Rajasthan

"Curiously, an astonishing number of names of towns and villages in western Rajasthan (the heart of the Thar Desert) have names ending in the word ‘sar’, such as Lunkaransar, with ‘sar’ meaning ‘lake’... Why should all those places be named after non-existent lakes? An unwary tourist reading a map of western Rajasthan might as well assume that the region is some kind of a Lake District!"

"The pagod moulders on Mokundra's plain, And 'mid its ivied towers the winds complain."

"If we compare the antiquity and illustrious descent of the dynasties which have ruled, and some which continue to rule, the small sovereignties of Rajasthan, with many of celebrity in Europe, superiority will often attach to the Rajput."

"In one case, that of the early thirteenth-century Cauras (or Causat) Kambha Masjid at Kaman, Rajasthan, one of the earliest Indian monuments of the Ghurids, dating from before the establishment of the Slave Kingdom by Aybak in 1206, we find elements in use which were taken not from recent Hindu structures, but rather from monuments which were built four or five centuries earlier. This appears to have been done with calculated consistency; and, possibly, the practice may have been much more widespread. Building materials for the Kaman mosque were removed from pavilions (mandapzkas) and monasteries (mathas) and a variety of other structures, including temples, which were built during the rule of the Shurasena dynasty in the seventh and eighth centuries and the Pratiharas in the ninth century. The resulting mosque still substantially expresses a Hindu sensibility, and, built by Hindu craftsmen (at least in part) under Muslim patronage, integrates Hindu architectural design with Islamic ornament and use."

"The Causat Kambh or Cauri Kambh mosque at Kaman, near Bharatpur, Rajasthan, is among the earliest of the Islamic monuments built in India under Ghurid occupation... The Caur Kambh mosque at Kaman, in fact, comes closest of all the surviving Islamic monuments that precede the establishment of ... Aibak’s dynasty in India preserving what R. Nath has called ‘the humble mosque which Aibak could have hastily assembled. [...]’ It does not, however, represent simple plunder, nor have its Hindu elements been thoughtlessly reassembled. It preserves for us a clear model of the elements thought essential for a mosque at the opening edge of Islamic occupation in India and gives some suggestion of the aesthetic judgement exercised by the artisans and engineers then employed... My own interest in Kaman stemmed from the extensive Hindu materials from which this mosque has been constructed.16 Building materials for the mosque were removed from a variety of structures— pavilions and monasteries (ma...has) in addition to temples—built during the rule of the early rasena dynasty. The Caur Kambh’s foundation inscription in 1204 AD as well as a later inscription of 1271 AD, in fact, repeat a claim begun in earlier Hindu inscriptions to have made or further renovated a well at Kaman. In contrast to most other early Islamic monuments in India from regions where plunder could serve both as a convenient source for building materials and as a political act, those who assembled this mosque seized elements, not from recently built Hindu structures, but rather—with what would seem to have been calculated consistency—from monuments built four or five centuries earlier. While this act may merely have represented the antiquity and sanctity of Kaman’s resources, the results produced had explicit, exploitable, aesthetic consequences... Constructed early in the thirteenth century by Hindu craftsmen under Muslim patronage, the Kaman mosque shows a coherent integration of Hindu craftsmanship and ordering with an imported Islamic modality for use. Few other monuments in this early period show so successful an adaptation of Hindu elements as at Kaman... Though the mihr¡b made for the Shah¥ Jami‘ mosque at Bari Khatu (Khatu Kalan) in Nagaur District, Rajasthan, for example—a mosque also of the early thirteenth century and made largely from plundered Hindu material—shares decorative patterns with that at Kaman, that monument, as a whole, lacks much of Kaman’s architectural and decorative integrity. Actual adaptation of an existing structure at Sari Khatu, much more so than at Kaman, seems to have been a political act, plunder becoming a means to demonstrate Islamic control... At Kaman or Ajmer, architects combined old pieces with a sense of their aesthetic coherence; by integrating them to fit a new programme, they have been able to create a new unified statement for Islam in India."

"In Rajasthan, Jainism had become a great cultural force from the eighth century onwards, and even more in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries, under the patronage of Rajput rulers who themselves adhered to Shaivism and Vaishnavism.77 Rajasthan, and especially Chitorgarh, abounds in Jain antiquities from the latter period. But, in the long run, Jainism could not escape Islamic iconoclasm in this region. The Muslims razed many of the Jain temples to the ground, destroyed Jain libraries, and allegedly killed unknown numbers of followers. Later Jain temples of the area are copies of the earlier ones of Abu and Sanganer, but of inferior quality, and showing influence of Muslim architecture. Jainism, nonetheless, remained quite significant in Rajasthan; and almost every state in this area, and every principality or jagir in the early modern period was served by more than one Jain minister or manager. And most of the castes and gotras among the Jains in North India claim to have their origin in Rajasthan."

"The city palace is a complex of courtyards, gardens and buildings right in the center of the old city, enlarged and adopted over centuries, has palace building from different eras, some dating from the 20th century. Despite the gradual development, the whole is a striking blend of Rajasthani and Mughal architecture."

"The ascents throughout the palace are not by stairs, but by inclined planes of very easy slope, and certainly less fatiguing than the European style. The passages are all narrow and mean, and the object in the whole building seems more to surprise by the number, the intricacy, and detail of the rooms and courts, than by any apartments of large size and magnificent proportions. A great part of the windows are glazed with small panes of stained or plain glass in latticed frames of white marble. The stained glass was said to be from Venice. These upper rooms, which are in fact a part of the Zennanah, have their floors chiefly covered with stuffed white cotton quilts, over which, in certain places, sitringees are placed, and, in the more costly rooms, small Persian carpets. There are very strong wooden doors in different parts of the building whose hinges and locks are as rude as those of a prison, but the suites of apartments themselves are only divided by large striped curtains hung over the arched doorways. The ceilings are generally low, and the rooms dark and close; both the walls and ceilings are, however, splendidly carved and painted, and some of the former are entirely composed of small looking-glasses in fantastic frames of chunam mixed with talc, which have the appearance of silver till closely examined. The subjects of the paintings are almost entirely mythological, and their style of colouring, their attitudes, and the general gloomy silence and intricacy of the place reminded me frequently to Belzoni’s model of the Egyptian tomb."

"we reached the town, which almost entirely consisted of temples, and had few inhabitants but grim and ghastly Yogis, with their hair in elf-knots and their faces covered with chalk, sitting naked and hideous, like so many ghouls, amid the tombs and ruined houses. A narrow winding street led us though these abodes of superstition, under a dark shade of peepul trees, till we found ourselves on another steep ascent paved with granite and leading to the palace. We wound along the face of the hill, through, I think, three gothic gateways, alighted in a large moss-grown quadrangle surrounded by what seemed to be barracks and stables, and followed our guides up a broad and long flight of steps through another richly-ornamented gateway, into the interior courts of the building, which contain one very noble hall of audience, a pretty little garden with fountains, and a long succession of passages, cloisters, alcoves and small and intricate apartments, many of them extremely beautiful, and enjoying from their windows, balconies, and terraces, one of the most striking prospects which can be conceived. The carving in stone and marble, and the inlaid flowers and ornaments in some of these apartments, are equal to those at Delhi and Agra, and only surpassed by the beauties of the Tage-mahal. My companions, none of whom had visited Umeer before, all declared that, as a whole, it was superior to the castle of Delhi. For myself, I have seen may royal palaces containing larger and more stately rooms, – many, the architecture of which in a purer taste, and some which have covered a greater extent of ground, (though in this, if the fortress on the hill be included, Umeer will rank, I think, above Windsor,) but for varied and picturesque effect, for richness of carving, for wild beauty of situation, for the number and romantic singularity of the apartments, and the strangeness of finding such a building in such a place and country, I am able to compare nothing with Umeer; and this, too, was the work of Jye Singh! The ornaments are in the same style, though in a better state, than those of his palace at Jyepoor, and the size and number of the apartments are also similar. A greater use has been made of stained glass here, or else, from the inaccessible height of the window, the glass has remained in better preservation. The building is in good repair, but has a solitary and deserted aspect; and as our guide, with his bunch of keys, unlocked one iron clenched door after another, and led us over terraces and up towers, down steep, dark, sloping passages, and through a long succession of silent courts, and dim vaulted chambers, seen only through coloured glass, and made more gorgeously gloomy by their carving, gilding, and mirrors, the idea of an enchanted castle occurred, I believe, to us all; and I could not help thinking what magnificent use Ariosto or Sir Walter Scott would have made of such a building. After all we saw only part of it."

"The Hindu architects produced buildings incomparably more rich and interesting as works of art. I have not visited Southern India, where, it is said, the finest specimen of Hindu architecture are to be found. But I have seen enough of the art in Rajputana to convince me of its enormous superiority to any work of the Mohammedans. The temples at Chitor, for example, are specimens of true classicism."

"The fort of Chitor is larger than that of Jodhpur and therefore less spectacular. The Jodhpur fort is perched on the summit of what is almost a crag. The hill on which Chitor is built is probably as high, but it seems much lower, owing to its great length; it is a ridge, not a pinnacle of rock. And the buildings, which, at Jodhpur, are crowded into a single imposing pile, are scattered at wide intervals over the space enclosed within the circuit of the walls of Chitor. Jodhpur is wildly picturesque, like something out of a Dore picture-book. Examined at close quarters, however, it is not particularly interesting. From a distance, Chitor is less imposing; but climb up to it, and you will find it full of magnificent buildings — temples among the finest in Upper India, great ruined palaces, towers fantastically carved from base to summit. None of these buildings is much more than five hundred years old ; but time has dealt hardly with them. The soft stone of which they are built has crumbled away under the rain and sun and wind. The sharp edges have become blunt, the innumerable sculptures are blurred and defaced. The splendours of Hindu art are only dimly seen, as though through an intervening mist, or with myopic and unspectacled eyes."

"...it is one of the most famous cities of India... highly popular among both domestic and foreign tourists who are attracted to its living craft traditions, its palaces and regularly planned walled city at its core."

"Founded in the early eighteenth century, it is pre-colonial in inception – designed sufficiently recently to ensure the ready availability of ample source material, yet in accordance with indigenous principles."

"An official court history of Jaipur, composed during the reign of Sawai Ram Singh II one hundred years after the foundation of the city, eulogizes its distinctive aspects, speaking of the king’s palace with its golden pinnacles and battlements, the beautiful cross roads and bazars, the numerous balconies and stone screens, and the traders and shopkeepers who sit like Kubera (the round God of wealth) in front of their stalls."

"During the British colonial period, Jaipur is again especially interesting because it remained the capital of semi-autonomous Indian state that lay outside the domain of British India....In the years since Independence, Jaipur, now the capital of Rajasthan, has experienced rapid and dramatic expansion and contributions to this process has been made by some of India’s leading architects…"

"The nucleus of Jaipur was the palace and garden of Jai Niwas, the foundations for which were laid in 1725. The building of the city and its surrounding walls and gates was started with due propitiatory rites (sankalpa) on 18 November 1727"

"The Chandra Mahal or principal palace is a massive building from which a magnificent view is obtained of the surrounding hills, fort and extensive gardens. The ground and other floors of the palace comprise apartments richly decorated with floral designs, embellished with quaint and beautiful buildings, adorned with mirrors, and sumptuously furnished and fitted in the most elegant style. P.210"

"The fortifications of the city ...are so like those of the Kremlin that I could almost have fancied myself at Moscow."

"The main streets are the principal bazars; on each side, under the arcades of the palaces, temples, and houses, are the shops of the artisans, who are seen working almost in the open air at their trades, the tailors, shoemakers, goldsmiths, armourers, pastry-cooks, confectioners, copper-smiths, etc. The grain merchants occupy very spacious huts of thatch, constructed in as sort of coarse lattice work…t in the midst of the main streets. The stalls are removed whenever, the Rajah issued from his palace. Delhi has only one similar road, namely the Chandni Chowk: but at Jaipur all the roads s resemble it and bear that name."

"The ordinary houses have been built with the stone of the hillocks around. The houses of a higher rank, built of the same materials, are plastered with a lime cement of brilliant whiteness. The cement is sometime polished like stucco…Most of the temples and palaces have facings of white marble. There is no hut, no ruined building, no rubbish heap. The city has the look of what it really is, n entirely new town, which has not been subjected to the horrors of the war. In general, the architecture of Jaipur is of a very elegant style."

"...a vision of daring and dainty loveliness, of story of rosy masonry and delicate overhanging balconies and latticed windows, soaring with tier after tier of fanciful architecture in a pyramidal form, a very mountain of airy and audacious beauty, through the thousdnad pierced screens and gilded arches of which the Indian air blows cool over the flt roofs of the very highest house. Alladin’s magician could have called into existence no more marvelous abode."

"The most noticeable of the buildings here are the Diwan-i-Khas, Diwan-i-Aam, the Astronomical Observatory and the temples of Brajanandji and Anand Krishnaji."

"Jai Singh is claimed to have devised the Samrat Yantra, the Jaiprakash, and the Ram Yantra. These three instruments are indeed peculiar to his Observatorries, and must be to some extent attributed to his personal ingenuity."

"His royal highness, the Prince of Wales, laid the foundation stone of Albert Hall in Jaipur (6 February, 1876)… a modern palace was built outside the city, amidst extensive grounds and shady trees, and named Rambagh Palace, as an improved residence for Royalty."

"Just as later Mughal painting is a harmonious blend of Persian and Indian artistic tradition, so the Indo-Muslim architecture of Delhi and Ajmer is a blend. In the Quwwat al-Islam at Delhi and the Arhai din-ka-Jhopra at Ajmer, existing remains bear unmistakable evidence that they were not merely compilations, but the distinctive, planned works of professional architects…"

"Although constructed of destroyed Hindu temples, the Mosques at Old Delhi and Ajmer once and for all set the fashion to be followed by later mosques in Muslim India…"

"…To Iletmish we owe some of the finest Muslim works in India. The Arhai din ka-Jhopra began by Qutab al-Din in AD 1198-99, was also completed by him. Tod had said of it that it was ‘one of the most perfect as well as the most ancient monuments of Hindu architecture’, on the evidence of certain four-armed figures to be seen on the pillars… “The Ajmer Mosque resembles the Delhi Mosque in its use of pre-Muslim materials as well as in its courtyard plan, arched screen, columnar liwan and riwags and use of reconstructed Hindu corbelled domes. All these features, except the fragments of Hindu and Jain carvings used in the work are essentially Islamic. The Ajmer Mosque indicates a further improvement in Mosque design… As Sardar puts it, ‘These pillars have a greater height than those at the Kutub, and are more elegant in their sculpture and general appearance than the converted Mosques in Malwa and Ahmedabad.’"

"That the practice of utilizing the spoils of Hindu temples continued throughout the reign of Sultan Iletmish is proved by the Mosque of Ukha in Bayana (Uttar Pradesh), which is also on the site of a Hindu temple…"

"When the Jasalmir territory comes to be regularly surveyed, I apprehend that some interesting and valuable discoveries will be made, which will tend to throw some light upon the ancient state of these parts, once fertilized by the waters of the Hakra or Wahindah and its tributaries; for, from the traditions and histories of the past, there can be no possible doubt, that these parts were once flourishing and populous, and contained several important towns and cities, the names of which have now been lost."

"It is strange but true that the type and style of bangles that women wear in Rajasthan today, or the vermilion that they apply on the parting of the hair on the head, the practice of Yoga, the binary system of weights and measures, the basic architecture of the houses etc. can all be traced back to the Indus Civilisation. The cultural and religious traditions of the Harappans provide the substratum for the latter-day Indian Civilisation."