The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c30.s1.4

v3.c30.s1.4

Considering the almost unexampled opportunities which the riches of Bengal opened out to the conquerors, the inborn artistry and adaptability of its craftsmen, and the immense superiority of Islamic methods of construction, it might well have been thought that the resulting school of architecture would have been second to none in India. As a fact, it proved one of the least successful. Seen in the mass the wide-flung ruins of Gaur and Pāndua, where the Muhammadans successively established their capital, make an imposing array and convey an impressive idea of the wealth and luxury of their authors. But, with few exceptions, the individual buildings are disappointing. They lack the imagination necessary to adapt the form to the size; their component parts are often out of proportion; their pillars sometimes too cumbersome, sometimes unduly slight; and the form of their Bengali roofs, originally intended for bamboo and timber construction, shows less appropriately in brick or stone. The low relief work of their wall surfaces, too, though exquisite in itself and admirably adapted to interior details, is generally too delicate and hyper-refined for the decoration of exterior façades, while the designs and application of their enamelled tiles betray a singular poverty of imagination. Yet, in spite of its manifest shortcomings, there is an originality about this Bengal school—a certain spontaneous artistry and freedom from convention which can hardly fail to command admiration; and, though the style as a whole does not rise to the same high level as some other local styles, nevertheless it was capable on rare occasions of producing results, such as the Dākhil Darwāza, which are unsurpassed by anything of their kind in the East.