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Title:
Volume 58 - Issue 1
Date:
2006
Table of contents:
- p. 8-10: Pal, Pratapaditya, From the General Editor’s Desk | Pratapaditya Pal notes the progress and prosperity, the neglect and political uncertainty on a recent visit to Kashmir.
- p. 10-23 [Also in The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates, edited by Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel, ISBN: 81-85026-75-0, pp. 42-55]: Lambah, Abha N, The Sharqis of Jaunpur: Inheritors of the Tughluq Legacy | It was Timur’s plunder in the 14th century that sent artisans fleeing from Delhi to this Sharqi capital. They sought refuge in Jaunpur and this led to a new interpretation of Tughluq elements. The buildings of Jaunpur, near Varanasi, represent the culmination of imperial Tughluq architecture. The monumental mosques and gateways here embody the military aesthetic, devoid of ornamentation. Although heavily reliant on their Tughluq predecessors, the Jaunpur Sharqis’ ambitious constructions surpassed them in concept, scale, and sophistication. Influences from Bengal were also adopted. In post-Sharqi times, Jaunpur’s architectural development continued, even borrowing from reigning styles and in turn influencing Lodi and Suri architecture. The local community and the ASI are involved in conservation here.
- p. 24-35 [Also in The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates, edited by Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel, ISBN: 81-85026-75-0, pp. 56-67]: Asher, Catherine B., Building a Legacy: Sher Shah Sur’s Architecture and the Politics of Propaganda | This essay on the mid-16th century architectural patronage of Sher Shah Sur who forced emperor Humayun into exile for over a decade, challenges the image of an unfissured Mughal juggernaut. He is known for his prolific buildings and public works across his domain from Punjab to Bengal, including the building of the Grand Trunk Highway. He provided for his subjects’ welfare and built mosques in his desire to serve Islam. His building programme was part of a carefully organized propaganda campaign designed to tout him as an ideal Muslim sultan. Three monumental tombs that he built for himself and his forbears did not fit into this campaign of propaganda so why were resources squandered on them? It is suggested that it was to elevate his status considering his humble origins, implying his suitability for kingship.
- p. 36-47 [Also in The Architecture of the Indian Sultanates, edited by Abha Narain Lambah and Alka Patel, ISBN: 81-85026-75-0, pp. 68-79]: Patel, Alka, From Province to Sultanate: The Architecture of Gujarat during the 12th through 16th Centuries | Architecture here retained a strongly independent trajectory based on a rich local tradition; with local craftspeople building for immigrant Muslim communities. Reused materials were incorporated in the larger buildings. Many were commissioned by merchants and there was a balance of power between the state and the merchants. There was an explosion in architectural scale in the 14th century. The writer analyses reused fragments of architecture in religious and non-religious buildings. These were not just Islamic propaganda. With the establishment of the Ahmad Shahis, Gujarat witnessed a protracted period of architectural magnificence. The clear and traceable continuity from Gujarat’s temple architecture to mosques, stepwells, and gateways of the Sultanate indicates the continuation of building practices rooted in the region, even though patronage changed from merchants to kings in the provinces of the Gujarat sultanate.
- p. 48-55: Parihar, Subhash, Arab Sarai at Nizamuddin, Delhi | A study of this complex and an attempt to fix the chronology of its structures and identify their builders.
- p. 56-67: Xavier, Jothi F., Adivasi Churches in South Gujarat: An Interplay between Inculturation and Syncretism
Vol. 58 No. 1, September 2006, pp. 56–67 | The presence of Christianity in south Gujarat can be traced back to the end of the 19th century. Jesuits here have built churches which exemplify the transformation of the local culture in the imparting of the gospel – inculturation; the blend of Adivasi and Catholic traditions is also reflected here – syncretism. Some churches have been built with missionary patronage, others with community patronage.