'
GOTHIC REVIVAL AT FARIDKOT
- Subhash Parihar -
The architectural style that flourished in Western
Europe from circa 1140 to around the middle of the 16th century goes by
the label "Gothic architecture". This term was not coined by the
builders themselves but by the Italian artists of the Renaissance period
who used it in a disparaging sense. They identified the builders with the
Goth tribes, destroyers of the classical art of the Roman Empire. In
England, the word "Gothik" as used by 17th- and 18th-century
writers implies "tasteless" and "bizarre". The pointed
arches and sharply tapering spires of the Gothic style evoked the contempt
of architects engaged in the revival of soothing classical styles.
Fashions, however, have their periods of development, decline, and
revival. What is considered tasteless and bizarre at a particular point of
time may be found attractive at another point. And so it happened with the
Gothic style. Eighteenth-century Western Europe witnessed the rise of a
romantic interest in medievalism; as a result the Gothic architectural
style once again came into vogue. Historians termed this resurgence the
"Gothic Revival".
Although the epicentre of the Gothic Revival was Western Europe, its
vibrations were felt in distant places such as the little-known town of
Faridkot - the capital of a small Sikh state of the same name that
flourished to the south of the Satluj river in north-western India, from
the mid-19th to mid-20th century. Colonial politics was mainly responsible
for the reach of the Gothic Revival in this remote place.
Eighteenth-century India saw the gradual erosion of the power of the
Mughal empire. Taking advantage of the political vacuum, the Sikhs
rebelled in Panjab. During the latter half of the century, various bands
of Sikhs succeeded in carving out small principalities throughout the
region. At the end of the century the chief of one of these
principalities, Ranjit Singh, conquered the territories to the north of
the Satluj and established his kingdom with its capital at Lahore. To the
south of the river, in the region called Malwa, there came into being the
small principalities of Patiala, Faridkot, Nabha, etc.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh was an ambitious ruler, desirous of conquering the
neighbouring Malwa states too. In 1808, he actually annexed Faridkot,
which raised the concern of other Malwa chiefs.
If the Malwa chiefs were threatened by Ranjit Singh on the one hand, on
the other was the menace of the British East India Company. By this time
the Company had routed the Marathas and become virtual masters of the
whole of India except Panjab and Sindh, so their attention was soon
focused on the Panjab states. The Malwa chiefs, caught between the devil
and the deep sea, decided to seek British protection because they believed
the British would take a longer time to overcome them whereas Ranjit Singh
would destroy them immediately.
In the meantime, with the rise of Napoleon in France, British affairs at
home became troubled. The Company had to temporarily halt expansion in
India in view of the rumours of a Franco-Russian attack on Indian
territories via the land route through Persia, Afghanistan, Sindh, and
Panjab. But when in 1808 Napoleon attacked Spain, and it seemed doubtful
that he would think of India for some years to come, the Company again
became active in Panjab affairs. Taking the side of the Malwa chiefs, it
forced Ranjit Singh to sign a treaty under which he had to forego all his
claims over territories to the south of the river Satluj, including the
state of Faridkot. On April 3, 1809, Faridkot was returned to its chief
Gulab Singh, and thus the state owed its very survival to British
intervention.
After this the British lost interest in the Faridkot region as it was not
a very good source of revenue. However, they secretly continued to nurture
designs on Panjab as a whole. When, after the death of Ranjit Singh in
June 1839, his kingdom became a battlefield among warring factions, the
British took advantage of the situation and joined battle with the Lahore
army in December 1845 resulting in the partial subjugation of the Lahore
kingdom. It is not surprising that Pahar Singh, the erstwhile chief of
Faridkot state, sided with the British in their conquest of Lahore. In
lieu of the help rendered by him, the Company awarded him the title of
Raja and some territories. Raja Pahar Singh died in 1849, and was
succeeded by his son Raja Wazir Singh who continued the policy of
supporting the British.
To the good luck of the surviving princely states of India, the British
stopped their expansionist policies after the Rebellion of 1857. Not only
this, all the princes were assured of their protection, of course under
certain conditions. The native states accepted these conditions and came
under the indirect control of the British who appointed a resident at each
large court. Faridkot being a small state had no British resident. It
formed a part of the provincial circle under a British representative.
After the death of Raja Wazir Singh in 1874, the state was ruled
successively by Raja Bikram Singh (1874-98), Raja Balbir Singh
(1898-1906), Raja Brij Indar Singh (1906-18), and Raja Harindar Singh
(1918-48). As the last two rajas were minors at the time of their
coronation, the state affairs were controlled by a Council of Regency
during 1906-16 and by a Council of Administration during 1918-34.
As already noted, the annual state income of Faridkot was meagre, the main
source being land revenue from agriculture which in this arid region was
entirely dependent on the rains. When the British brought a branch of
Sirhind Canal from the river Satluj to Faridkot state in 1885, agriculture
in the region took a great leap forward. The previous year the towns of
Faridkot and Kot Kapura had been connected with Lahore on one side and on
the other with Delhi via Bathinda, Sirsa, Hissar, and Rewari by a metre-gauge
North-Western Railway line, giving a great boost to trade. Both these
factors multiplied the state's income, which in turn gave a fillip to
architectural activity that continued well up to the merger of the state
into the Indian Union in 1948.
Figure 1. Raja Balbir Singh in one of his
oil portraits
As is indicated by the inscriptions on the state's
monuments which record the names of various British officers as their
founders or inaugurators, the Faridkot rulers tried their best to keep
British representatives in good humour. This they did by It is interesting
to note that in contrast, with the passage of time, the British in India
tried to incorporate indigenous architectural styles in their buildings.
In 1903 when Lord Curzon presided over the durbar held at Delhi to
celebrate the coronation of Edward VII, he saw to it that the great tented
encampment was decorated entirely in Indian styles and Indian materials.
The styles followed in England reached India too, first in the British
structures and then in native buildings. When the British were developing
the Presidency towns of Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, neo-classicism was
in vogue. By the time the British had established themselves throughout
India, Gothic Revival was reigning supreme in Europe. And it was against
this background that the style appeared at Faridkot. However, it may be
noted that the British architectural styles did not reach here in an
unmediated form but were slightly metamorphosed en voyage, getting
influenced by indigenous styles. The speed of transmission too was slow.
Although the first signs of Gothic Revival were seen in Madras and
Calcutta at the end of the 18th century, the style took a whole century to
cover a distance of some 1,800 kilometres, reaching Faridkot after the
extension of the railways to the state in 1884. By this time the style was
reduced to the use of the Gothic pointed arch, and spired and pinnacled
turrets. No intricate Gothic ribbed vaults were used here and consequently
there were no flying buttresses.
All the three buildings of the state built in the Gothic Revival style -
the Raj Mahal, Clock Tower, and Kothi Darbarganj - were erected during the
reign of Raja Balbir Singh who ascended the throne on December 16, 1898.
All were completed before the end of 1902, as they are mentioned in the
court history of the state, Aina-i Brar Bans, published in December 1902.
Raja Balbir Singh appears to have had a special fascination for things
European; in one of his oil portraits he is depicted dressed completely in
European style .
RAJ MAHAL
The royal family of Faridkot lived in the palaces of
Faridkot Fort until Balbir Singh erected a new palace complex for himself
outside the fort. Called Raj Mahal, the complex comprises a group of
buildings contained in a vast irregular walled enclosure. It consists of
the main palace, another building called tasveer ghar (lit. picture
house), a baradari (literally twelve-doored, an open pavilion), a gurdwara,
three small pavilions called doll houses, two swimming pools, some service
quarters, a well, and a beautiful gateway.
Figure 2 Plan of the Raj Mahal complex
The main palace building, its longer side being along
the east-west axis, consists of two blocks joined by a porte-cochere. The
eastern part of the building comprises a two-storeyed set of rooms
arranged around a large hall. Originally this part was symmetrically
arranged on the east-west axis. The Dance Hall on the south side was added
much later, c. 1937-40. The western part of the palace has a smaller suite
of rooms surrounding a hall with an open court on the west side. Under the
open court are tehkhanas (basements).
The main entrance of the palace building was on the east side as is
indicated by another beautiful porte-cochere buttressed at each front
corner by a pinnacled octagonal turret so characteristic of the Gothic
style. The top storey of each turret has openings formed by narrow pointed
Gothic arches. Around the first floor of the building is a projecting
wooden balcony shaded by a deep sloping chhajja (projecting eaves), a
purely indigenous element. Its wooden parapet lattices are a treasure
house of geometrical designs. The top parapet of the east block is formed
by an open arcade
Figure 3. Plan of the Raj Mahal Palace
Building
partially screened with lattices of a beautiful
geometrical design. The description of the building by Philip Davies -
"a jolly stucco colonial bungalow with cast-iron verandahs" - is
not correct.
Figure 4 View of the Raj Mahal palace building from
the eastern side
The palace building is richly adorned with two types of
decoration. On the walls of both the porte-cocheres are meandering floral
arabesques interspersed with parakeet figures, all executed in cut plaster
and now painted in gaudy enamels. On the inner side of the main
porte-cochere the Faridkot state coat of arms is depicted in the same
medium. The stucco work seen on the ceiling of the main hall is finer in
quality. Here the motifs are purely European.
Figure 5 Balcony of the Raj Mahal palace building
Figure 6 Painted plaster decoration on the porte
cochere of the Raj Mahal palace
Figure 7 Detail of arabesque with
parakeets on the porte cochere of the Raj Mahal palace building
Figure 8 Coat of arms of Faridkot State on the
porte-cochere of the Raj Mahal palace building
In front of the palace is a small marble baradari.
The double-storeyed building to the south of the main palace is called
tasveer ghar. It is in the form of a small bungalow, a suite of rooms
fronted by a verandah pierced with narrow pointed arches. Nearby is the
gurdwara which has a semi-octagonal front entrance. The building has no
dome or any other distinguishing feature to mark it as a place of special
sanctity.
In the open gardens of the palace are scattered three light pavilions
called doll houses and numerous fountains. In one of the fountains water
emanates from lions' heads.
Although at present the Raj Mahal complex is entered through two simple
gates in its west wall, the original entrance was through a magnificent
gateway, called deodhi, situated in the south wall. The ground floor of
this triple-storeyed building comprises a central passage flanked by guard
rooms, the whole fronted by an arcaded verandah. The facade of the
building is a graceful composition dominated by a two-storey sunken recess
in the middle, flanked by double pilasters extending the whole height of
the building. This recess is pierced by an elliptical entrance archway
with two windows above. On either side of the entrance arch are three
pointed archways supported by double pillars on each side on ground level,
and an equal number of square-headed openings on the first storey. As seen
in the main palace, the upper storey openings of this gateway are also
fronted with light wooden balconies. At the second storey level is just
one room above the entrance archway, which has three lancet windows on the
front side. It is topped by a cut-iron cresting and a hipped roof of
corrugated iron. At each end of the gateway facade is an octagonal turret,
accommodating a spiral staircase. The top storey of each turret forms an
open-arched pavilion, topped by a spire. The angles of the third-storey
room and tops of spires are all crowned with iron finials.
Figure 9. The Raj Mahal deodhi
Figure 10 Plan of the Raj Mahal deodhi
The spandrels of the round entrance arch of the deodhi
are adorned with cut plaster arabesque designs. Each spandrel of the
flanking ground storey arches has a decorative medallion. The gateway
building thus harmonizes with the palace building in style and material
used. All the buildings are painted in Eton blue.
Philip Davies dates the palace in the 1880s, but the whole complex was
actually built in stages. Even the main palace building was constructed in
two stages under the patronage of Raja Balbir Singh. The western part was
built first, during the reign of his father Bikram Singh (1874-98), while
the eastern part and the deodhi were added later, in 1899-1902, during his
own reign "according to his desire and taste". The south hall of
the main palace and small pavilions in the park were built circa 1937-40
by the last Raja Harindar Singh. About 1945-46, the deodhi was separated
from the complex by a wall and converted into a hospital named after its
builder - Balbir Hospital.
VICTORIA CLOCK TOWER
Figure 11. Victoria Clock Tower
Situated to the north of Raj Mahal, the clock tower is
still the tallest structure in Faridkot town and thus forms a major
landmark. Thanks to the authorities responsible for its regular
maintenance, even after more than a century it survives in good condition,
and still serves its purpose. It is not known what the original colour of
the monument was. Now it is painted in garish green and yellow ochre
enamels.
Figure 12. Old picture of the Victoria
Clock Tower, c. 1915. At right are one of the buildings that surrounded
the Clock Tower and the towers of a baradari.
Structurally, the clock tower is a free-standing tower
built in the true Gothic style, with four easily seen clock-faces on the
cardinal sides. Originally, the tower stood on a platform which has
vanished due to the raising of the surrounding road level. The tower
proper, measuring 6.6 m square outside, rises in four storeys, each marked
by a cornice, the whole capped with a conical spire further surmounted by
a high metallic finial. The first and second storeys form chamfered
squares whereas the upper two storeys are octagonal in shape.
Each side of the first two storeys and the cardinal sides of the fourth
storey are pierced by a narrow Gothic pointed arch. The arches of the
uppermost storey are further subdivided into smaller arches. On the
parapets of the first and second storeys are placed decorative towers and
pinnacles.
The various facades of the tower are decorated with a variety of motifs.
The spandrels of the archways of the first storey have arabesque designs
in plaster relief. The remaining surfaces are adorned with panels textured
by simple geometrical designs. Most of the corners are softened with
fluted rectangular pilasters decorated with petal designs at base and top.
Only the first storey of the tower, forming an octagon of 1.6 m. side
within, has a ceiling, domical in shape. Upper storeys have no ceilings at
all, and the walls are bound by iron girders on which are placed wooden
planks, forming various landings. The southwest pier of the building
accommodates a stairway giving access to the first storey from where a
ladder is built in the southeast pier to reach the third storey where
there is the machinery of the turret clock.
The present clock was manufactured by the company Joyce, Whitchurch, Salop
(Shropshire), United Kingdom, in 1929, and supplied by the Anglo-Swiss
Watch Co., Calcutta. Most probably this clock was installed during the
period of the minority of Raja Harindar Singh (1918-34) at a cost of 5,000
rupees, as reported by a near contemporary writer Makhan Singh. The clock
machine, wound once a week, takes its driving power from falling weights.
This power is controlled by an oscillating mechanism. The controlled
release of power moves the arms of all the four faces. Each opal glass
dial which displays the time is 111 cm in diameter and can be illuminated
at night by fixing a source of light behind it.
The bell of the clock tower that rings every hour is on the fourth storey.
It bears the name of Taylor Loughboro, which most probably refers to the
company
Figure 13. Victoria Clock Tower bell and
its inscription
Messrs Taylors, Eayre, & Smith Ltd., Loughborough,
United Kingdom, the leading bell foundry of the world, established in 1784
.
In its original form, the tower was not an isolated structure, but was
accompanied by four ixan-like buildings crowned with conical spires of
corrugated iron sheets, each placed at one corner of the chowk at the
centre of which stands the tower. These structures, visible in an old
photograph, I have seen for myself during early 1970s. The whole ensemble
must have presented a spectacular skyline in those days when there were no
other tall buildings around. Makhan Singh attests that the clock tower
"presents a nice scene along with its adjoining Barandari buildings
and Ghantaghar Bazar."
The significance of a clock tower at the beginning of the 20th century
cannot be exaggerated when hardly any individual could afford a watch.
Moreover, it was a symbol of British technology, projecting a progressive
image of the state.
On each side of the clock tower the year 1902 is inscribed as the date of
its erection. These inscriptions are modern, of a few years ago, but the
Aina-i Brar Bans confirms the erection of the clock tower by Raja Balbir
Singh as a memorial to Her Majesty the British Queen Victoria who died on
January 22, 1901. As the book was published in December 1902, the
inscribed date appears to be correct. It may be interesting to note that
there is at Georgetown in Malaysia a clock tower, the Victoria Memorial
Clock Tower, erected in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
by the rich Chinese Towkay (master), Cheah Chin Gok. It is 60 feet tall
(about 20 metres), representing the number of years of the Queen's reign.
KOTHI DARBARGANJ
Figure 14. Kothi Darbarganj
Now locally called Darbarganj Rest House, this Gothic
Revival structure is situated in a large garden to the northwest of the
clock tower. Makhan Singh records that the rest house was nominated for
the residence of the rulers of neighbouring states and the [British] Agent
of the Governor General [of India].
Figure 15. Kothi Darbarganj, plan
The building comprises 12 suites, each with an attached
toilet and dressing room, and common kitchen, drawing room, and dining
room. The rear suites are arranged around an open-to-sky courtyard,
measuring 13.5 by 9.2 m and surrounded by square piers. The longest part
of the building measures 58.9 m and the broadest is 43.6 m.
The east facade of the building is a very impressive composition. It has
five round arches supported on double circular pillars, arranged in a
semicircle and flanked by elliptical arched openings. The crowning of the
building is in two levels. The lower-level parapet is marked with false
battlements, with an open-topped pediment flanked by triangular members.
The angles of the parapets are also planted with fluted pitcher-like
elements. On the upper parapet marking the level of the roof of the
drawing and dining halls, is an arcade of Gothic pointed arches, flanked
by octagonal spires. In the centre rises a domical shape and not an actual
dome, its body marked with flutings. The arcade originally continued on
all sides but its west side has crumbled. All the spires have metallic
finials, most of which are still extant.
Some crowning members on the facade have arabesque designs worked in
plaster relief. The ceiling and cornice of the drawing hall also bear
medallions in stucco relief. The designs on the ceiling are symmetrical
stylized floral motifs. The spandrels of the round arches on the facade
also have flower medallions.
Makhan Singh writes that the rest house was equipped and befittingly
decorated with modern furniture. An old chandelier and some pieces of
furniture are still extant in the main halls of the building.
The whole structure stands on a 0.65-metre-high platform echoing the
contours of the building, and approached by six sets of stairs. Parts of
cast-iron railings are extant along the front of the platform. The railing
has cast replicas of the state emblem.
The rear part of the building comprising six suites is entirely different
in character from the front. In an interview Raja Harindar Singh told
Sardar Gurdarshan Singh Sodhi (Surveyor, Languages Department, Punjab),
that he had made extensions to the Darbarganj Rest House. Colonel Balbir
Singh, the Manager of the Maharawal Khewaji Trust which now looks after
the property of Faridkot state told me that this part was added about
1945-46.
Figure 16. Stucco decoration on the ceiling of the
drawing hall of Kothi Darbarganj.
The Aina-i Brar Bans refers to the building as
Paradewale Bagh ki Rafi-al Shan Kothi mosuma Darbarganj, i.e. the
high-ranking mansion of the Parade Garden known as Darbarganj. Parade
Garden was situated on the site now occupied by the Secretariat Building
and Harindra Hospital.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of the stylistic similarity of the three
monuments, it can be assumed that all these were designed by the same
person who remains anonymous. The Maharaja of Baroda and Philip Davies
give the credit for the Raj Mahal to a local master craftsman Mistri Jagat
Singh, but his title mistri indicates that he was the mason and not the
designer. Neither does the contemporary history Aina-i Brar Bans give his
name; however, it records that Raja Balbir Singh himself designed his
buildings. This brings to mind the Mughal emperor Shahjahan who, according
to his court historian 'Abd al-Hamid Lahori, himself drew the plans for
the majority of his buildings. The raja's most probable source could have
been standard books on architectural design as was the case in the rest of
British India. His interest in books is well known, and he himself was a
writer. He established the first printing press of the state named after
himself - Balbir Press. Also, he opened a public library which had a
collection of some 2,000 books, including fiction, and works on subjects
like law, history, science, and religion.
These three buildings were the last examples of the Gothic flowering in
the state. The Gothic pointed arch did survive for some time in some other
buildings too, but not the spired towers. And soon the introduction of new
building materials and techniques freed later buildings entirely of the
past.
___________________________________________________________________
FIGURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
All images taken by the author.
NOTES
[1]
Jan Morris and Simon Winchester, Stones
of Empire: The Buildings of the Raj,
Oxford
, 1983, p. 31.
[1]
Wali Allah Siddiqui, Aina-i
Brar Bans (Urdu), Faridkot, 1902, III, pp. 711–12.
[1]
Philip Davies, The Penguin Guide to
the Monuments of India, Volume II, Islamic, Rajput, European, New
Delhi, 1989, p. 146.
The description of the palace given by the Maharaja of Baroda, too, is
much off the mark; see The
Maharaja of Baroda, The Palaces of
India, London, 1980, pp. 200–01.
[1]
The full name of the company was J.B. Joyce & Co. Established in 1690,
this is the oldest clock-making company in the world. Later, in 1965, it
became a part of Smith of Derby Group. www.smithofderby.com
[1]
Makhan Singh, op. cit., p. 52.
[1]
Ibid., p. 64.
[1]
Wali Allah Siddiqui, op. cit., p. 711.
[1]
http://www.orientalarchitecture.com/georgetown/clocktowerindex.htm.
[1]
Makhan Singh, op. cit., p. 64.
[1]
Ibid.
[1]
Faridkot: Ik Sabhyacharak ate Sahitak Sarvekhan [Faridkot: A
cultural and literary survey], Faridkot, 1975, p. 73.
[1]
This information he got from his father who served the state during
the reign of Raja Harindar Singh.
[1]
Wali Allah Siddiqui, op. cit., p. 712.
[1]
Maharaja of Baroda, op. cit., p. 200; Philip Davies, op. cit. (note 3), p.
146.
[1]
Wali
Allah Siddiqui, op. cit., p. 711.
[1]
‘Abd al-Hamid Lahori, Padshah Nama
(Persian text),
Calcutta
, 1867, I, p. 149. For an English translation of the relevant part of the
work, see W.E. Begley and Z.A. Desai, Taj
Mahal: The Illumined Tomb, Cambridge, 1989, p. 10.
[1]
Faridkot State Gazetteer, op. cit., p. 60.
He was the only ruler of the state to evince an interest in writing. His
book Ek Raja aur us ka Daura (A king and his tour) ran into
two editions, and he also edited two other works – Maharaja
Kapurthala da Safarnama (Travelogue
of Maharaja of Kapurthala) and Maharani Kapurthala di Diary (The
diary of Maharani Kapurthala).
about
the author
Art
historian, artist and photographer Subhash
Parihar PhD 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); Architectural
Heritage of a Sikh State: Faridkot (Delhi, 2009), 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 (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).
Email:
sparihar48@gmail.com
