In December, my wife and I took a 3 day vacation in the Thar Desert around Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. We spent one evening in the village of Khuri, 50 km west of Jaisalmer, on the edge of some sand dunes. It was delightfully peaceful, with warm days and pleasantly chill nights. In the evening, we rode on a camel to “sunset point” at the western end of the dunes. Camels are rather temperamental, making the ride nerve-wracking compared to swaying gently on the back of an elephant in the Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary near Ooty. In Jaisalmer, we stayed in the Hotel Helsinki House, built and run by a Rajasthani villager who had made his wealth in Finland. Our room overlooked the Gadisar Lake, which was mostly dry. There was some water about 1 km from our hotel, frequented by pigeons and black-winged stilts. We explored the Fort and some havelis (mansions built by weathier merchants). Spending much of my time on building construction at Kamand, it was interesting to see the sandstone structures used in these edifices. Dating from several centuries ago, they consist mostly of simple column and beam designs. Given the lower strength of sandstone compared to say marble or granite, the span of the beams is only 10-15 feet. Most of the rooms, staircases and passageways are quite small, reminding one of Mandi (where the small size is due to the shortage of buildable land). In a few instances, arches are used for greater spans. The large durbar rooms, however, have wooden beams for spans of 20-30 feet – wood is an expensive material in this desert region. However, the softer sandstone lends itself to intricate carvings and decorations, seen everywhere even on the poorer residences. Thus, the available building material dictated the development of skills in the artisans. If you are interested in structures, The Great Courses has an excellent set of video lectures “Understanding the Worlds Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity” by Stephen Ressler, Prof of Civil Engg at the US Military Academy at West Point. He explains in a very clear manner with copious use of visuals, models and demos the scientific and engineering principles behind the design of structures used in bridges and buildings. These are illustrated using the great structures of the world, from the Pyramids of Egypt to assorted bridges to the Burj Khalifa, the tallest skyscraper today. The set of 24 lectures, each about 30+ minutes, is well worth the price.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 15:52:02 +0000
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