made from wood, which did not survive due to rotting and instability in the structures. Instead, the earliest surviving examples of Indian architecture are Indian rock-cut architecture, including many Buddhist temple, Buddhist, Hindu temple, Hindu, and Jain temple, Jain temples. The Hindu temple architecture is divided into the Dravidian architecture, Dravidian style of South India, southern India and the Nagara architecture, Nagara style of North India, northern India, with other regional styles. Housing styles also vary between reg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islamic Geometric Patterns
Islamic geometric patterns are one of the major forms of Islamic ornament, which tends to avoid using figurative art, figurative images, as it is forbidden to create a representation of an important Islamic figure according to many Quran, holy scriptures. The geometry, geometric designs in Islamic art are often built on combinations of repeated squares and circles, which may be overlapped and Islamic interlace patterns, interlaced, as can arabesques (with which they are often combined), to form intricate and complex patterns, including a wide variety of tessellations. These may constitute the entire decoration, may form a framework for floral or Islamic calligraphy, calligraphic embellishments, or may retreat into the background around other motifs. The complexity and variety of patterns used evolved from simple stars and lozenges in the ninth century, through a variety of 6- to 13-point patterns by the 13th century, and finally to include also 14- and 16-point stars in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century Before the Common Era, BCE. It is the Major religious groups, world's fourth-largest religion, with about 500 million followers, known as Buddhists, who comprise four percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played a major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to Western world, the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of bhavana, development which leads to Enlightenment in Buddhism, awakening and moksha, full liberation from ''Duḥkha, dukkha'' (). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Latticework
__NOTOC__ Latticework is an openwork framework consisting of a criss-crossed pattern of strips of building material, typically wood or metal. The design is created by crossing the strips to form a grid or weave. Latticework may be functional – for example, to allow airflow to or through an area; structural, as a truss in a lattice girder; used to add privacy, as through a lattice screen; purely ornament (art), decorative; or some combination of these. Latticework in stone or wood from the Classical antiquity, classical period is also called Roman lattice or ''transenna'' (plural ''transenne''). In India, the house of a rich or noble person may be built with a ''baramdah'' or verandah surrounding every level leading to the living area. The upper floors often have balconies overlooking the street that are shielded by latticed screens carved in stone called jalis which keep the area cool and give privacy. Examples File:Amber Fort Screen (6652771501).jpg, Lattice screen at A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indo-Islamic Architecture
Indo-Islamic architecture is the architecture of the Indian subcontinent produced by and for Islamic patrons and purposes. Despite an initial Arab presence in Sindh, the development of Indo-Islamic architecture began in earnest with the establishment of Delhi as the capital of the Ghurid dynasty in 1193. Succeeding the Ghurids was the Delhi Sultanate, a series of Central Asian dynasties that consolidated much of North, East, and Central India, and later by the Mughal Empire during the early 16th century. Both of these dynasties introduced Islamic architecture and art styles from West Asia into the Indian subcontinent. The types and forms of large buildings required by Muslim elites, with mosques and tombs much the most common, were very different from those previously built in India. The exteriors of both were very often topped by large domes, and made extensive use of arches. Both of these features were hardly used in Hindu temple architecture and other indigenous Indian sty ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mashrabiya
A ''mashrabiya'' or ''mashrabiyya'' () is an architectural element which is characteristic of traditional Islamic architecture, architecture in the Islamic world and beyond. It is a type of projecting oriel window enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the upper floors of a building, sometimes enhanced with stained glass. It was traditionally used to windcatcher, catch wind and for passive cooling. Jars and basins of water could be placed in it to cause evaporative cooling. It is most commonly used on the street side of the building; however, it may also be used internally on the ''sahn'' (courtyard) side. The term ''mashrabiya'' is sometimes used of similar lattices elsewhere, for instance in a ''takhtabush''. It is similar to Indian ''jali''. It has been used since the Middle Ages, reached a peak during the Ottoman period, but fell into decline in the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. However, interest in sustainable architecture has contribute ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mughals
The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of present-day Assam and Bangladesh in the east, and the uplands of the Deccan Plateau in South India.. Quote: "The realm so defined and governed was a vast territory of some , ranging from the frontier with Central Asia in northern Afghanistan to the northern uplands of the Deccan plateau, and from the Indus basin on the west to the Assamese highlands in the east." The Mughal Empire is conventionally said to have been founded in 1526 by Babur, a chieftain from what is today Uzbekistan, who employed aid from the neighboring Safavid and Ottoman Empires Quote: "Babur then adroitly gave the Ottomans his promise not to attack them in return for their military aid, which he received in the form of the newest of battlefield inventions, the matchloc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qutub Minar
The Qutb Minar, also spelled Qutub Minar and Qutab Minar, is a minaret and victory tower comprising the Qutb complex, which lies at the site of Delhi's oldest fortified city, Lal Kot, founded by the Tomar Rajputs. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mehrauli area of South Delhi, India. It was mostly built between 1199 and 1220, contains 399 steps, and is one of the most-frequented heritage spots in the city. After defeating Prithviraj Chauhan, the last Hindu ruler of Delhi before the Ghurid conquest of the region, Qutab-ud-din Aibak initiated the construction of the victory tower, but only managed to finish the first level. It was to mark the beginning of Islamic rule in the region. Successive dynasties of the Delhi Sultanate continued the construction, and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughlaq rebuilt the top parts and added a cupola. It can be compared to the 62-metre all-brick Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan, of , which was constructed a decade or so before the probable start of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
