Patan and its art of sculpting.

RANI KI VAV : PATAN

TOUR REPORT (FY B. ARCH)

ARCHITECTURE DURING 11-13 CENTURIES

UNDER T HE GUIDANCE OF : AR. PRAKHAR VIDHYART HI.

STEPPED WELL

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WELL

ACCESSIBLE

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STEPS

SUCH BUILDING TYPOLOGY FOUND IN THE WESTERN HOT, ARID PARTS OF INDIA. ESSENTIALLY A DEVICE TO CONTAIN WATER, IT IS EXALTED TO BECOMES SOCIO-RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION- OWING LARGELY TO ITS ARCHITECTURAL MANIFESTATIONS. TWO OF ITS TYPE IS COVERED UNDER THE TRIP T O NORT H AND MID GUJARAT . QUEEN'S AND RUDABAI'S ST EPPED WELL.................................

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PATAN DISTRICT MAP AND LOCATION OF MONUMENTS

ARCHITECTURE AT PATAN.

PATAN POSSESSS TWO HISTORICAL MONUMENTS ONE OF WHICH IS COVERED UNDER 'UNESCO' AND BEING CONSERVED. THE RANI KI VAV (23*51'N; 72*11'E) WHICH IS SITUATED ABOUT TWO KILOMETER TO THE NOTH-WEST OF HISTORIC TOWN PATAN, (ANCIENT ANHILLAPATAK) A DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS OF GUJARAT AND IS SITUATED 140 KM NORTH-WEST OF AHMEDABAD. PATAN IS ALONGSIDE OF RIVER SARASWATI . PATAN WAS A FLOURISHING CITY AND A CAPITAL OF THE 'SOLANKI OR CHAULUKYA DYNASTY' OF GUJARAT. THE TOWN IS ALSO RENOWNED FOR ITS 'PATOLA TEXTILE'.

THE STEPWELL OF PATAN WHICH IS MAGNIFICENTLY CARVED AND CONSTRUCTED STEP-WELL IS NOT ONLY WELL KNOWN IN GUJARAT, BUT ALSO IN THE WHOLE COUNTRY AND POSITIONED IN SEVEN WONDERS OF INDIA. THE LENGTH OF THE VAV IS MEASURED AT THE GROUND LEVEL FROM THE TORANA TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE WELL, IS ABOUT 213 FEET. THE FOUR PAVILIONS WHICH DEMARCATE THE STAGES ALONG THE DESCENT HAD TWO, FOUR, SIX AND SEVEN STOREY. THE ROOF OF THE UPPER MOST STOREY OF EACH PAVILION REACHING UPTO THE GROUND LEVEL. WHILE THE DEPTH OF THE WELL WAS TWENTY NINE METERS.

MARU GURJARA ARCHITECTURE INTRODUCTION

AREAS OF RAJASTHAN. SKILLS OF RAJASTHANI CRAFTMEN OF BYGONE ERA. DISTINCT ELEMENTS OF MARU GURJARA STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE FOR TEMPLE.

MAHA-MARU

MARU-GURJARA

ETYMOLOGY GUDA MANDAP ANTARAL

SABHA/NRITYA MANDAP KIRTI TORANA

DURING ANCIENT TIMES, RAJASTHAN AND GUJARAT HAD SIMILARITIES IN ETHNIC, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS OF THE SOCIETY. GUJARAT WAS CALLED GURJARATRA.

EVOLUTION

CENTURY IN GUJARAT WITNESSED SEVERAL NEW FEATURES. THE ARCHITECTURE THAT FLOURISHED DURING THIS PERIOD IN ANARTTA, SAURASHTRA, KACHHA AND LATA IS TERMED AS KUND/TANK

HICH WAS THE MIXTURE OF 2 REGIONAL TRADITIONS, KNOWN MODHERA SUNTEMPLE

SOLANKIS THE MARU-GURJARA STYLE ATTAINED ITS ARCHITECTURAL PERFECTION.

EVOLUTION OF STYLE

CENTURY IN GUJARAT WITNESSED SEVERAL NEW FEATURES. THE ARCHITECTURE THAT FLOURISHED DURING THIS PERIOD IN ANARTTA, SAURASHTRA, KACHHA AND LATA IS TERMED AS

WAS THE MIXTURE OF 2 REGIONAL TRADITIONS, KNOWN AS THE MARU-GURJARA STYLE ATTAINED ITS ARCHITECTURAL PERFECTION. TORAN ON A RAISED PLATFORM; SKETCHED BY STUDENT .

FREE STANDING TORAN AT SUN TEMPLE - MODHERA.

KUND / TANK KIRTI TORANA

NRITYA MANDAP ANTRAL & GUDA MANDAP

ELEMENTS OF MARU GURJARA ARCHITECTURE.

CHARACTERISTICS AND COMPONENT OF A FULLY DEVELOPED STEPPED-WELL : THE STEPPED-WELL IS A WALL WHICH IS PROVIDED WITH AN UNDERGROUND FLIGHT OF STEPS,LEADING DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF WATER. THE EARLIEST STEPWELLS WERE SMALL AND PLAIN, BUT GRADUALLY THE STEPWELL EVOLVED AS AN UNDERGROUND ARCHITECTURAL FORM, WITH A WELL AT THE END OF A LONG FLIGHT FO STEPS MARKED BY PILLARED PAVALIONS OF MULTIPLE STOREYS. A STEPPED WELL POSSESS FOLLOWING COMPONENTS WITHIN...

AN ELABORATED SUPERSTRUCTURE 'TORANA/ORNAMENT ARCH' AT THE GROUND LEVEL; FREE STANDING STRUCTURE ON TWO COLUMNS. A STEPPED CORRIDOR BEGINNING AT THE GROUND LEVEL FROM TORANA; AND LEADING DOWN TO THE UNDERGROUND TANK, COMPARTMENTED AT REGULAR INTERVALS WITH PILLARED MULTI STORIED PAVILIONS. A DRAW WELL AT THE REAR END TO DRAW WATER WITHOUT GOING DOWN PERSONALLY. AND A LARGE TANK/RESERVIOR FOR COLLECTING THE SURPLUS WATER, LOCATED BETWEEN THE STEPPED CORRIDOR AND WELL.

PAVILIONS STEPPED CORRIDOR OTS PASSAGE WELL SHAFT SECTION OF RANI KI VAV THROUGH ITS NAVE

O 5' 10'

20'

AXIAL MOVEMENT. AN IMAGINARY LINE ESTABLISHED BY TWO ENDS OF VAV IN DIRECTION OF EAST-WEST IN A SPACE, ABOUT WHICH THE FORM IS ORGANIZED AND ARRANGED IN BILATERAL SYMMETRY AND IN A BALANCED MANNER. AS IT HAS A QUALITY OF AXIS, IT WILL HAVE LENGTH AND DIRECTION, WHICH INDUCES MOVEMENT AND PROMOTES VIEWS ALONG ITS PATH. THE NOTION OF THE AXIS IS REINFORCED BY DEFINING THE VERTICAL PLANES WITH SCULPTURE ALONG ITS LENGTH. RANI KI VAV IS A WELL DEFINED SPACE WHICH IS REGULAR IN FORM.

EVOLUTION OF FORM

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FORM OF THE VAV WITH HIERARCHY OF SPACES DEVELOPED IN BETWEEN COULD BE THE RESULTS OF INTERCONNECTING EVERY DIAGONALLY CONNECTED SQUARES AT A SPECIFIC DISTANCE I.E. SPAN.

PLAN OF VAV 0' 5'

10'

7.5'

ISOMETRIC SECTION OF RANI KI VAV

BLUE LINES CONNECTS THE SAME LEVELED FLOOR ; I.E. THE SAME LEVELED PASSAGE AND THE PAVILION OF THE SAME LEVEL.

THE DESIGN PRINCIPLE OF CONSTRUCTING A SYMMETRIC STRUCTURE CAN BE WITNESSED AT RANI KI VAV.

TO UNDERSTAND THE SYMMETRY AND THE SYMMETRIC STRUCTURE IN DETAIL

HIERARCHICAL PRINCIPLE IMPLIES TO THE VAV'S COMPOSITIONS, REAL DIFFERENCES EXISTS AMONG ITS FORMS AND SPACES. THESE DIFFERENCES REFLECTS THE DEGREE OF IMPORTANCE OF THESE FORMS AND SPACES, FUNCTIONAL, FORMAL AND SYMBOLIC ROLES THEY PLAY IN ORGANIZATION. IN THIS CASE THE HIERARCHICALLY IMPORTANT FORM AND THE SPACE IS GIVEN MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE

BY BEING AN EXCEPTION TO THE NORM, AN ANOMALY WITHIN A REGULAR PATTERN. THE SECTION OF THE VAV STANDS TO THE ELEMENT OF VISUAL HIERARCHY IN RELATION TO ITS WIDENING SPAN OF VAV. HENCE CHANGE IN SPACE CREATES POINT OF INTEREST TO THE VISITOR.

SECTION OF RANI KI VAV (SECTIONAL PLANE - NORTH-SOUTH)

AS THE LEVEL RISES THE LAYOUT OF THE VAV EXPANDS AND AS LEVEL DECREASES/TERRACES AT LOWER LEVEL WILL HAVE PLAN CONTRACTING IN COMPRESSION WITH UPPER LEVELS WHICH CREATES VISUAL HIERARCHY AS WELL AS THE OPENNESS TO THE VISITOR.

MOVEMENT AND CIRCULATION PATHS

THE VAV IS PLANNED IN SUCH A WAY THAT SOMEONE APPROACHING FORM THE REAR DID NOT HAVE TO WALK THE FULL LENGTH TO THE FRONT, FOR THAT; SUPPLEMENTARY STAIRCASES PLACED AT THE WESTERN END OF IT, WHICH GIVES DIRECT ACCESS FROM THE HIGHER TO LOWER LEVELS.

TH W AY PA ND CE SA RA TE R

SIDE BY SIDE THERE IS AN INTER-LINK PATH WAY WHICH CONNECTS THE TERRACES AND PAVILIONS WITH THE STEPPED CORRIDOR WHICH PROVIDES THE EXCESS TO ANOTHER INNER FACE OF VAV.

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A VISITOR EXPERIENCES THE MOVEMENT ACROSS THE VAV IN A MANNER WHICH LEADS THE ATTENTION OF THE VIEWER FROM ONE ASPECT OF THE SITE TO ANOTHER.

SECTIONAL ISOMETRIC VIEW OF RANI KI VAV FEATURING CIRCULATION AND MOVEMENT.

OT HER SPECIAL FEAT URES OF RANI KI VAV - PAT AN. THE CENTRAL ZONE ON EACH TERRACE, WITH A SUNKEN NICHES ALTERNATING WITH PROJECTING PANELS IS THE PRINCIPLE REPOSITORY OF SCULPTURES. THE NICHES ON THE WALLS OF CORRIDORS, AS ALSO IN THE PAVILIONS, ARE OCCUPIED BY FIGURES OF DIVINITIES. TO BREAK THE MONOTONY OF VERTICAL PLANES, SCULPTURES WERE INSTALLED TO THE PLANES, WHICH MINORLY AFFECTS THE VISUAL WEIGHT AND DEGREE TO WHICH IT ABSORBS OR REFLECTS LIGHT AND SOUND TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY TWO PILLARS SUPPORTED THE PAVILIONS OF THE STEPPED WELL; OF WHICH TODAY 226 REMAIN.

TURRET LIKE STEPS ARE BUILT AGAINST THE HIGH PLATFORM. THESE SUPPLEMENTARY STEPS AGAINST THE MAIN STEPS ARE ONE MEANS TO GAIN PROPORTIONATELY GREATER DEPTH IN A SHORT SPACE.

CONSTRUCTIONAL TECHNIQUES LIKE INTERLOCKING OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS LIKE BEAM, COLUMNS, SLABS OF SAND STONE. JOINERY DETAILS USED IN VAV ARE STILL IN USE AS WELL.

SUN TEMPLE, MODHERA

THE SUN TEMPLE AT MODHERA, STANDS TESTIMONY TO THE ARCHITECTURAL GENIUS OF BYGONE MILLENNIA WHICH SHAPED AND EVOLVED TEMPLE BUILDING TO A REFINED RESOLUTION.THE TEMPLE COMPLEX,BUILT IN 1026-27,DURING THE REIGN OF BHIMA1 OF THE SOLANKI DYNASTY,IS CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ARCHITECTURAL CREATIONS OF GUJARAT OF THE PERIOD. CONSISTING OF TYPICAL NORTH INDIAN TEMPLE FORMS AND ELEMENTS, THIS COMPLEX IS UNIQUE BECAUSE OF THE KUND/WATER TANK- A SUBTERRANEAN ARCHITECTURAL TYPOLOGY UNIQUE TO THIS REGION, SEEN HERE IN ITS MOST ELABORATE MANIFESTATION.

DELICATED TO THE SUN GOD, THE ENSEMBLE IS COMPOSED OF THREE PARTS: THE TEMPLE PROPER, THE COLONNADED HALL AND THE KUND. ALL OF THEM SHARE THE SAME EAST-WEST ORIENTATED AXIS AND FACE THE EAST, TOWARDS THE RISING SUN, TO LET THE FIRST RAYS OF THE EQUINOX SUN STRIKE THE IDOL IN THE GIRBH-GRIHA, THE SANCTUM. THE TEMPLE AND THE MANDAPA OR PAVILION ARE SITUATED ON A RAISED PLINTH, WHILE THE RAISED KUND IS ON A LOWER PLANE, AND CONNECTED TO THE HALL ALONG THE COMMON AXIS BY A CONTIGUOUS AND ASCENDING FLIGHT OF STEPS FLANKED BY A CEREMONIAL ARCHWAY, "THE TORANA'. THE AXIAL LENGTH OF THE WHOLE BEING 145 FEET.

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KAKSHASANA

VEDIKA NARAPITHA GAJAPITHA P I T H A

GRASPATTI CHADYAKI ANTARAPATRA

KARNAKA JADYAKUMBHA BHITTA 3 BHITTA 2 BHITTA 1

IN VIEWING THE MODHERA TEMPLE THE ESTHETIC SENSE AT ONCE RESPONDS TO THE ELEGANCE OF ITS TREATMENT AND ITS PROPORTIONS AS A WHOLE, THE ENTIRE COMPOSITION BEING LIT WITH THE LIVING FLAME OF INSPIRATION. BUT APART FROM ITS MATERIAL BEAUTY, ITS DESIGNER HAS SUCCEEDED IN COMMUNICATING TO IT; AN ATMOSPHERE OF SPIRITUAL GRACE. THE TEMPLE FACES THE EAST SO THAT THE RISING SUN AT THE EQUINOXES FILTERS IN A GOLDEN CADENCE THROUGH ITS OPENING, FROM DOORWAY TO CORRIDOR, PAST COLUMNED VESTIBULES FINALLY TO FALL ON THE IMAGE IN ITS INNER MOST CHAMBER. IN ITS PASSAGE THE RAYS OF THE HEAVENLY BODY TO WHICH THE SHRINE IS CONSECRATED, QUIVER AND SHIMMER ON PILLAR AND ARCHWAY, GIVING LIFE AND MOVEMENT TO THEIR GRAVEN FORMS, THE WHOLE STRUCTURE APPEARING RADIANT AND CLOTHED IN GLORY. TO SEE THIS NOBLE MONUMENT WITH ITS CLUSTERED COLUMNS NOT ONLY RISING LIKE AN EXHALATION, BUT MIRRORED IN THE STILL WATER BELOW, IS TO FEEL THAT ITS CREATOR WAS MORE THAN A GREAT ARTIST, BUT A WEAVER OF DREAMS................

St udyT r i patPat an( 2016) I T M SAAD,J ar od,Vadodar a.