A question paper for History of Architecture - Part 1

I used to teach History of Architecture from '96 to 2003 in the schools of Vallabhvidyanagar (Near Anand) and the MSU Baroda as a visiting faculty member. As a student I had found the subject quite dry, boring and uninteresting. The curriculum for the second year was quite intensive as well. In the first semester they were to be lectured on the entire western history starting from the Greek and Roman civilizations up to the Baroque times. All this to be drilled inside young, agile minds hour after hour, week after week was quite an experience. To ease their predicament about notes and references, I made notes for them on my trusty old 386 computer and gave them neat, formatted notes.

This was quite a relief for them at least till I discovered their clandestine use for these same notes.

After they came out of their examination at the end of the semester, I discovered small pieces of paper lying in the corridor. These pieces of paper were actually my notes reduced on a photocopy machine and taken into the exam hall for easy reference.

This did it for me. Their next semester was Indian architectural history. I came up with a simpler method which actually was less of a headache for me.

I found fifty different topics on Indian architectural history and asked them to pick one for their one and only assignment of the semester. They gleefully picked up the topic and the icing on the cake for them was that these would be presented by them in a seminar and we would have an interactive semester. They were encouraged to explore the topic in detail and present it to the class.

After presenting it to their fellow classmates, which incidentally they enjoyed quite a bit, they were "encouraged" to submit the assignments electronically on floppy disks. Well, it was the late nineties and internet was a bit unheard off and floppies were widely used. Copy and paste from the internet was therefore a bit difficult but they had still employed a few typists to make their assignments quite thick.

Come the exam day and my pleasant surprise was announced. The exam would be an open book variety - hitherto unheard of in the history of the college, and all their assignments were their study material. To make their task "easier" there were at least 200 questions and an undisclosed number of versions of the question paper to discourage their diehard habits of sneaking a peek at their neighbour's paper. To make matters a bit light I had interspersed some advertisement one liners for fun which are in italics...

Some fifty questions are "copied and pasted" below. In the second part of this post I will post the answers to these questions so please keep revisiting my blog for them if you are interested.

Just Do it!

1.      Perched on a huge boulder to the northeast of the lower sivalaya temple at Badami, is nirandhara, with a dvitala vimana. Its gudhamandapa is entered through a Mukhacatuski, since the boulder slopes on the west, the  vimana is underpinned by a featureless Upapitha. Identify the temple.

2.      In this period the Garbhagriha appears clearly for the first time. Identify the period.

3.      This form became the major focus of Buddhist worship symbolizing the end of physical body and attainment of nirvana.  An umbrella made of wood or stone covered it.  The three elements of the umbrella represented the three jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the law, and the community of monks. Identify this form.

4.       In which kingdom did the temple evolve from the meeting hall?

5.      "Unlike other areas of India, a unique building style developed here, based more on the development of overseas ideas than the evaluation and adaptation of local architectural traditions to Islamic needs." Name this region.

6.       The simplest of the Rathas, it is an unpretentious version of the rural portable wooden shrine with a square base and curvilinear roof. Name the Ratha.

7.       "The City of cut stone" was situated on a great trade route. Identify this city.

Arre Huzzor Wah Taj Boliye!

8.      What are Nirandhara and Sandhara temples?

9.      In size it was the largest of all Stupas. Name it.

10.  "The conservative southern Hindu stronghold that was injected with doses of an alien and virile architectural style. The energy generated by this infusion culminated in a great building of this region. This was as triumphant and bold a structural statement, as subtle and glorious had been the exotic sculptural achievements of the Hindu builders of nearby Halebid and Belur." Name this building.

11.   Jain sadhus and sadhvis reach this place before the monsoons, as they are not allowed to travel during the monsoons. Identify the place.

12.  During this period many stupas were erected by Ashoka on the sides sacred to Buddhists.  Stupas are actually sites containing __________________.

13.  A notable characteristic of these buildings is the appearance of the long and stately flight of steps leading to the entrances, made necessary by high plinths. The lofty terraces gave an added dignity to the composition as a whole, the well-proportioned stairways elegantly wrought to make an introductory approach. Identify the place.

14.  This Stupa, in an ancient city, had a remarkable feature. The concave curvature of the plinth exaggerated the illusion instead of correcting it. Name the Stupa.

15.  "Ala-ud-din Bahman who in AD 1347, having thrown off his allegiance to Delhi, established his capital city in modern Karnataka State. Bahman Shah, an adventurer from the Persian court, had thrown off the political as well as architectural yoke of Delhi. He surrounded his city with 50 feet (15.2 m) thick fortress walls and a 90 ft (27.4 m) wide moat scraped out of living rock. At regular intervals the outer defenses were punctuated by bastions, barbettes and battlements of cyclopean order." Name the city.

East or West India is the Best!

16.  The development of its style drew influence from Roman Basilica, which was evolving concurrently in Rome.  Like the Basilica it is also a long chamber divided longitudinally by two rows of columns.  In the apse the two isles meet and curve around the Stupa. Identify the structure.

17.  This edifice at Taxila is among the most significant monuments of the period of Hellenization in India. It has many affinities to the Greek temple in terms of the plan and its Ionic columns. Identify the structure.

18.  The earliest Brahminical shrine was nothing more than a cell to a house an image while other rituals were still conducted in the open. The oldest shrines, once again  a group of caves are found carved in a mountainside near ancient Sanchi. Name this place.

19.  This term is derived from a Sanskrit word. It means "the mound of ashes formed when the deceased person is cremated." Name it.

20.  "Four larger domes mark the corners of the periphery, while the sanctuary is crowned by a stately contoured stilted dome rising over a square clerestorey. The glorious white monument testifies as much to the originality of its designer's concepts as to his failure in establishing their acceptability." Name the building.

21.  The palace of this city clearly resembled the Assyrian palaces of Mesopotamia. Name this city.

22.  So vigorous and self-confident was the this style that its influence permeated way beyond the region into Rajasthan and Central India. Its most influential feature was intricate lattice work and the use of carved jali screens. Identify this style.

23.  It is the oldest building of the Aihole group. The shape is comparatively low, flat roofed building. Three of its sides are completely enclosed by walls, 2 of which are relieved by perforated stone grills, but the fourth side formed an eastern open porch. Identify the structure.

24.  A Structural alteration of some significance, the dome is composed of an inner and outer shell of masonry with a distinct space between the two. The appearance of the Double Dome. In which dynasty did it first appear?

Mera Bharat Mahaan!

25.  "The Indian builders here broke through the mass of the cube and hemisphere by providing a veranda running around the cubic half, thereby giving to some of the tombs the impression of a two-storeyed structure. The zenith of this style, however, was not the tombs but a ceremonial gateway popularly known as the Charminar of Hyderabad. Each of the four facades contains the familiar ogee arch of 36 ft (11 m) span, above the apex of which are  diminished storeys of arched and richly embellished cornices." Name this style.

26.  This structure derives its name from the five tiers, the final one consisting of a large single chattri. Identify the structure.

27.   In Persian this word is considered to be a highly pejorative term among the civilized inhabitants of Iran. Identify the term.

28.  The irregular humble mound of rubble that had been piled over by the reverent worshipers over relics and ancient treasures to make a sacred site. This was then transformed by the royal builders into a hemispherical brick paved tumulii. Identify the  structure.

29.  This typical temple structure stands on a high platform, not rectangular in shape as its sides project or recede being carried parallel to the lines and angles of the building it supports. This platform is much wider than appears necessary thus leaving a broad flat surface terrace all around the temple. But it was so ordained for a specific purpose. In none of these temples is there is an interior pradakshina path and this space provides a suitable substitute for processions and circumambulation.

30.  At one time this place was probably a bustling capital but today it is a cluster of 16 deserted temples. Name this place.

31.  Wherever a Hindu temple stands, whatever its size, body and substance and to whichever God it is dedicated to it is built in principle on the same plan. What this plan known as?

32.  It remained the capital of the Chalukya Kings till nearly 600 A.D. Name it.

33.  Under this emperor the Moghul polity and state craft reached maturity. From a petty power they were transformed to a major state. Identify the emperor.

34.  Erected as a Vishnu temple,  Nandi occupies the central bay of this temple. Identify the  temple.

35.  The shikharas of this place are architectural masterpieces. It now created a "visual drama" by ornamentation of its own shape. In semi-relief, this was applied on all four surfaces of the shikhara. The corners of the base of the tower became like a vertical chain of superimposed mini shikharas. Name this place.

36.  The subject matter of these cave paintings, as of most of the surviving examples is the various lives and incarnations of the Buddha told in the Jataka tales.   The absence of shadows suggest an unworldly light appropriate not only to the subject but also to its location, deep within the rocks. Identify the place.

37.  This site is celebrated for its three successive groups of Buddhist Hindu and Jain cave temples. The southern group comprises of 12 Buddhist excavations; these belong to the early period of Chalukya control of the Deccan in the 7th and early 8th centuries. Identify the site.

38.  In plan this great stronghold takes the form of an irregular semicircle with its chord parallel to a river. Its massive enclosure wall consists of a solid rampart under 70 ft and nearly one and a half miles in circuit. Identify the complex.

39.  The Lion as a pillar base is not an uncommon motif in the architecture of several civilizations. Here the it was combined with a tiger to make the lower portion of the column shaft and another was introduced into the capital. Identify the  period.

40.  The temples of South India developed a structure often used in the treatment of the entrance. Name this structure.

41.  This form is a spatial representation of metaphysical and spiritual conceptions of the Hindu ideology and theology. It is a set of spatial sequences expressing Hindu ideas of the supreme beings, the universe and its conceived analogy with human psyche and body representing universal structure, its governing forces and forms of energy. Which form are we talking about.?

42.  The chola king Rajaraja Chola commissioned this gigantic temple. No tower higher than 60 ft., had been attempted earlier, but this temple had a tower about 200 ft., high. The cube of the Garbhagriha was carried vertically up to a height of 50 ft. Name this temple.

43.  This temple consists of three axially aligned elements; a fine bay mulaprasadas with ambulatory and superimposed Garbhagrihas and matching attached closed hall, a detached cruciform open pavilion, and a free standing torana. Identify this temple.

44.  This tower is 72.5 mts high and tapers towards the top. Its diameter decreases from 15 mts to 3 mts at the top. Identify the structure.

45.  This structure derived its name from the "Cow gate" of ancient times. Name this structure.

46.  This emperor was particularly depressed to find in India no gardens such as he had known in his country. Identify the emperor.

47.  Here the Hindu structural temple had its beginning and its introductory form. Name the place.

48.  In the latter half of the seventh century, the temple structure in its medieval aspect, was beginning to assume a prescribed form. As in the case of Greek and Roman architecture, these buildings can be classified into two orders. Name these orders.

49.  On the throne sit four large white marble figures - each facing one of the doors of the shrine. These area large figures : They sit with their feet crossed in front, after true Buddha style. Name the temple.

Have a break Have a KitKat!