RR9

RR9

THE BEAUTIES BEHIND THE WIND SCREEN

The Hawa Mahal is still considered to be one of the Jaipur's signature monuments.



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http://famouswonders.com/hawa-mahal-palace/&docid=W6BTrYd3h1IJKM&imgurl=http://famouswonders.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/hawa-mahal-palace.jpg&w=1024&h=753&ei=l3ZyT7nnNsOTgwek6ek-&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=80&vpy=204&dur=893&hovh=192&hovw=262&tx=136&ty=108&sig=

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"The Mughal Empire was at its largest under Aurangzeb (r.1658-1707) who annexed all the Deccan sultanates."  (Ching p 626)

• South Asia was growing in trade and strength because of newly established European trade ports.
• Sawai Jai Singh III seized the opportunity of this potential growth for his kingdom of Amer.
• He grew his kingdom from 1699 until 1743, continuing growth and construction. 

"If moderninity can be understood as the forward thrust of transformation and as the production and exploration of the possibilities of the new in negotiation with the values of the status quo, then this was indeed a period of moderninity."  (Ching p 626)



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www.indialine.com/travel/rajasthan/jaipur/hawamahal.html&docid=PVqnMfXcUek_XM&imgurl=http://

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"The Hawa Mahal (literally, 'Wind Palace') gets its name because the building was considered insubstantial - or made of wind."  (Ching p 627)

• The grandson of Sawai Jai Singh constructed this structure in 1799, in what is now Jaipur, India.
• This building is a five story high screen wall which helped earn it the name "The Wind Palace."
• It was placed at the edge of the palace complex facing down on the main street.

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http://www.indnav.com/servlet/Browse%3Fmt%3DgoToName%26name%3DHawa%2BMahal%26smt%3Dguide&docid=3xgQmqsWR5oiDM&imgurl=http://www.indnav.com/images/dyn/featureImages/20766_4_

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• The concept here is that of a grand urban structure.
• It was designed by Lal Chand Ustad.
• The elements found in this structure are that of Mughal palaces or other mosques that were built to be screened sections for women.

"[I]t was built to enable the women of the royal household to watch the festival processions on the street while remaining unobserved themselves."  (Ching p 627)

This obviously has meaning in today's world as a lot of these religious traditions and value structures have still carried over today, and this could be "practically" used in several parts of the world even today.  Regardless of beliefs or values, it is a beautiful structure.

Ching, Frank, Mark Jarzombek, and Vikramaditya Prakash. A Global History of Architecture. 2nd ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2011. Print.