Chapter 5: Landscape and Architecture

This chapter was a bit easier for me to get through than the last (thank goodness!). This chapter was still a little difficult because of all of the history involved. A lot of information and history was discussed from before the 4th century to basically the present. That's a lot to cover in one chapter! It was still interesting to read about the landscape and architecture and their significance to the Indian culture and system of beliefs.

In the section about shelter and settlement patterns, the author mentions how the villagers divide their lands by use in which a village map is also a map of social relationships and history. The author also mentions the relationship the men and women have with houses and the structures that are built. The idea of relationships and roles reminded me of the reading from chapter three about world views. The more I'm reading, the more I'm understanding just how much India seems to be a relational society. From the importance placed on the family, to the social relationship that is placed among the village. The relational values tend to seep into all areas of social life.

The section on sacred geography was also quite interesting. A previous chapter also mentioned how the material world and the supernatural worlds are intertwined in the Indian society. This is most evident in sacred geography. For example, footwear must come off when entering a private area (such as a house, a mosque, or a temple). That is because these places are considered sacred and as an act of respect, the shoes are taken off. Also, this section mentioned the fact that the Ganges River is not only a river but it is also considered a goddess. Forests and trees are also considered to have guardian divinities. Within the geography of India, there are many sacred aspects. This shows just how much the material and supernatural worlds are not separate, but they are one.

The rest of the chapter was focused on significant geographical and architectural happenings from before the 4th century until after independence. Because this is a lot of information, and not as much to reflect on, I'm going to take this time to run through the information and mention some of the things I found most interesting. Before the 4th century, stupas were built throughout north and south India. Stupas contained relics of a holy figure. No free standing architecture is known for this early period, although rock cut architecture was most significant. During the 4th to the 12th century, free standing stone temples came about. Worshippers would enter from a secular space and move into the increasingly sacred space, which would end in the temples darkest heart. The temples contain platforms, an entrance porch, an assembly hall, an innermost chamber of the deity, and the temples highest spire. During the 12th-20th century Islam brought the mosque to India, the custom of burying, and the tomb became a significant structure. Growth of regional traditions, new palaces, forts, merchants' homes, and other structures were built. Groups that prospered during this time translated their success into elaborate structures. After independence, there was much need for schools, government buildings, housing for the poor, and urban renewal. Also, settlements were established in concentric rings with commercial at the core, residential districts, the middle and working class families, and then on the outside was the unused land where squatters live. While these sections did not provide me with a lot to reflect on, I found the information interesting and I feel like I learned a lot about the land and architecture from this reading.