The first dome

There's a sign near this structure that claims it has the first dome in North India.
It is near to Balban's tomb--where the claim of "first arch" is located.  The rumor is that the tomb also claimed the first dome, but since it is gone, the Alai Darwaza gets that monicker.
So I don't know if what we have here is a poser or a false claim or just confused architecture (because does that look dome-like to you?). 
Just reporting what the sign says.

Metcalfe's canopy

I already knew that Charles Metcalfe built some pretty obscure things around his Mehrauli property to "improve" the view.

But here's some more folly building he did.  A canopy he could view on a far-off hilltop.  As if the Qutub Minar wasn't scenic enough...

That man had too much money.

Nahargarh fort stepwell

It's another baoli for my stepwell treasure hunt.

This one is unique in that there's no symmetry in the design whatsoever.   Just kind of steps cut out of the hillside to collect water in.

Crazy steps that look almost like waves rolling down the hill.

The fort and stepwell at Nahargarh are not so old.  They were built in the mid 1700s as a defense fort, which was never used.

What it has been used for, all these years later, is film making. 

Scenes from Aamir Khan's 2006 movie Rang de Basanti were filmed at the stepwell.  Because of the movie, it has become a popular hang out.


Solla Solla (from Thiruvannamalai) is another Bollywood scene filmed at the stepwell and other famous Jaipur sights.
It's true:  they are very photogenic places.

Design inspiration

From a high vantage point in Jaipur, looking out over the Rajasthan landscape, I saw this.

And I was reminded of this.
I wonder if the architects of Chand ki baori and Panna Mian ka kund were inspired by the outlay of their environment, whether they wanted the stepwells to look like they belonged as part of the scenery.

Then, when I see a places like this, with their wildly unique and functional design...

And I am reminded of the images of M.C. Escher, it's worth a moment to wonder if he ever made a trip to India.
Hm...

Panna Mian ka kund

If it wasn't already true that I love stepwells, this one would solidify that fact.

The Panna Mian near Amer Fort in Jaipur is a marvelous optical illusion.

Built in the 1600s, this one is newer than the others I have visited.  It was dug as a sort of community gathering area.  A place where people could come for water, a swim, a chat with a neighbor while doing some washing. 

The criss-cross of stairs, the octagonal gazebos, and the recessed doorways--this baoli was so fun to walk around and photograph. 

 

The spectacular visuals of the place makes it an appealing location to film a movie.  The clip here (fantastic bit of Bollywood) highlights several Jaipur locations.  Sadly, during my visit, none of the dancers were out dancing.

Chand Baori

A friend of mine sent me this link, and I said to her:  "I MUST see that place."


Abhaneri  Step Well in India

So, like true baoli hunters, she and I headed to the village of Abhaneri as soon as we could. (Well, maybe I'm the hunter and she's the one who is a good sport about it all.)

The Chand Baori (they say "baori" instead of "baoli" in this area) is the deepest step well in India--maybe even in the world, as I'm not sure they have them outside of the Indian subcontinent--at 30 meters deep.

It has 3500 stairs. That's a lot of stairs.  The folklore that goes along with that says there are many stairs so that a person who has thrown a coin into the well would never be able to retrieve it. 

This stepwell is associated with the nearby Harshat Mata Mandir.  So when it was built in the 10th century, it was used by worshippers for ritual cleansing.

It also helped to solve the problem of lack of water in the area.  Because it was deep enough to give the people access to water all year round.
The water today is green and not very appealing at all.

The royal family and nobility living in the area used the baoli as a retreat and a hot-weather hang out.

So maybe because of them, the carving here is much more elaborate and detailed than at other step wells.









It's fascinating architecture, and because of that it's fun to photograph.  Or film.
The local "guide" who followed us around the baori told us there were many movies filmed here.  "Even a hollywood movie," he claimed.
"Yeah, which one?" I asked.
Apparently it's true, though, because the stepwell even shows up in the trailer of The Fall.

 Good architecture is worth hunting down.
Especially when it's a stepwell.

Out of place stones

There are stones from Hindu temples at the masjid of Qutab Minar.
I find this fascinating.
Islamic architecture has the reputation of being so strict about showing any earthly forms, that much of the time, only geometric designs are portrayed. Sometimes not even animals or plants are allowed.

What is here at the Qutab goes way beyond plant, animal or even human form. These are images of Hindu gods carved into the pillars and walls around the mosque.
I can't even fathom how that was permitted.

Some of them are defaced, and the features of the idol chipped away. But they are still obviously Hindu gods.

And even all these years later, they are still there.
I mean, maybe it's conceivable that the first Muslim ruler, Qutab-ud-din Aibak, didn't have time to quarry new stones and just used what was lying around from the 300 some temples that were destroyed. Conquerors around the world have done that--like the Medusa heads used in the basilica of Istanbul. Or the stones Seljuk architects took from St. John's Basilica in Ephesus for their own construction projects--those same stones were first pillaged from the site of Artemis' temple by Christian builders.
I understand the idea of using what's available.

What's amazing to me, though, is that the construction at the Qutab comlex went on for several hundred years, and some of the rulers from those times were devout, but still they allowed the stones to remain.
None of the other empires that followed had the stones removed or replaced, either.

And so, they are still there. Hundreds of years later.
I think that's remarkable, and uniquely India.

Who was Humayan?

If I'm visiting an already-been-there place, I like to be sure to still see something and learn something new--or to help someone else to.
To see the place through a new view.

This time around, I read up on who Humayan was.
The son of Babur of the Timurid dynasty, he was a slight disappointment as a warrior. He preferred books, poetry and art (and opium).
It was probably these preferences that caused him to loose his empire and flee to Persia when one of his rivals defeated him in battle.
In Persia, though, he made friends and gained a whole new appreciation for design and gardening.
After fifteen years, he returned to Delhi and took back his empire.
For a while anyway, 'cause it's rather anti-climactic that he died within a year. There are several versions of how he died; here are three:

1. Humayan was standing on the roof of the library at his palace when he heard the call to prayer.
He rushed down the stairs to pray.
Fell.
And died.

2. He was reading a book as he descended the steep stairs of his library.
Fell.
And died.

3. His habit of using opium did not help his balance on the steep stairs.
So he fell.
And died.

Take your pick.

So Akhbar and Haji Begum built the magnificent tomb.
It was the first of it's kind, heavily influenced by Persian architects.
It was the first use of marble combined with red sandstone (meaning very expensive). No cost was spared, as the statement made was meant to be: this is the tomb of not just any man, but an emperor.
And it was the first tomb to be built on a raised platform--which was later perfected in the design of the Taj Mahal.

Design was an integral part of what the Mughals left behind in India. They especially had a thing for symmetry.
As I learned this time around,
the back of the tomb is pretty similar to the front. Symmetry at work.

Right.
So there's your history lesson for Humayan, who he was, and why his tomb is so grand.

Alai Darwaza

The Mughal ruler Alauddin Khalji built up several things around the Qutab Minar in hopes to make it even grander than before--as if it wasn't grand enough to begin with.
One of the things he built is the Alai Darwaza--a main entrance for the mosque.

It's a perfect color contrast of red sandstone and white marble, and an excellent example of Islamic architecture from that time period.

It was meant to be a magnificent entrance to the mosque he enlarged, but most of his construction projects were not completed before he died.
Kinda sad that we don't use that entrance even now.

The Qutab

The amazing Qutab Minar.
This 800 year old tower is the tallest--and oldest?--minaret in India.

It is the first example of Muslim architecture within India and, therefore, has some unique qualities.

It combines Hindu and Muslim art and architecture, with its rounded and angled design, its elaborate carvings,
and the combination of wheels (typical in Hindu design) and Koranic verses.

Another unique detail is the lack of keystone in the arches.
The builders making the mosque complex had never themselves seen an arch, only had it described to them. So they did not understand the concept of a keystone for support. Instead they just made the stones the shape they were told to make.
No keystone, yet here stand the arches all these years later.

Something else in the Qutab complex is an iron pillar that has the claim of being a metallurgic mystery: all these centuries later and it is still not rusted.
Hm.

Yeah, it's a pretty cool place, the Qutab Complex.
Lots of history hangs out there.