Page 9 - Oct-Dec 2016

VOl. 13 No. 4
Second
largest dome
MEDIEVAL MASTERY in the world
Sound echoes DID YOU KNOW?
The engineering skills a whisper 10
times over
were more refined The word juggernaut in current English
during the medieval usage is from Sanskrit word Jagannath.
period. Different This is a force regarded as something
dynasties employed destructive and unstoppable that has its
the best of the origins as an allegorical reference to the
engineering skills in
their architecture and Hindu temple cars of Jagannath
fortifications. There was Temple in Puri.
an elaborate planning
of forts, palaces,
mosques, tombs and VEDIC WISDOM
mausoleums, landscape gardens (concept of charbagh),
watch towers (kos minar), victory towers, stepwells (baoli) The Vedic period also talks about the significant
and other vernacular and religious buildings. advancement in engineering. There were many
The sultanate period (12 -16 century) and Mughal books written in sanskrit on science and technology
th
th
period (16th-18th century) saw patronage of Turkish, such as Yantra sarvaswa, silpatantra rahasya, Yukti-
Mughal rulers in further development of architecture in Kalpataru among many others.
india. Though the design elements were a combination of
Central asia and the local hindu traditions, the sciences
brought by the islamic architects was in the form of Can you name three sun temples in india?
knowledge of use of arches, domes and vaults, and the why were they named after the sun?
use of lime mortar.

ACTIVITY - ARCHITECTURAL MARVELS This is amazing

rani-ki-Vav, a magnificent step-well at Patan has an architecture
underground water tank which is reached by a long- indeed!
stepped corridor.
Thousand Pillared Temple in warangal had 1000
beautifully carved pillars. The architecture is so brilliant
that none of the pillars obstructs a devotee from
getting a glimpse of the god.
Meenakshi Temple in Madurai is an engineering
marvel. The musical pillars when struck with stone,
produce different kinds of musical notes like musical
instruments.
gol gumbaz is the tomb of Mohammed adil shah. its
central dome stands without the support of any pillar. it
is the second largest dome in the world after st. Peter's
basilica dome in rome. it has a whispering gallery.

select an architectural marvel from india
and give reasons for its selection in 50
words.

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