ART

APPRECIATION

TOPIC :-
TAJ MAHAL
TAJMAHAL
 Basic Information

Location :- Agra, India

Coordinates :- 27.174799 ̊N & 78.042111 ̊E
Elevation :- 171m (561ft)
Built :- 1632-1653
Architect :- Ustad Ahmad Lahauri
Architectural Style :- Mughal
Type :- Cultural
Cost Of Construction :- 32 crore rupees
Designers Of Taj Mahal
 “Ustd Isa” of Iran designed the tajmahal.
 “Ismail Khan” designed the Tajmahal’s main dome.
 “Puru” from Benarus, Persia for supervising the
architect.
 “Chiranjilal” is the head sculpture.
 “Amanat Khan” from Shiraz designed calligraphy.
 “Mir Abdul Karim” of Iran and “Mukkarimat Khan” of
shiraz were responsible for managing the finances and
daily products.
INTRODUCTION
 The Taj Mahal reprsents the finest and the most sophisticated
example of Mughal architecture. The distraught Mughal Emperor
Shah Jahan commissioned the mausoleum upon the death of his
favourite wife Mumtaz Begum.
 The Taj Mahal was widely recognized as ‘The Jewel of Muslim
Art’ in India.
 Today, it is one of the most famous and recognizable buildings in
the world and the white domed marble mausoleum is the most
familiar part of the monument.
 Taj Mahal is an extensive complex of buildings and gardens that
exteds over 22.44 hectares and includes subsidiary tombs,
waterworks infrastructure, the small town of ‘Taj Ganji’ and a
‘moonlight garden’ to the north of the river.
CONSTRUCTION
 Construction began in 1632 AD on the south bank of the River
Yamuna in Agra, and was substantially complete by 1648 AD.
 Taj Mahal was constructed by using the materials from all over
the India and Asia.
 Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials
during the construction.
 A labour force of 20,000 workers were recruited across Northern
India.
 Sculptures from Bukhara, Calligraphers from Syria and Persia,
Inlayers from Southern India, stonecutters from Baluchistan, a
specialist in building turrets, another one who carved only marble
flowers were part of the thirty seven men who formed the creative
unit.
Stones Used In The Construction
SAPPHIRE

JASPER TURQUOISE
LAPIS LAZULI JADE

CARNELIAN CRYSTAL
Site Plan

The Taj Mahal complex can be conveniently divided into 5 sections.

1. The Moon Light Garden to the north of the river Yamuna.
2. The River Front Terrace, containing the Mausoleum, Mosque and
Jawab.
3. The Charbagh Garden containing pavilions.
4. The Jilaukhana for the tomb attendants and two subsidiary tombs.
5. The Taj Ganj, originally a bazaar.

 Great gate lies between the Jilaukhana and the Garden.

Taj Gateway
 Taj Gateway is entrance to a monument that spread overa width of 150 ft and
standing tall at 100 ft .
 It is made of red sandstone. The three storeyed building is topped by Cupolas
or Chattris.
 Calligraphy was used to inscribe Holy Koranic verses on the walls of the
Gateway.
 Crowning the gateway are twenty two small ornamental chattris placed in two
lines of eleven above the main portal.
Exterior of Taj Mahal
 The
TheDome
Dome
TheThe dome
dome is theisenormous
enormous whitewhite
onion onion shape crowning the tomb.
 It iscrowning
shaped located theattomb.
the exact centre of the structure, the main dome
 It is located at the exact centre of the
is flanked
structure. Thebymainfour smaller
is flanked ones
by four on its four corners.
smaller
 The
ones on itsonion shaped dome sits on a massive drum that adds
four corners.
support to the circular top.
 The drum is also intricately designed with superb inlay work
Finial Of The Dome
 The main finial was originally made
of gold but was replaced by a copy
made of gilded bronze in the early 19th
century.
 The summit of the gold gilded finial
perched at almost 220 ft from the
ground, gives a finishing look to the Taj
Mahal.
 The motif is a Hindu symbol with
bent lotus leaves mounted on a
“KALASH” with a coconut on top.
Chattris
 The most prominent are the main four chattris having an
octagonal base with small archens on each of the eight sides.
The top is nicely finished with an inverted lotus with a fold
finial rising from its summit.
 Chattris are also present at the tops of the four tall minarets.
Minarets
Minarets
 The Taj Mahal’s minarets were detached
from the main tomb standing tall at 138 ft
 The Taj Mahals
were intelligently designed with a slant
towards the outward side.
 This was done, so that in case of any
minaret topples, it causes no damage to the
central dome.
 These four minarets rise from the plinth
with an eight sided base and a circular pillar.
 On the top of the pillar is an octagonal
balcony decorated with delicate inlay works
and beautiful carvings.
 The balcony is encircled with geometric
patterns and floral motifs.
 Iwans
 The tradition of having Iwans in both residential and public
buildings found their way into Mughal architecture.
Iwans are vaulted spaces covered by three sides and open from
one.
 They normally have an ornate gateway that was called “Pishtaq”.
 The monument has 28 Iwans in all, with four main iwans on the
four faces of the structure.
 The other 24 Iwans were identical in size with four on each face
and two on the angled sides.
 Guldastas
 Guldastas is the Urdu terminology
for the flower topped pinnacles that
rise from the main sides of the
structure.
 These Guldastas were not originally
Mughal, but were an integral part of
the Sayed architecture.
 Guldastas were topped with gold
finials.
 They were added to the Taj Mahal
purely for beauty and lends the
building a sense of height.
Interior f Taj Mahal
 All the interior walls have huge arches that have jails to allow air
and light.
The shining marble cladded on the walls were decorated with
beautiful patterns using carving and inlay work.
 The inner layer of the dome, like the exterior is made of creamy
white marble.
 Three – dimensional geometric decoration and a central inlaid
motif highlight the interior of the dome.
Ornamentation and Mouldings
 Taj Mahal depicts elaborate carvings with
around forty three kinds of gems used.
 The carving at the Taj Mahal is done using a
technique called “ Manabbat Kari “ which
essentially is a carving that stands out from a
flat surface.
 The “ Manabbat Kari “ process involves
drawing the flower patterns directly on the
marble with henna and then using fine chisels
to carve them out.
Mosque
 The tomb of the Mumtaz Mahal has a mosque or the “Masjid”
to its left.
It is built of red sandstone, the structure compliments the pristine
white mausoleum spreads over 210 ft in length and 90 ft in width.
The mosque stands on a raised platform.
 The front face of the mosque boasts of one big central Iwan and
two smaller ones perched on either side on the main one.
 The central dome is flanked by two smaller ones on either side
and the four corners of the mosque have a chattri.
 Other design features include the Guldastas or the pinnacles that
flank the sides of the Iwans.
 The ceiling of the mosque has an ornate display of beautiful
geometric patterns with white inlay work against the red
sandstone background.
The mosque also has a “Minbar” a platform where the priest
delivers lectures.
 The flooring of the mosque is beautifully laid out giving a
carpet feel.
 The floor area is inlaid with red marble stone in the pattern
of prayer mats.
 One can see a lot of calligraphy on the walls of the interiors,
all taken from the Koraic verses
Lord Venkateswara Temple
 Location :-
 Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple is situated in the hill town
of Tirumala at Tirupati in Chittoor district of Andhra
Pradesh, India
 The Temple was built on the seventh hill. These hills are part
of Seshachalam Hills range.
The hills are located 853cm above sea level.
 HISTORY
 The temple was built in 300 B.C. as per the records.
Sri Krishnadevaraya and the great dynasty rulers of
Southern Peninsula have paid homage to the construction of
temple in this ancient shrine.
 The Pallava dynasty of Kanchipuram in 9th century, The
Chola dynasty of Thanjavur in 10th century and Vijayanagara
Pradhans in 14th and 15th centuries were committed devotees of
Lord Venkateswara and developed the Temple .
 The temple gained most of its current wealth and size under
the Vijayanagara Empire with the donation of diamonds and
gold.
 Maratha general Raghoji I Bhonsle visited the temple and set
up a permanent administration for the conduct of worship in the
temple in 17th century.
 1.MAHADWARAM
 Mahadwaram is the first entrance of the temple also known as
padikivakili which is provided through Mahaprakaram(outer
wall).
 A 50 feet five storied Gopuram (Temple Tower) was constructed
over this Mahadwaram with seven kalasams at its apex.
ARCHITECTURE
DWARAMS :-
 There are three Dwarams (entrances) which
lead to Garbagriha (Sanctorum Sanctrum) called
Ananda Nilayam from outside.

1. MAHADWARAM
2. VENDIVAKILI
3. BANGARUVAKILI
 2.VENDIVAKILI
 Vendivakili (silver entrance) also known as Nadipivakili is the
second entrance and is provided through Sampangiprakaram
(inner compound wall).
 A three storied gopuram is constructed over Vendivakili with
seven kalasams at its apex.
3.BANGARUVAKILI
 Bangaruvakili (Golden entrance) is the third entrance that
leads to Garbagriha.
 There are two tall copper images of the Dwarapalakas Jaya-
vijayan on either sides of the door.
 The thick wooden door is covered with gold gilt plates depicting
the Dasavatharam of Lord Vishnu.
ANANDA NILAYAM VIMANAM
 Ananda Nilayam Vimanam is the main Gopuram constructed
over ‘Garbagriha’. This is a three storied gopuram and has single
Kalasam at its apex.
 It was covered with gilt copper plates and covered with a golden
vase. There are many idiols of gods carved over this Gopuram.
 DEITIES IN THE TEMPLE
1. MOOLAVIRAT or
DHRUVA BERAM

 The main stone deity of

Lord Venkateswara is
called Dhruva Beram.
2. KAUTUKA BERAM or BHOGA SRINIVASA

 This is a tiny one foot silver deity Snapana Beram or Ugra.

3. SRINIVASA

 This idol of the

Lord represents the
anger part of Lord
Venkateswara.
4. UTSAVA BERAM
 This is the form of the lord which comes out of the
temple to see the devotees.

5.BALI BERAM or KOLUVU SRINIVASA

 This Panchaloha idol resembles

the main deity.
Srikalahasthi Temple
 History Of The Temple
 The initial structure of the temple was constructed
by the pallava dynasty in 5th century.
 Again in 10th century Chola Kings renovated the
temple and constructed the main structure
The hundred pillared hall with intricate carvings was
commissioned during the regime of Krishnadeva Raya
during 1516 AD
The Iconic Of Srikalahasthi
Temple
 The 15th century iconic is Rajagopuram of
Srikalahasthi Temple built by Sri Krishnadeva Raya.
As the department of archaeology the tower stood
on a foundation that had depth only one and a half
feet.
 It experienced cracks before 25 years and collapsed
on 26th May,2010.
 New one is constructed in the same location at its
original form and completed construction on 18th
January,2017.
Old Gopuram Constructed By Sri Krishnadeva Raya
New Gopuram built after the collapse of the first one
History Of The
ARCHITECTURE Temple
 The temple is located on the foothills of a hill, while there is a
belief that the temple was carved out of a monolithic hill.
 The presiding image of Shiva in the form of Linga is made
white stone in a shape resembling trunk of elephant.
 There is a rock cut shrine of Vinayaka below the ground
level.
Large Pillars and Sculptures Inside The Temple

Rocks of large size, lime

stone , clay and mortar
are used in construction.
Medak Cathedral Church
History :-

 The Medak Cathedral Church is the largest of all

churches in Telangana.
 It is located in Medak.
 The Cathedral also sees over the Diocese of
Medak,which is the single largest diocese in Asia
and the second largest diocese in the World.
 This church was built under the stewardship of
Reverend Charles Walker Posnett.
Architecture :-
 The Cathedral is 100ft
(30 m) wide and 200 ft
(61 m) long,and
conforms to the Gothic
Revival style.
 It can accommodate
about 5000 people at a
time.
 The mosaic tiles were
imported from Britain
and are of 6 differebt
colours.
 Italian masons from
Bombay were
engaged for laying
the decorative
flooring.
 Massive pillars built
woth fine-hewn
and well dressed
grey stone support
the gallery and the
whole edifice.
  Built with pristine white
granite.
 More than its aesthetic
appeal,the Medak church
has a deeper significance
in human life.
 The three amazing piece
of art is also famous as
Pristine white granite the "Gospel trilogy".
View of altar in Medak Cathedral
 The roof of the church is made sound-proof by
means of hollow sponge material,and has an
impressive style of vaulting.
 The surface of the vaulting has the shape of squares.

Stained glass :-

 The biggest attraction of the cathedral are its

Stained glass windows depicting different scenes
from Christ's life -Ascesion behind the
altar,Nativity in the west transept,and the
crucifixion in the east transept.
Stained glass window Massive pillars
 The church foundation was laid in 1914 and it took
10 years to complete.
 It is not one of the fanciest churches in India or
even the world.But,the fact that this building is
hudden unexoectedly in a small town in Southern
India adds a lot to its charm.
Submitted by :-
 Sankeertana Tanugundla
 Veda Vardhan Poluru
 Dinesh Pitha
 Hari Krishna Prasad Melangi
 JibiRaj BalaRaj
 Elisheba Kolipaka