Indian Architecture (Buddhist and Hindu Periods) c20.28

c20.28

Whether it was through much of his life being passed in the quarry workshop under the shadow of the hill side, his long apprenticeship to the rock-cut mode, or his own innate aesthetic sensibility, the Indian mason shows in his architectural compositions an appreciation of the grandeur of mass and the rich value of shadows to a marked degree. A notable quality in much of the building art of India is that its linear aspect is subservient to its volume, the aim being mass rather than line. It seems as if the imagination of the workman had received special stimulation from his experience in the field of rock architecture when, confronted by the fact that his conception lay imprisoned in the womb of the mountain, he summoned up all his genius to bring about its release. Such an experience added considerably to his powers. Few things could be finer than the great roll cornice used with such effect in many of his earlier works, as for instance in the eighth century Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal, a feature obviously inspired by a rock-cut prototype. Then the distribution of the shadows, and the chiaroscuro generally in his temple architecture, indicate also that for a considerable period he was "thinking in shadows," when pre-occupied with the rock-cut method. This condition communicated itself to the treatment of his interiors, where, not satisfied with an atmosphere of religious gloom, some of his halls were filled with an intense darkness. Only on the occasion of a procession through the aisles were these chambers illuminated, when the delicate tracery of the fretted ceiling, hitherto unseen, was revealed, and the images of the gods were brought to life as their shadows moved to and fro, lit by the fitful torchlight. Outside were the projecting eaves (*chajjas*), their wide surfaces protecting the facade from the fierce sunlight, and also sheltering it from the heavy monsoon rain. Every portion, every effect, was the product of long years of application. Wherever it was to his advantage the Indian builder made the climate his handmaid, when this was impossible he used his artistic ingenuity in providing against it.