ÿþ<HTML><HEAD><TITLE>SIKH ARCHITECTURE</TITLE> <style type="text/css"> .BODY { background-color: #EAF1F7; background-image: url('images/gtbh.jpg'); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-attachment: fixed; background-position: center; color: #0066CC;} .C1{text-align: justify;color: #0066CC;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .BIB{text-align: center;color: #000099;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} .CONT{text-align: right;color: #FF0000;FONT-size: SMALL;FONT-family: Tahoma;} </style><META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="SIKH,ARCHITECTURE"> <META http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"></HEAD> <BODY class="BODY" oncontextmenu="return false" ondragstart="return false" onselectstart="return false"> <FONT ALIGN="JUSTIFY" FACE="Tahoma"> <p class="C1">&#65279SIKH ARCHITECTURE, style and design of building conspicuously popular among the Sikhs, is owed primarily to their religious monuments. Their secular edifices such as fortresses, palaces, <i>sam&#257dhs</i> (mausoleums built over places of cremation), <i>havel&#299s</i> (fortified houses), <i>bu&#7749g&#257s</i> (residential-cum-educational houses), educational institutions, etc, are no different from the contemporary style which is generally a mixture of Mu<u>gh</u>al and R&#257jp&#363t architecture, or as Percy Browne, an art historian, has described, a late form of the Mu<u>gh</u>al style of architecture. Prominent examples of this type are the Sam&#257dh of Mah&#257r&#257j&#257 Ra&#7751j&#299t Si&#7749gh in Lahore and the <u>Kh</u>&#257ls&#257 College at Amritsar. Whereas massive columns, portals, inner structures, <i>bu<u>kh</u>&#257rch&#257s</i> (3 or 4-panelled projecting windows in a row) on <i>pend&#257</i> or <i>gha&#7771vañj</i> (projecting base) in the shape of bisected open lotus, the <i>chhatr&#299s</i> (kiosks) on the parapet, all trace back their origin to R&#257jp&#363t architecture, the dome, arches, minarets and underground cellars bear the stamp of Mu<u>gh</u>al style.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Religious buildings of the Sikhs, the <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i>, also display the essentially eclectic nature of their architectural design, but they at the same time possess some special features, and present an identifiable picture of a style which can doubtlessly be called Sikh Architecture. For example, compared to Hindu temples, they are more spacious (with the addition of adjoining <i>d&#299v&#257n asth&#257n</i> or assembly halls where necessary) and have, more often than not, entrance from all four sides, and they are not oriented to any set direction as the Muslim mosques are. Gur&#363 k&#257 La&#7749gar (common kitchen and dining hall) is a necessary adjunct to a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>, and most <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> have <i>sarovars</i> (bathing tanks) in close proximity. Every <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> is recognizable from afar by the <i>nish&#257n s&#257hib</i>, the Sikh penant in yellow or blue flying atop a high flagpost. Gurdw&#257r&#257s, unlike Hindu temples, are devoid of any sculptured images in or around them.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In principle, <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> buildings do not have to conform to any set architectural design. The only established requirement is the installation of the Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib, the Holy Sikh Scripture, in a building under a canopy or in a canopied seat, usually on a platform higher than the floor on which the devotees sit. But in time more and more <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> came to have buildings of a particular design imitating more or less the pattern of the Harimandar, the most sacred shrine of the Sikhs located in the walled city of Amritsar.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;When classified according to their plan form, buildings of the Sikh shrines are of four basic forms : the square, the rectangular, the octagonal and the cruciform. The last, however, is rarely used, the one notable example is Gurdw&#257r&#257 N&#257nak Jh&#299r&#257 at Bidar in Karn&#257&#7789aka. Among the octagonal, the best known is Gurdw&#257r&#257 B&#257b&#257 A&#7789al in Amritsar. Many a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> has octagonal sanctum sanctorum within its square or rectangular hall. A covered circumambulatory passage usually runs around the sanctum. In elevation, <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> have structures varying from one to nine-storeys high, usually topped by a dome. Several <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> have basements below the ground floor. A recurrent element of <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> design is the preferred use of two-storey height with an all-around gallery at mid-height, leaving the centre of the ground floor covered only by the top roof and/or the dome.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;As a rule, a <i>gumbad</i> (dome) is the crowning feature of a <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i>. Even flat-roofed, rectangular <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> buildings have often a decorative dome over the spot where Gur&#363 Granth S&#257hib is seated. Sometimes, a small single-room shrine is topped by <i>p&#257lak&#299</i>, a palanquin-like roof, derived from Bengal style of architecture. More often than not, the dome is fluted or ribbed. Several different dome shapes mark our shrines as tarus, hemispherical, oblong, conical or three quarters of a sphere, the last mentioned being the more frequently used. Usually the dome springs from a floral base and has inverted lotus-symbol top from which rises the <i>kalas</i> or ornate finial. The dome is usually painted in white or sometimes in gold. Domes of some important <i>gurdw&#257r&#257s</i> are covered with gold-plated copper sheets. Some domes have been lined with marble slabs or white or coloured porcelain pieces. Apart from the large central dome there are often four other cupolas, one at each corner and several small solid domes embellishing the parapet.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The dome is invariably topped by an ornate finial, the <i>kalas</i>. Based on the Mount Kail&#257sh, the <i>kalas</i> shoots up in the form of a cylinderical construction, often with some concentric discs, and spheroids culminating in a small canopy with pendants hanging at the outer rim. The <i>kalas</i> is usually made of brass or gilded copper. Recently the use of steel or gilded <i>kha&#7751&#7693&#257</i> (double-edged sword) as pinnacle has come in vogue.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The elevation is usually treated by dividing the facade in accordance with the structural lines of columns, piers and pilasters with vertical divisions creating areas of well-modelled surfaces. The treatment often creates bas-reliefs of geometrical, floral and other designs. Where magnificence is the aim, repousse work in brass or copper gilt sheeting is introduced, often with extravagance.</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The interior is beautified by means of <i>gachch</i> or stucco work, <i>tuk&#7771&#299</i> or fixing of mirror pieces, <i>ja&#7771atk&#257r&#299</i> or in-lay work, <i>mohr&#257kash&#299</i> or filigree, <i>piñjr&#257</i> or lattice work or stone grills, and fresco painting. These techniques are used to produce beautiful designs and friezes based on vine, plant, flower, bird and animal motifs. These techniques besides being time-consuming and costly need highly skilful artists. They are therefore used in very important shrines. Excellent examples of such work can be seen in the Golden Temple. The largest number of frescoes have been painted on the first floor walls of B&#257b&#257 A&#7789al</p> <p class="C1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A very special aspect of Sikh architecture as far as it is concerned with the raising of <i>gurdw&#257r&#257</i> buildings is the contribution and participation of the common man. Barring a few shrines which have their own income from endowments made by past rulers, the resources for new constructions or reconstructions are raised by voluntary contributions, and although masons and skilled craftsmen may be paid workers, the unskilled labour and rations for the entire labour force come from the system of <i>k&#257r-sev&#257</i>, voluntary free service by the devotees.</p> </font> <p class="BIB"> BIBLIOGRAPHY<p class="C1"><ol class="C1"><li class="C1"> Arshi, P.S., <i>Sikh Architecture</i>. Delhi, 1985<BR> <li class="C1"> Madanjit Kaur, <i>The Golden Temple : Past and Present</i>, Amritsar, 1983<BR> <li class="C1"> Archer, W.G., <i>Paintings of the Sikhs</i>. London, 1966<BR> <li class="C1"> Kang, Kanwarjit Singh, <i>Mural Paintings in the Nineteenth Century Punjab</i> (Ph.D. Thesis, Panjab University). Chandigarh, 1978<BR> <li class="C1"> Datta, V.N., <i>Amritsar : Past and Present </i>. Amritsar, 1967<BR> <li class="C1"> Edwardes, Michael, <i>Indian Temples and Palaces </i>. London,1969<BR> </ol><p class="CONT">Major Gurmukh Si&#7749gh (Retd.)<br></p><BR> </font><img src="counter.aspx" width="1px" height="1px" alt=""></HTML></BODY>