Bara Gumbad, Lodi Gardens, New Delhi, India The Bara Gumbad, or big dome, is a large domed structure grouped together with the Friday mosque of Nizam Khan Sikandar II (Sikander Lodi) (r. 1489-1517) and a mehman khana (guesthouse), located in New Delhis Lodi Gardens. The buildings were constructed at different times during the Lodi era and occupy a common raised platform. Formerly an outlying area of Delhi, the Lodi Gardens are a British-planned landscaped garden which includes a number of monuments (primarily tombs) from the Sayyid and the Lodi dynasties. Originally called Willingdon Park, the gardens were located in the former village of Khairpur, now on the edge of Lutyens Delhi, the colonial capital built by the British in the early 20th century. The gardens, which cover approx. 70 acres, have come to be surrounded by institutional buildings and some of contemporary Delhis most expensive real estate. Although they were built under the same dynasty, each of the three structures was undertaken separately. The Bara Gumbad, completed in 1490, is considered to have the first full dome constructed in Delhi. Its original purpose is contested; although it appears to be a freestanding tomb, it contains no tombstone. This causes the speculation that the building might have been intended as a gateway for the Friday mosque; however, their respective placements, stylistic differences, and construction dates do not support this theory. The Friday mosque, completed in 1494, is the first example of the new mosque type that developed during the Lodi era. Characterized by a relatively simple five bay prayer hall building adjacent to a simple open courtyard, this type was an important precedent for mosque architecture in the Lodi and Mughal eras. Square in plan, the Bara Gumbad measures approx. 20 meters per side. Set on a plinth 3 meters high, it joins the common plinth on the north and projects beyond it to the south. Its plinth is decorated on the east, south, and west with ogee arch openings set into rectangular frames. These provide access to a basement.The walls of the Bara Gumbad are approx. 12 meters tall, above which a hemispherical dome on a hexadecagonal drum extends another 14 meters from the roof level, for a total building height of 29 meters above ground level. A humble submission for suggestions and feedback. I hope you like my photography. I have kept some more pictures on my page. Please do feel free to have a look and give feedback improvements https://facebook/pandeygauravk
Posted on: Thu, 04 Dec 2014 14:34:49 +0000