1000 Pillared Hall

1000 Pillared Hall in Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai, India.

Stepwells, part2

Stepwells are most certainly one of India’s most unique, but little-known, contributions to architecture. Stepwells (bawdi or baoli or vav) are in essence wells in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps.Stepwells were built deep into the earth about 5 to6 storeys in height. These wells were designed to bring people & god and water & life together. These wells meant to entice everyone to leave their abode for a cool drink of water and retreat.These were for dependable, year-round groundwater.

Stepwell Adalaj, Gujarat:

Blue City

Jodhpur — known as the Blue City for the color of its buildings — is the second largest city in Rajasthan, the largest state of the Republic of India, standing at the edge of the large Thar Desert, which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan.

Most of the buildings in the old quarter are painted blue to signify the Bhraman (Priest) class, but non-Brahmins soon followed suit, as the color was said to deflect the heat and deter mosquitoes, and suddenly everything turned blue, creating a broad vision of indigo from the hilltops.






Photo Tom Maisey

Palitana

The Palitana temples are considered the most sacred pilgrimage place (tirtha) by the Jain community. There are more than 1300 temples located on the Shatrunjaya hills, exquisitely carved in marble. The main temple on top of the hill, is dedicated to 1st tirthankar lord Adinath (Rishabdeva). The path winds through 3950 steps for a trying 3.5 km up the scrub-covered Shetrunjaya Hills. The descent must begin before it is evening, for no soul can remain atop the sacred mountain during the night and Gods are to be left alone. Such is the mystique of Palitana, the summit of Shatrunjaya.

Stepwell

A number of distinct names, sometimes local, exist for stepwells. In Hindi speaking regions, they include names based on baudi (including bawdi, bawri, baoli, bavadi). In Gujarati and Marwari language, they are usually called vav.
It's true wow!)


Built back in the 10th century, the incredible well of Chand Baori, India was a practical solution to the water problem in the area. The arid climate forced the locals to dig deep for a dependable water source, one that would last throughout an entire year. Chand Baori well is 30 meters deep, it has 13 floors and 3,500 steps. Legends say that ghosts build it in one night and that it has so many steps to make it impossible for someone tor etrieve a coin once it's been dropped in the well.The Chand Baori, a vast well with flights of steps on three sides, is a 10th century monument situated in Abhaneri. It is a fine example of the architectural excellence prevalent in the past.

Pandal time - 2

The Pandal – this is the temporary abode of Goddess.
Once upon a time they were made of simple bamboo scaffolding with metres of cloth draped around, but today this cannot be more different. The Pandal is built is all conceivable forms and structures…replicas of famous temples, parliament houses, mansions, forts…you name it and it’s there. The materials used in construction of these pandals are no longer the simple bamboo and cloth, but plywood, plaster, dried leaves, thermocol (packing materials) just to name a few. So intricate and elaborate are these structures that it is indeed sometimes difficult to figure out the Pandals and the real things.
Kolkata(Calcutta)temporary! pandals pictures 2008:

One Love

The great work of A R Rahman created during voting for 7 miracles of world.

Ek Mohabbat = One Love really is a beautiful song.

Romeo-Juliet, Radha-Krishna, Adam-Hawwa, Heer-Ranjha, Laila-Majnu, ShahJahan-Mumtaz...

One Love

Angkor Wat

There are two great complexes of ancient temples in Southeast Asia, one at Bagan in Burma, the other at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the 12th century by the king of the prosperous Khmer empire, Angkor Wat was built as a royal temple dedicated to a Hindu deity. After the city of Angkor fell to invaders, Angkor Wat receded into the jungle but continued as a Buddhist temple and a pilgrimage site over the centuries. Angkor Wat is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture in Cambodia and is so grand in design that some rank it among the seven wonders of the world.



Jayavaram VII, spoke of his intentions in erecting temples as being:

“full of deep sympathy for the good of the world, so as to bestow on men the ambrosia of remedies to win them immortality….By virtue of these good works would that I might rescue all those who are struggling in the ocean of existence.”

Kailasa Temple

The Kailasa Temple, it is safe to say, is one of the most astonishing buildings in the history of architecture. This shrine was not constructed of stone on stone, it was in fact not constructed at all: it was carved, sculpted in toto from the volcanic hillside! A squared, U-shaped trench was first cut into the slope to a depth of close to 100 feet. The liberated mass in the center was then patiently carved from the living rock to produce a freestanding, two-story Hindu temple of dazzling complexity. The temple, which is dedicated to Shiva, the often threatening god of the Hindu trilogy, measures 109 feet wide by 164 feet long. It stands on an elevated plinth to attain greater presence in its tight surroundings. The complex consists of entry, Nandi (i.e. bull) shrine, open porch, main hall, and inner sanctum. Variously scaled panels, friezes, and sculpture highlight many surfaces."The late Percy Brown sums up the shrine thus: 'The temple of Kailasa at Ellora is not only the most stupendous single work of art executed in India, but as an example of rock-architecture it is unrivaled....The Kailasa is an illustration of one of those rare occasions when men's minds, hearts, and hands work in unison towards the consummation of a supreme ideal."— from G.E. Kidder Smith " Looking at Architecture".





I love this! OM NAMAH SHIVAYA!

Hagia Sophia

The Church of the Holy Wisdom, known as Hagia Sophia (Άγια Σοφία) in Greek, Sancta Sophia in Latin, and Ayasofya or Aya Sofya in Turkish, is a former Byzantine church and former Ottoman mosque in Istanbul. Now a museum, Hagia Sophia is universally acknowledged as one of the great buildings of the world.

For over 900 years the Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople and a principal setting for church councils and imperial ceremonies. 
And ... Hagia Sophia served as the principal mosque of Istanbul for almost 500 years.

Now, after all changes and thunder-storms, this is wonderful combination of beauty and wisdom in architecture.

The Arabic roundels are painted wooden plaques that were added in the 19th century during a restoration of the mosque. The one on the left, which is nearest to the mihrab (niche showing the direction of Mecca), bears the name of Allah. See this photo for a closer view of an Arabic roundel. 
In the upper left of the photo is the apse, where you can just see the bottom of the wings and robe of the Archangel Gabriel.