Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v4.c16.18

v4.c16.18

The dwelling-houses of royalty, though richly equipped with tassels and awnings, were small structures with narrow verandas and back rooms. The verandas represented in the paintings generally have slanting roofs resting on beams and rafters. The roofs of the rooms appear to be flat, like those to be seen in some of the rock-hewn shrines.¹ The common people lived in huts with grass roofs supported by props and beams of wood and bamboos. The architectural grandeur which is to be noticed in contemporary religious shrines cannot be traced in the secular buildings represented in paintings, the reason being that the secular ideal of life aimed at simplicity, whilst to glorify God they made His edifices as sublime and magnificent as human imagination and craftsmanship could at that time achieve. This view will be best appreciated if we describe the architectural features of those shrines of which the paintings are studied below in this Part.