Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.59

v2.c11.59

After European colonists invaded India and gained a foothold, the European modern architectural concept was gradually applied to this ancient civilisation. Portuguese colonists built many magnificent Christian churches with European Baroco style in Goa. By the late Victorian era, the influence of British colonists upon Indian public architecture emerged. However, most British architects respected and were willing to reflect the Indian traditional architectural style. In 1911, King George V officially announced that British India government moved from Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) to Delhi. Policymakers decided to build another new capital in the south of Old Delhi. In January 1931, a ceremony was held in New Delhi. Modern architectures such as the Rashtrapati Bhavan, were elegant, vibrant as well as stately, primitive and grand. Red sandstone and white marble constituted the key colour of these architectures. India Gate in New Delhi was a symbolic and memorial architecture. This arch architecture was in memory of the unknown soldiers killed in World War I. Victoria Memorial in Calcutta and India Gate in Mumbai, all have a European style. Lotus Temple of Bahai Faith (namely Bahaism) built in New Delhi in 1986, was a very striking modern religious architecture, with the main building materials of white marble, shape of the typical style of Bahaism temple, and looked like a gigantic white lotus blossoming. Therefore, this famous modern architecture was also known as Lotus Temple. Nine doors were opened on nine walls under the dome, meaning that all roads could lead people to the temple of god. Lotus Temple was surrounded by nine pools which were the symbol of lotus leaves. Lotus Temple covered an area of 10.5 hectare, with lush flowers and trees around. Lotus Temple honoured as the modern architectural marvel was one of the most spectacular architectures and was also one of the symbolic architectures in New Delhi.