The Himalayan architecture is as diverse and vast a subject as the Himalaya itself. It reflects the collective religio-aesthetic aspirations and zeal of the people to create monumental edifices through their collaborative endeavour. And, to realise that objective, the innate ingenuity of the common people and their traditional knowledge-system have been the most valuable inputs. The present study involveda lot of traveling and fieldwork in the Himalayan interiors. Many of the sites hd to be visited several times not only because of the unavailability of reliable published material on them, but also because many of the monasteries and temples have been undergoing repeated structural modifications and renovations. Keeping track of such developments was necessary to make the study up-to-date. The Himalayan region can produly boast of being a veritable paradise for archaeologists, architects, art historians. In the present study, an attempt has been made to bring forth with the nostalgic fervour a kaleidoscopic view of the archaeological an architectural wealth of this region. The present volume is devoted to the study of Temples of Himalayan region. In the first chp. some of the outstanding types of wooden temples spread in the interiors of the western and central Himalayan regions have been discussed. The second chapter is devoted to the important of stone temples located at different places in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
The Himalayan architecture is as diverse and vast a subject as the Himalaya itself. It reflects the collective religio-aesthetic aspirations and zeal of the people to create monumental edifices through their collaborative endeavour. And, to realise that objective, the innate ingenuity of the common people and their traditional knowledge-system have been the most valuable inputs. The present study involveda lot of traveling and fieldwork in the Himalayan interiors. Many of the sites hd to be visited several times not only because of the unavailability of reliable published material on them, but also because many of the monasteries and temples have been undergoing repeated structural modifications and renovations. Keeping track of such developments was necessary to make the study up-to-date. The Himalayan region can produly boast of being a veritable paradise for archaeologists, architects, art historians. In the present study, an attempt has been made to bring forth with the nostalgic fervour a kaleidoscopic view of the archaeological an architectural wealth of this region. The present volume which is second in this series is devoted to the sutdy of Buddhist Monasteries, Forts, Castles and Traditional Housed of the Himalayan region. In the first chp. some of the important Buddhist monasteries of Ladakh, Lahul & Spiti and Kinnaur in the trans-Himalayan region have been dealt in detail. In the seond chapter, important forts and castles of Himalayan region have been discussed. The third chapter is of great significance, for it is for the first time that the traditional knowledge system related to the construction of residential houses of the common people has been admitted to the realm of architecture. |
