Bengal roofs are sloping dome-shaped roofs with drawn-down corners associated with late

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

and

Rajput Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

architecture of

Northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. It is believed that stone roofs of this type did not emerge until the 16th century and can be traced back to rural models with straw or reed roofs in the rainy regions of

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

Description

Characteristic features of the Bengal roofs are the broad partial dome-like shape of the roof with runners down the corners. There are several common types of Bengal roofs: the ''do-chala'' type has only two hanging roof tips on each side of a roof divided in the middle by a ridge; in the rare ''

char-chala ''Chala Style'' (Bengali: চালা শিল্পরীতি) is a style of Bengal temple architecture, that originated in Bengal from the 15th centuries. Originating as a regional style in Hindu temple architecture. The main features of th ...

'' type, the two roof halves are fused into one unit and have a dome-like shape; the double-storey '' at-chala'' type has eight roof corners, four on each level.

History

Such roof forms appeared for the first time in the 16th century on royal architecture of Rajputs and Mughals.Michell, 156 Early examples are in the Bengali ruined city of

Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ) is a large bovine native to the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable species, Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 ...

, including the Mausoleum of Fateh Khan, the son of a general of the Mughal Emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

Distribution

Two of the first Mughal buildings with echoes of Bengal roof shapes are the two outbuildings of the private palace (''

Khas Mahal Khas Mahal (), meaning "the Exquisite One of the Palace", was one of the chief wives and empress of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. Family Khas Mahal was the daughter of Zain Khan Koka. Zain Khan was the son of Khawajah Maqsud of Herat and Pija Ja ...

'') built by

Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...

around 1635 for two of his daughters in the Red Fort of Agra. A few decades later, his son Aurangzeb constructed the roof of the Pearl Mosque (''Moti Masjid'') in the Red Fort of Delhi in a similar manner. However, it is especially notable in the architecture of the Rajput princes and merchants of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, especially the countless jaroka-the roofs of the 1799 Palace of the Winds (''Hawa Mahal'') in

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

, and the roofs of the houses of rich merchants (''havelis'') in

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed ''The Golden city'', is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar Desert. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Jaisalmer district ...

, Mandawa and elsewhere. Some of the later memorial pavillons (''chattris''), built in the 18th and 19th centuries on the incineration sites of the Hindu princes of Jaisalmer and their family members, are also covered with such roofs. Similarly, since the 19th century, the builders of many Sikh temples have used this element as the coronation of their

gurdwara A gurdwara or gurudwara () is a place of assembly and place of worship, worship in Sikhism, but its normal meaning is "place of guru" or "home of guru". Sikhism, Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths and rel ...

, especially

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...

at the

Golden Temple of Amritsar The Golden Temple is a gurdwara located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, and Gurdwara Janam A ...

Gallery

File:Khas Mahal (Agra Fort)-1.jpg, ''Khas-Mahal'' in Red Fort of Agra (in 1635) File:Reminiscences of Imperial Delhi Moti Masjid within the Palace.png, ''Moti Masjid'' in Red Fort of Delhi (1659) File:Deeg Palace.jpg, Palace in

Deeg Deeg is an ancient historical city in Deeg district of Rajasthan, India. It is carved out from its former district Bharatpur on 7 August 2023. This little city is worth visiting for its unmatched fortifications, extremely beautiful gardens and p ...

, Rajasthan (in 1750) File:Hamandir Sahib (Golden Temple).jpg,

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

– ''

Harmandir Sahib The Golden Temple is a gurdwara located in Amritsar, Punjab, India. It is the pre-eminent spiritual site of Sikhism. It is one of the Holy place, holiest sites in Sikhism, alongside the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur in Kartarpur, Pakistan, ...

'' (in 1830) File:Salim Singh ki Haveli 04.jpg,

– ''Salim Singh ki Haveli'' (in 1880) File:Bishnu temple at Garui in Paschim Bardhaman district 07.jpg, Stone Temple (14th Century), Garui, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal File:Rasmancha - Bishnupur.jpg, Rasmancha (1600),

Bishnupur, Bankura Bishnupur (; ; alternatively spelled as Vishnupur) is a city and a municipality in Bankura district, West Bengal, India. It has terracotta temples built by the Malla rulers, historic Radha Krishna temples built during 1600–1800 CE and the ...

, West Bengal File:Antpur ChandiMandap.jpg,

Antpur Antpur is a village in the Jangipara (community development block), Jangipara community development block of the Srirampore subdivision in the Hooghly District in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is around from Tarakeswar. The nearest railwa ...

Chandimandap

References

*Harle, J. C., ''The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent''. (Pelican History of Art.) 2nd edn. 1994, Yale University Press *Michell, George, (1977) ''The Hindu Temple: An Introduction to its Meaning and Forms'', 1977, University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN, 978-0-226-53230-1

External links