Architectural Evolution of Gurdwaras: An Overview
--Karamjit Singh Chahal, Sandeep Dua and Sulakhan Singh
Gurdwaras have a pivotal position in the religious, social and political life of the Sikhs. Gurdwaras have also played a vital role in shaping the course of events of the Sikh history and in the development of the Sikh religious tradition since 1469. The important Gurdwaras were built at sites associated with important incidents in the lives of the Gurus or at places which are important milestones in Sikh history; or they have been erected in memory of the martyrs who gave up their lives in defence of their faith during the long period of persecution to which the Sikhs were subjected. Historically, Gurdwara succeeded Dharmsal. Guru Arjan had compiled pothi or granth (later Guru Granth Sahib) of holy hymns in 1604, the Dharmsal where these pothis were placed was therefore considered as the Guru’s abode, Gurdwara. Architecturally Gurdwaras have evolved from a simple single room structure to magnificent structures with elaborate detailing and decoration. This paper tries to trace the architectural evolution of Gurdwaras over a period of time.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
A Study of Painted Mural Decoration in the Tomb
of Sheikh Salim Chisti
-- Rohita Sharma and Ila Gupta
India is a country of diverse arts. The Mughal dynasty was famous for its glorious art. This paper studies the mural decoration in the Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chisti, a famous monument of the Mughals. Besides the famous architecture, different art and motifs were used in their building, interior as well as exterior. The motifs are in geometrical, arabesques floral and fruit forms. Why only different floral motifs were used for wall decoration in different squares in the interior of the tomb, is a question to be answered. This study is an attempt to investigate the different aspects of floral mural decoration, as motifs in the tomb.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
Proportions and Architecture
-- Rohitendra Singh, Aanchal Sharma and P S Chani
Proportions play a very significant role in architecture because they have different feelings associated with them and depend on how a human perceives objects with the surrounding spaces. Proportions affect working efficiency by creating positive or negative stimulus in the human brain. The beauty of nature is because every object is provided with an attractive proportion vis-à-vis its surroundings. Beautiful architecture should also evoke such chemical changes in our brain which stimulates a feeling of pleasure or happiness. This paper deals with different types of proportions and the feelings generated by them in two and three dimensional spaces. On varying the size, mass or volume of various building elements, we generate bulky, young or light proportions. These proportions can promote the feeling of strength or weakness, stability or instability, openness or closeness, fear or security, depending upon its surroundings.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
An Investigation of the Relationship Between Features
of Bus Shelters and Fear of Crime at Bus Stops
-- G Subbaiyan and Srinivas Tadepalli
Place-based crime prevention theories emphasize the role of physical environment in the reduction of crime and fear of crime in different urban settings. Bus stops are expected to provide comfortable, safe and secure environments for the people to wait for the bus. The overall physical environment of bus stop settings can be classified into: surrounding built environment, street environment and bus stop (shelter) environment. Previous studies established that fear of crime is influenced by characteristics of bus shelter and surrounding environment. It is observed that most research in this context was undertaken in countries like the US and UK, whereas not much research work is reported in countries like India. This study investigated the influence of the type of shelter, and physical and nonphysical characteristics of bus shelter on fear of crime of people waiting at the bus stops in the Indian context. Bus shelter characteristics of selected bus stops in Tiruchirappalli were recorded and the people waiting at the bus stops were interviewed to assess their fear of crime. The results of the analyses using t-tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that the nonphysical characteristics (i.e., bus shelter crowding and the presence of non-commuters) influenced fear of crime, whereas significant relationship between fear of crime and physical characteristics of bus shelters could not be established.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
City Marketing and Urban Branding Through Urban Regeneration
and Image Making as a Case of Eskişehir-Turkey
--Sevin Aksoylu
Depending on the increasing interurban competition, city marketing, urban branding and urban regeneration and image making have become key factors of urban governance, and many city managers have started to strengthen place promoting activities. Methods and technologies of urban marketing and city branding are accepted as the dominant aspect of competition in cities during the globalization and urbanization process, and can help and facilitate to differentiate them from other places. Marketing techniques are often used to help a city’s transformation into a center of tourism, culture and redevelopment. This paper examines the effects of the urban regeneration and image making activities on the city marketing and urban branding procedures as a case of Eskisehir.
© 2011 IUP. All Rights Reserved.
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