Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Srirangapatna Fort in Danger of Extinction!!!!!
Srirangapattnam once the capital of Mysore Kingdom under Hyder Ali and Tippoo Sultaun needs attention from the ASI as the walls of this great impregnable fort are falling down. It is believed that Tippoo had a fantastic collection of books in his library which was burt down by the British Sepoys. But some of the remaining books were shifted to London- the treasure can be accessed in IOL London. Hyder Ali is usually noted in history as a"usurper" of Mysore Kingdom- the fact is otherwise. Historians of the day; particularly the British wrote all wrong things about him and Tippoo who was a terror even in the streets of London. 
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
The main feature of the mosque is its distinctive window opening with jalis or tracery known as khirki or latticed windows. Placed on the upper level of the mosque's exterior wall, these jalis were preponderantly carved stone shields. The Khirki mosque as well as the nearby village got its name from this unparalleled feature. The Khirki mosque was built by Khan-I-Jahan, the prime minister of Feroz Shah Tughlaq in the late 14th century and is said to one of the seven mosques built by him. Built on an elevated plinth with detritus stone, which were thickly plastered, the Khirki mosque is double storeyed and has a series of basement cells in the lower storey. All the four corners of the structure are occupied by imposing bastions making the mosque look like a fort. There are dwindling minarets on all the three gateways, except on the west, with the eastern gate being the main entrance. However, at present the southern gate is open for the visitors and the devotees.The courtyard has pillars and is divided into 25 squares with five on each side. Each square is further divided into nine smaller squares. A cluster of nine small low domes made in the Tughlaq pattern covers the following larger squares - the center square of the courtyard with two on the corners, three on each side and one in the middle. The four diagonal squares are left uncovered, through which sunlight found its way to the inner sanctum of the mosque. The remaining squares are covered with flat roofs, thus making the mosque partly covered and partly uncovered. It is said that since Khan-I-Jahan used the mosque for his private worship, it was designed like this to beat the intense heat of the region.
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MoMA- Gol Gumbaz Bijapur India
The tomb, located in the city of Bijapur, in Karnataka, Southern India, was built in 1659 by the famous architect, Yaqut of Dabul. The structure consists of a massive square chamber measuring nearly 50 m (160 ft) on each side and covered by a huge dome 43.3 m (142 ft) in diameter making it among one of the largest dome structures in world. The dome is supported on giant squinches supported by groined pendentives while outside the building is supported by domed octagonal corner towers. The Dome is the second largest one in the world which is unsupported by any pillars. The acoustics of the enclosed place make it a whispering gallery where even the smallest sound is heard across the other side of the Gumbaz. At the periphery of the dome is a circular balcony where visitors can witness the astounding whispering gallery. Any whisper, clap or sound gets echoed around 7 times. Anything whispered from one corner of the gallery can be heard clearly on the diagonally opposite side. It is also said that the Sultan, Ibrahim Adil Shah and his Queen used to converse in the same manner. During his time, the musicians used to sing, seated in the whispering gallery so that the sound produced .could reach every corner of the hall.
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