The Cambridge History of India, Vol. IV: The Mughul Period v4.c23.s4.166

v4.c23.s4.166

During this period, while the building art of the Mughuls was pursuing its course in Hindūstān, a somewhat independent development of the style established itself in Sind, when that part of the country was eventually incorporated in the empire under Akbar. Lower Sind, where most of the buildings are found, lies in the direction of an art current which very early set in from the west, a stream of no great strength but which persisted intermittently for several centuries. It brought with it first the influence of the Arab culture, such as it was in so remote a possession, and afterwards that of Persia. Buildings in brick therefore are characteristic of the towns of Sind, a method of construction which continues all along the Indus and beyond to Multān, encouraged by the alluvial formation of the country. Such a monochromatic prospect which this vast plain presents cries out for colour, so that it became the custom to decorate all buildings with brilliant schemes of glazed tiles. This method of ornamentation was probably first introduced by the Arabs, and was revived later by intercourse with Persia at a time when that country was enriching all its larger towns with brick buildings covered with patterns in coloured faience. Sind tiles are, however, not copies of the Persian model, nor are they similar even to those of the Punjab, a much nearer neighbour. They have a special character which is easily recognised. Most of the patterns are geometrical, and where foliage is interposed it is of a strictly conventional order. In technique the tiles are rarely square or rectangular but cut in geometrical shapes corresponding to the details of the design. With such a long tradition for brick and glaze it seems an anomaly to find in the town of Tatta, once the old capital of lower Sind, a group of tombs constructed entirely of stone and carved in a style which suggests that of Akbar's buildings at Fathpur Sīkrī. Most of these tombs appear to have been erected when the country was first included within the empire of the Mughuls under Mīrzā 'Īsā Tarkhān, who was governor of Tatta between a.d. 1627 and 1644. Some of the graves, however, bear an earlier date, and it is therefore fairly evident that the influence of Akbar's expansive building operations at the end of the sixteenth century found an echo in this rather distant part of his dominions. The most important of the tombs at Tatta is that of 'Īsā Tarkhān himself, a two-storeyed building standing on a raised platform in the centre of an enclosed courtyard. Its chief architectural feature is a double arcade surrounding the building, each pillar of which is a monolith, those of the inner row, together with the interior walls, being elaborately carved. The general character of the structure has much of the temperament of Akbar's capital, and this especially applies to the low relief patterns with which all the surfaces are profusely adorned. But as with the tiles this carving is not a servile imitation although it has the same manipulative texture as that at Fathpur Sīkrī, yet none the less expressing the individuality of the local artizans, who seem to have speedily acquired a marked aptitude in the use of the chisel.