17 Jali16

PREFACE

Sculpting with LightLight has no form or substance that the human hand can work and shape. To attempt to do

so would seem ambitious beyond reason, but the very possibility affords a world of brilliant

visual effects and deeper mystical symbols. Inspired by the challenge man has done just

that—sculpted light by means of passing it through a lattice, which sharpens its beams,

creates crisp patterns and softens its harshness into enigmatic shadows and evocative

patterns. In the parts of Asia and the Mediterranean where solar rays are strongest and

brightest is where architects, sculptors and artists were able to shape and form them,

evolving an aesthetic language of dappled designs and layered views. Ornamental pierced

screens share a common aim to bring light into enclosed spaces, while providing protection

and privacy. But, additionally, they also shape the atmosphere of a sacred space, augment

the grandeur of palaces and enhance the charm of domestic interiors.

Compressing light through open pierced screens captures another ephemeral element, that

of breeze. Like light, air, too, is shaped and funneled through narrow shafts, creating and

amplifying areas of movement. Set in window openings or as tall walls, perforated screens—

known as jali in Indian buildings, and as mashribyya, mouniya, qamariyya or shamsiyya in

Islamic architecture—became the interface between the interior and exterior world. Seen

from the exterior, such screens completed the presentation of a whole building, breaking

up the mass of an edifice and offering a veil of privacy. Seen from within, the screen would

have been silhouetted against the light, throwing its patterns on the interior floor. At night-

time, the glowing interior, seen through the jali, would have had yet another aesthetic

effect. The effect of light coming through a jali also changes through the day and through

the seasons. Thus, a certain sense of temporality is also built into the jali screen.

For writers and interpreters of the visual effects of a jali, philosophical concepts such as

zahir wa batin (the seen and the unseen) and sawal wa jawab (question and response)

lend conceptual frameworks within which to view the jali and its metaphorical potential.1

Not least is the important symbolism of light in the art and architecture of India and the

Islamic world, and the Mughals in particular.2 Together, the effect of light, pattern, colour

and breeze in the art of the jali form a powerful aesthetic of Mughal India whose story is

told in these pages.

notes

1. TK. Encyclopedia of Islam - a.) Two terms of Arabictheological and philosophical discourse, the first,z.āhir, meaning “outward, external, exoteric sense”,hence “apparent, manifest sense”, and the second,bāt.in, its antonym, meaning “hidden, inner, esotericsense”. This pair of words occurs together fourtimes in the K. ur’ān: in VI, 120, to describe theoutwardness and the inwardness of a sin; in XXXI,

20, as adjectives to describe God’s blessings, both manifest and hidden; in LVII, 3, as names of God to mean that He is the Outward and the Inward [reality], and in LVII, 13, as opposites portraying both the inside as well as the outside of a thing (Mu’djam alfāz.al-K. ur’ān al-karīm, Cairo 1409/1988, i, 141, ii, 732, 733; Lane, i, 219-22, ii, 1926-30).

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51 Jali50

Temple jalis and their auspicious motifs The elaborate adornment of Hindu and Jain temples involved many ornate features in

stone carving. Stone was hewn and shaped into a wealth of relief designs, pendant

forms, sculptural figures and miniaturized architectural motifs, all distinct elements in

a temple’s rich iconography. These included perforated screens and windows, which

often incorporate auspicious motifs and symbols relating to the wider iconographic

program of the building. Many of their forms evolved from earlier examples in timber

(see essay by George Michell), which were later realized by artisans working in stone.

Carving and drilling techniques allowed for heavy walls to be pierced in order to allow

light into the interior space through lattices, often close to the circumambulatory zone

(brahmani, pradakshina) surrounding the central chamber (garbha griha). Openwork

lattices can also be found in square or rectangular windows around an entrance

porch. The Sanskrit term jali (a diminutive of the term jalaka) finds its origins in these

developments, as do the stone piercing and carving techniques and designs that were

later adapted for use in Sultanate and Mughal architecture. Solanki-period temple

jalis (eleventh to twelfth centuries) of Gujarat and Rajasthan had a particularly strong

impact on the styles of the Sultanate period of the same region, bestowing their

auspicious designs on later Islamic structures.2

The classification of temple jali designs and their symbolism has been expounded by

Professor MA Dhaky (The Indian Temple Traceries, American Institute of Indian Studies,

v

“The naga-bandha (snake-band), the valli-bandha (leaf-band), the gavaksha (cow’s eye), the kunjaraksha (elephant’s eye) and resembling the svastika (meander), the sarvatobhadra, and the nandyavarta shapes, and the pushpa-bandha (flower-band),… : these are the shapes of the windows of which the naga and the valli should be employed in temples.”1

Manasara Silpasastra, fourth century

Sacred Symbols Jalis of the Gujarat Sultanate

facing page

Sidi Sayyid Mosque

(detail, see fig. 34

on p. 80), Ahmedabad,

AD 1572–73

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53Sacred Symbols Jali52

New Delhi, 2005).3 A lexicon of Sanskrit terms for the individual designs implies that

much of this nomenclature stayed unchanged over the centuries.4 This would suggest

that when later buildings styles such as mosques were outfitted with jalis the same

terminology may have continued in usage.5 The Sanskrit terms precisely identify a

great range of jali designs in temples from very simple spaced vertical bars (stambha

jalaka) to evermore elaborate forms.6 Auspicious Indian symbols include the meander

shape (svastika) or meander with short curved arms (nandyavarta), goose (hamsa),

conch shell (shankha), lion (simha) and medallion, sometimes composed of eight

fish (chakra-vyuha). 7 Geometric forms (bahurandhra) are also known, among them

variations of a simple pattern of drilled square holes, sometimes elaborated by a

stepped treatment around the edge (turyasra, chaturasraka, sarvatobhadra, sakarnaka,

vardhaman) or tipped to form a diamond-like pattern (gonetra, gajendranayana).

Architectural features such as miniature columns—sometimes bearing a figural

sculpture—or cross straps (rjukriya or stambha) also form a category of jali.

A quite different type of jali takes a more fluid and naturalistic form, either vegetal or

floral. An open flower-head in a hole (pushpakhantha) or a flowing or interlocked vine

(latayukta or valli jalaka) are the most common. Other natural forms are derived from

lotus leaf or petals (padmapatra) or leaf profiles (patrajatika). Among the figural styles

are intertwined serpents (nagabandha) which usually interlock two symmetrically

placed cobras around the edges or across the centre of an open square. Dancers or

celestial beings (gulika, sachitranga) are also included in temple jalis, as are elephants,

deer, auspicious vases, masks, and mythological creatures such as yalis. But of all the

figural types, it is just a lone peacock or two that makes its way into Islamic buildings,

for example at the shrine of Muhammad Ghaus in Gwalior (see, fig. xx in chapter xx).

From Temple to Mosque: Transformations in the JaliWith the development of Islamic styles of architecture in Gujarat from the fourteenth

century, a new set of ideas transformed the relatively small-scale temple jali into a

prominent feature in shrines and mosques. The symbolic importance of light in Islam,

the need for discreet spaces for women and elite visitors, as well as new aesthetic

preferences for walls of lightness and pattern ushered in this change. The grid-like jali

(sakhandaka) found on the outer wall of a temple (fig. 1) was adapted and expanded

in mosques and tombs, sometimes enclosing the entire building, and in particular the

tomb chamber. This style of jali grid contains repeating squares, each one bearing an

individual sacred symbol almost identical to those from Jain and Hindu temples. A few

modest innovations were added to the received formula, most notably a series of

openwork mihrab-arch shaped openings in the uppermost line.8 The jali thus evolved

from a minor feature to a key characteristic of the building. Gujarati architecture is

replete with extraordinary jali screens, serving as both decoration and function.

v

facing page

FIG. 1

Jali wall, Ajinatha Temple,

Taranga, Gujarat, 11th century

following pages

FIG. 2

Hilal Khan Qazi mosque, Dholka,

Gujarat, AD 1333

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