Faridkot
Architectural Heritage of a Sikh State
Faridkot: Architectural
Heritage of a
Sikh
State
. By Subhash Parihar. 2009, Pp. xxviii+292+9 maps+131 drawings+35
colour+ 196 monochrome plates;
size 22cm x 28 cm. Aryan Books International, New Delhi.
he
Faridkot
State
was one of the Sikh Sates born in Malwa region of the
Punjab
during the later half of the eighteenth century, after the decline of the
Mughal Empire. The state came into its own under Raja Pahar Singh
(1827-49) when the British extinguished the mighty
kingdom
of
Lahore
. During the next one century, the state prospered under Raja Wazir Singh
(1849-74), Raja Bikram Singh (1874-98), Raja Balbir Singh (1898-1906), the
Council of Regency (1906-16), Raja Brij Indar Singh (1916-18), the Council
of Administration (1918-34), and Raja Har Indar Singh (1934-48). During
all this period the state witnessed great building activity in the form of
forts, palaces, secretariat, guest houses, granaries, stables, factories,
educational buildings, hospitals, bazaars, havelis, gurdwaras, mosques,
temples and a lot of
miscellaneous building
types. The monuments of Faridkot possess a novel look. These are a source
of delight to the patient observer even today. The grand Secretariat
building, if cleared of the ugly stalls can present a view, rivalling the
Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata. Collectively, these buildings represent
the style of architecture that flourished during the second half of the
nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century in the Sikh States
of
Punjab
, which has not been studied so far.
The present study
comprises eight chapters, an epilogue, and an appendix. The first chapter
delineates the geographical and historical background of the region
comprising the erstwhile
Faridkot
State
. An analysis of the salient architectural features of the monuments is
contained in the second chapter. The remaining six chapters document the
monuments of the State on typological basis. The third chapter covers
forts and royal palaces. The buildings for state machinery are recorded in
the fourth chapter. The next chapter contains the survey of public secular
buildings. The residential buildings form the subject matter of the sixth
chapter. The seventh chapter covers memorials and the last chapter
comprises a study of public religious buildings. These chapters are
followed by an epilogue. The appendix gives Dr. Kamil Khan Mumtaz’s
interview with a traditional mason. Technical architectural terms and some
non-English terms not defined in the main text, are explained in the
glossary. The study ends with an exhaustive bibliography.
The text of the book is
illustrated with 9 maps, 131 drawings, 35 colour, and 196 monochrome plates.
The book thus tries to
capture the architectural heritage of Faridkot in all its rich splendour.
It will prove to be an invaluable asset not only to the academicians,
architects and libraries but also to the lay reader.
About
the author
Subhash Parihar (b
1953 Kot Kapura) is an art historian. He has done pioneer work on the
Indo-Muslim architecture of the North-Western India and the architecture
of the Sikh States of the
Punjab
. He is author of Mughal Monuments in the Punjab and Haryana (Delhi,
1985) (Honoured with Dr. W.G. Archer Award by the Punjab Lalit Kala
Akademi); Muslim Inscriptions in the Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh
(Delhi, 1985); Some Aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture (Delhi, 1999);
History and Architectural Remains of Sirhind (Delhi, 2006); Land Transport
in Mughal India: Agra-Lahore Mughal Highway and its Architectural Remains
(Delhi, 2008), and more than two score of research papers published in
international journals like Oriental Art (London); Journal of Royal
Asiatic Society (London); Iran (London); East & West (Rome); Muqarnas
(Leiden); Journal of Pakistan Historical Society (Karachi); Islamic
Studies (Islamabad); Marg (Mumbai) etc. He has also contributed to The
Dictionary of Art (34 vols.) published by Macmillan (
London
) and Encyclopaedia of Persian Language, Literature and Culture in the
Sub-Continent (to be published in
Iran
).
He was awarded Homi Bhabha
Fellowship (1994-96). He undertook a Photographic Survey of Architectural
Heritage of Haryana under Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture,
Government of India (2001-03). His research on
Agra-Lahore Mughal Highway
was partially financed by The Barakat Trust (
London
).
Parihar is also an artist
himself. He has been actively participating in art exhibitions since 1977.
He has given two one-man shows of his works in Government Museum & Art
Gallery,
Chandigarh
(1979) and Triveni Gallery,
New Delhi
(1982). He was awarded by Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi in 1979 for the best
collage. He has also participated in Artists’ Camps in 1979 and 1980
(organized by Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi,
Chandigarh
), and in 1997 (organized by Punjab Art Heritage, Jalandhar). In the field
of photography too, he has bagged about two dozen prizes including the
Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi Award (1997). To deepen his understanding of
cinema, he attended Film Appreciation Course at Film and Television
Institute of India at Pune, in 2008.
Now he is working as Head,
Department of History at
Government
Brijindra
College
, Farid Kot,
Punjab
.
