Ancient System of Town Planning in India

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The Indus Valley Civilization An Introduction The Indus Valley Civilization (c. 3300–1300 BC, flowered 2600–1900 BC) was an ancient civilization thriving along the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra River in what is now Pakistan and north-western India. Among other names for this civilization is the Harappan Civilization, in reference to its first excavated city of Harappa. The Indus Valley Civilization (IVC) was discovered in the 1920s and is known only from archaeological excavations, except, possibly, for Sumerian references to Meluhha, which has been proposed to correspond to the IVC. An alternative term for the culture is Saraswati-Sindhu Civilization, based on the popular identification of the Ghaggar-Hakra River with the Sarasvati River. Discovery and Excavation The ruins of Harappa were first described by Charles Masson in his Narrative of Various Journeys in Balochistan, Afghanistan and Punjab, 1826-1838, but its significance was not realized until much later. In 1857, the British authorities used Harappan bricks in the construction of the East Indian Railway line connecting Karachi and Lahore. In 1912, Harappan seals with then unknown symbols were discovered by J. Fleet, which triggered an excavation campaign under Sir John Marshall in 1921/22, resulting in the discovery of a hitherto unknown civilization by Dayaram Sahni. By 1931, much of Mohenjo-Daro was excavated, but minor campaigns continued, such as that led by Mortimer Wheeler in 1950. Following the partition of British India in 1947, the area of the IVC was divided between Pakistan and the Republic of India. Influential in the field were British archaeologist Aurel Stein, Indian archaeologist Nani Gopal Majumdar and German archaeologist Michael Jansen.

Notes on Town planning and Human settlements

Compiled by CT.LAKSHMANAN b.arch., m.c.p.

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TOWN PLANNING

A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture is evident in the Indus Valley Civilization. The quality of municipal town planning suggests knowledge of urban planning and efficient municipal governments which placed a high priority on hygiene. The streets of major cities such as Mohenjo-daro or Harappa were laid out in perfect grid patterns. The houses were protected from noise, odors, and thieves. As seen in Harappa, Mohenjo-daro and the recently discovered Rakhigarhi, this urban plan included the world's first urban sanitation systems. Within the city, individual homes or groups of homes obtained water from wells. From a room that appears to have been set aside for bathing, waste water was directed to covered drains, which lined the major streets. Houses opened only to inner courtyards and smaller lanes. The ancient Indus systems of sewerage and drainage that were developed and used in cities throughout the Indus Empire, were far more advanced than any found in contemporary urban sites in the Middle East and even more efficient than those in some areas of Pakistan and India today. The advanced architecture of the Harappans is shown by their impressive dockyards, granaries, warehouses, brick platforms and protective walls. The massive citadels of Indus cities that protected the Harappans from floods and attackers were larger than most Mesopotamian ziggurats. The purpose of the citadel remains debated. In sharp contrast to this civilization's contemporaries, Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, no large monumental structures were built. There is no conclusive evidence of palaces or temples - or of kings, armies, or priests. Some structures are thought to have been granaries. Found at one city is an enormous well-built bath, which may have been a public bath. Although the citadels were walled, it is far from clear that these structures were defensive. They may have been built to divert flood waters. Most city dwellers appear to have been traders or artisans, who lived with others pursuing the same occupation in well-defined neighborhoods. Materials from distant regions were used in the cities for constructing seals, beads and other objects. Among the artifacts discovered were beautiful beads of glazed stone called faïence. The seals have images of animals, gods and other types of inscriptions. Some of the seals were used to stamp clay on trade goods and most probably had other uses. Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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Although some houses were larger than others, Indus Civilization cities were remarkable for their apparent egalitarianism. All the houses had access to water and drainage facilities. This gives the impression of a society with low wealth concentration.

Cities of the Indus



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Development of Cities Indus cities grew out of earlier villages that had existed in the same locality for hundreds of years. The cities developed out of earlier villages that had previously existed in the same region. Beginning with a relatively small population, they grew in size and density to become the largest settlement of the region, surrounded by numerous towns and villages. New villages were established at the crossroads of trade routes, which eventually became large towns and cities of the Indus Valley civilization. All these settlements were linked by trade and economic activities as well as religious beliefs and social relations. Most villages covered 1 hectares to 10 hectares of area. These villages supported and maintained the larger towns and cities. Vast agricultural lands, rivers and forests that were inhabited by pastoral communities, fisher folk and hunters and gatherers surrounded each city. Classification of towns Small villages or hamlets Large towns Cities

0 -10 hectares 10-50 hectares 50 hectares

Important Cities City Mohenjodaro Harappa Ganweriwala Rakhigarhi Dholavira Rehman Dehri

Size 200 hectares 150 hectares 80 hectares 80 hectares 100 hectares 22 hectares

Population 35-41,000 23,500

12,000

Entrance of Mohenjodaro



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Mohenjodaro Pop. 35,000-41,000 Area >200 hectares      

No fortification Major streets in the N-S direction Broadly at right angles Streets within built-up areas were narrow Zoning was distinct for distinct groups, commerce at the meeting of east road and first street, near palace Three broad divisions of the settlement: o The religious, institutional and cultural areas - around monastery and great bath in the western part including temple. o The northern part - principally for agriculture and industries o The southern part – principally for administration, trade and commerce

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Construction technique was very well advanced: o Buildings were of masonry construction (sun-dried bricks) o Ranging from two rooms to mansions with many rooms o Underground sewerage and drainage from houses o Pumps (helical) to pump water in great bath o Principal buildings were monastery and bath – indicating the influence of religion as a culture (not for defense)

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Development of art and craft, science and technology: excellent way of adjustment to contours

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Range of shops and craft workshops-potters, dyers, metal workers, shell ornament makers and bead makers shops



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Great Bath - 12 x 7x 3 metres. This is the earliest public water tank in the ancient world. Two wide staircases in the north and the south lead down into the tank. Small sockets at the edges of the stairs could have held wooden planks or treads. At the foot of the steps is a ledge extending the entire width of the pool

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The floor of the tank is watertight. A thick layer of bitumen was laid along the sides of the tank and beneath the floor. The floor slopes to the south-western corner where a small outlet leads to a brick drain, which takes the water to the edge of the mound. Rooms are located along the eastern edge of the building. The tank was probably used for special religious functions where water was used to purify and renew the well being of the bathers.

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Granary (50x40 metres) is built on a massive mud brick foundation. Two rows of six rooms are arranged along a central passageway (7 metres wide and paved with baked bricks). Each room (15.2 x 6.1 metres) has 3 sleeper walls with airspace between them. A wooden superstructure would have built on the brick foundation with stairs leading to the central passage area. Small triangular openings may have been air ducts to allow the flow of fresh air beneath hollow floors.

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Great Hall (50 x 27 metres) is built on the top of a tapered brick platform and has a solid brick foundation. The foundation was divided into 27 square and rectangular blocks by narrow passageways running east west and north south. Some of these blocks have square sockets for holding wooden beams or pillars. A brick lined well was located at the foot of the stairs.

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Stairs leading into the bath have timber treads set in bitumen.

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Floor of sawn bricks set on edge in gypsum mortar with a layer of bitumen sealer sandwiched between the inner and outer brick skins.

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Water supplied by a large well. Set of rooms surround the bath.



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Harappa Harappa had a population of around 23,500 and an area of over 150 hectares. The city of Harappa consists of a number of mounds, each provided with mud brick walls, and brick gateways and bastions. Earliest city may have been formed during the Kot Diji phase, i.e., 2800-2500 BC and covered an area of 25 hectares. It became a centre for trade networks extending from Baluchistan and Afghanistan to the west to the seacoast in the south.    

Earliest city may have been formed during the Kot Diji phase, i.e., 2800-2500 BC Earliest city covered an area of 25 ha. It became a centre for trade networks extending from Baluchistan and Afghanistan to the west to the seacoast in the south. Towns built over raised mud brick platforms

Town structure consists of:     

            

Citadel mound and lower town surrounded by a massive brick wall. Citadel had square towers and bastions. Large open areas inside the gateway may have been used as a market or checkpoint for taxing goods coming into the city Outside the city walls a cluster of houses may represent temporary rest stops for travellers and caravans No division of the society is reflected in the layout of the city. Since large public buildings, market areas, large and small houses as well as craft workshops have been found in the same neighbourhood. Barrack-like group of single-roomed tenements were for the poorer classes Basic house plans ranging from single room tenements to houses with courtyards and up to 12 rooms to great houses with several dozen rooms and several courtyards. Houses had rooms on three sides opening into a central courtyard Nearly all large houses had private wells. Hearths common in rooms. Bathrooms in every house with chutes leading to drainage channels. First floor bathrooms also built. Brick stairways provided access to the upper floors. Houses built with a perimeter wall and adjacent houses were separated by a narrow space of land. Granary with areas for threshing grains. Burnt bricks mainly used for drains, wells and bathrooms. Sun dried bricks used mainly for fillings. Timber used for flat roofs and as frames or lacing for brickwork

Drainage system Wells and reservoirs were provided in cities to ensure drinking and bathing water. The wells were lined with specially-made wedge-shaped bricks to form a structurally sound cylinder. Ropes were used to lift the water out, probably with leather or wooden buckets. Some neighbourhoods had communal wells.



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Bathing platforms with drains were often situated in rooms adjacent to the wells. The floors of the baths were made of tightly-fitted bricks, often set on edge to make a watertight floor. A small drain cut through the house wall out into the street directed the dirty water into a larger sewage drain. Drains and water chutes in the upper storeys were often built inside the wall with an exit opening just above the street drains. Tapered terracotta drainpipes were used to direct water out to the street. Many houses had distinct toilets, separate from the bath areas. Commodes were large jars or sump pots sunk into the floors and many of them contained a small jar. Sometimes the sump pots were connected to drains to let the sewage flow out and most had a tiny hole on the bottom to allow the water to seep into the ground. Drains were made of burnt bricks and connected the bathing platforms and latrines of private houses to medium-sized open drains in the side streets. These open drains flowed into the larger sewers in the main streets which were covered with baked bricks or dressed stone blocks. Separate garbage bins were provided along the major streets. Architecture The most common building materials were mud bricks and baked bricks, wood and reeds. The average size of the bricks was 7 x 12 x 34 cm (for houses) and 10 x 20 x 40 cm for the city walls. The larger bricks have a standard ratio of 1:2:4. Mud brick and baked brick and wood or stone were used for the foundation and walls of the houses. The doors and the windows were made from wood and mat. House floors were generally hard-packed earth that was often replastered or covered with clean sand. Bathing areas and drains were made with baked brick and stone. Some rooms were paved with bricks or fired terracotta cakes. Roofs were probably made of wooden beams covered with reeds and packed clay. Some of the largest buildings appear to have been made entirely of wood. Houses Most private houses had rooms arranged around a central courtyard. Doors and windows opened out into side lanes. Stairs led up to the roof or the second storey. Windows had shutters and latticework. Large public structures Large buildings in the acropolis area may represent administrative or ritual structures. These buildings had access routes or provided thoroughfare from one area to another. Markets and public meetings were probably held in large open courtyards. Groups of houses and public buildings were built close together with shared walls and formed larger blocks that were bordered by wide streets.



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Most houses had private bathing areas and latrines as well as private wells. At Harappa, the transition of the settlement from an agricultural village to early city probably took place in around 2800 BC (Kot Diji) phase. During this phase the settlement grew to about 25 hectares in size and became a centre for trade networks extending from Baluchistan (Afghanistan) to the west to the distant seacoast in the south. In the next few hundred years, the town had grown six times larger, covering an area of 150 hectares. EXTRACTS FROM CHANAKYA’S ARTHASHASTRA Some interesting extracts relating to Town and Country planning in Arthashastra composed by Chanakya in the Maurya period is given below: Regional considerations:  

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Town, which is congested, should be freed of surplus population, which should then be housed in a new place. The towns should be so situated as they would be in a position to help each other. There should be a ‘sangrahan’ among ten villages, a ‘sarvatik’ among two hundred, a ‘dronamukh’ among four hundred and a ‘sthaniya’ among eight hundred villages. People who come to stay at the time of a new settlement or those who come to reside later in this new settlement should be exempted from payment of taxes for some years. In the new village there should be higher proportion of agriculturists and shudras. There should be a market provided for the sale of goods received from traders on highways. Dams should be constructed over rivers nalas. Temples and gardens should be provided. Arrangements should be made for looking after the aged, the children and informal persons. Cereals and wealth will grow if the agriculturists are kept busy. Attempts should be made to protect and increase quarries, forests and canals.

Town planning: A city should be located in the central part of a country so as to facilitate trade and commerce. The site selected for the purpose of this city should be quite large in area, and on the banks of a river, or by the side of an artificial or natural lake, which never goes dry. Its shape should be circular, rectangular or square as would suit the topography. There should be water on all sides. Separate areas should be provided for marketing different goods. There should be a wall around the town, which should be six dandas high and twelve dandas wide. Beyond this wall there should be three moats of 14 feet, 12 feet and 10 feet wide to be constructed four arm-lengths apart. The depth should be three-fourth of width. Three-east west and three North – south roads, should divide the town. The main roads should be eight dandas wide and other roads four dandas wide. The palace should be in the central part. It should face either north or east. The houses of priests and ministers should be on the south-east, traders, skilled workers, and kshatriyas on the east, the treasury, goldsmiths and industries on the south, forest produce on the northeast and doctors city fathers, army commander, artists, on the south. Temples should be located in the center of the town. Cemeteries should be located on the north and east of the town, that for the higher caste to be located on the south. The depressed classes should be housed beyond cemetery. There should be one well for every group of ten houses.



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Manasara Silpa Sastram is a definitive Indian treatise on Vastu Sasthram, an ancient building code which was used for designing houses, planning cities and communities for centuries in India. This document was used as a prescriptive building code dealing with architecture and spatial organisation of residential quarters. It is written by a sage named Mansara. It is one of the 5 documents that exists now which deals with Vastu Sasthram. MANASARA VASTUSHASTRA Another elaborate treatise on town planning in ancient India. It is perhaps of a later date – about 6th century A.D. There are several chapters in this book on town planning and construction of buildings. One interesting feature however deserves special mention. There are eight different types of towns and villages according to the shapes: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Dandaka Sarvathobhadra Nandyavarta Padmaka Swastika Prastara Karmuka Chaturmukha

1. Dandaka Dandaka type of town plan provides for two main entrance gates and is generally adopted for the formation of small towns and villages, the village offices being located in the east. The female deity of the village or the chamadevata will generally be located outside the village and the male deities in the northern portion.

2. sarvathobhadra This type of town plan is applicable to larger villages and towns, which have to be constructed on a square site. According to this plan, the whole town should be fully occupied by houses of various descriptions and inhabited by all classes of people. The temple dominates the village. Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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3. Nandyavarta This plan is commonly used for the construction of towns and not for villages. It is generally adopted for the sites either circular or square in shape, with not less than three thousand houses, but not more than four thousand. The streets run parallel to the central adjoining streets with the temple of the presiding deity in the center of the town. “Nandyavarta” is the name of a flower, the form of which is followed in this layout.

4. Padmaka This type of plan was practiced for building of the towns with fortress all round. The pattern of the plan resembles the petals of lotus radiating outwards from the center. The city used to be practically an island surrounded by water, having no scope for expansion



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5. Swastika Swastika type of plan contemplates some diagonal streets dividing the site into certain triangular plots. The site need not be marked out into a square or rectangle and it may be of any shape. A rampart wall surrounds the town, with a moat at its foot filled with water. Two main streets cross each other at the center, running south to north and west to east.



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6. Prastara The characteristic feature of this plan is that the site may be either square or rectangular but not triangular or circular. The sites are set apart for the poor, the middle class, the rich and the very rich, the sizes of the sites increasing according to the capacity of each to purchase or build upon. The main roads are much wider compared to those of other patterns. The town may or may not be surrounded by a fort.

7. Karmuka This plan is suitable for the place where the site of the town is in the form of a bow or semi-circular or parabolic and mostly applied for towns located on the seashore or riverbanks. The main streets of the town run from north to south or east to west and the cross streets run at right-angles to them, dividing the whole area into blocks. The presiding deity, commonly a female deity, is installed in the temple build in any convenient place.



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chaturmukha Chaturmukha type of plan is applicable to all towns starting from the largest town to the smallest village. The site may be either square or rectangular having four faces. The town is laid out east to west lengthwise, with four main streets. The temple of the presiding deity will be always at the center.



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Fatehpur Sikri - The City of Victory

After his victories over the Rajputs, Akbar commemorated his achievement by the building of a new capital. The city was called Fatehpur Sikri and was close to the imperial fort of Agra. Here, within six kilometers of defensive wall, Akbar built palaces, courts of audience, hunting lodges, mosques and triumphal portals. The city was abandoned soon after its construction, and the reason for this was the lack of any reliable water supply for its inhabitants. Its disuse as a city during the Mughal period is the reason why its buildings have come down to us almost intact, without the changes effected by later emperors on other imperial sites such as Agra, Allahabad and Delhi. This means that Akbar’s genius at building can be seen fully here, as also his finely developed aesthetic sense. Both formally and in their detailing, the buildings at Sikri are a fine blend of Timurid planning and aesthetics and Rajput art and architecture.



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Site Plan : Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri : Palaces



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Apart from its outer wall, Fatehpur Sikri was not really designed for a sustained defence, that role being assigned to the fort of Agra close by. The city is situated on a hilltop, and beyond the walls was the old town, of which little survives today. The highest point of the ridge is occupied by the main mosque and Sheikh Salim’s dargah. The palace itself, placed across the ridge, is divided into four principal parts – the daulat khana or treasury in the centre, the haram sara or queen’s chambers, a princes’ palace and ammunition stocks. The palace is entered ceremoniously from the Hathi Pol or elephant gate facing the lake (now dry!) The palace complex itself is dominated by a central court with water bodies and fountains, in the centre of which is a pavilion for music.

Of the buildings clustered around the court, the diwan-i-am (hall of public audience) (a), the diwan-i-khas (hall for private audience) (b), Jodha Bai’s palace (c), Birbal’s palace (d), the Nagina mosque (f) and the five-storeyed Panch Mahal (g) are noteworthy. All are disposed around the central court in such a manner as to recall Gujarati cluster planning.



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The diwan-i-khas which is a two-storey building with four chhatris on top is noted for its great central column, in which radiating serpentine brackets support the emperor’s dais and throne, from which four walkways connect it to the sides.

The haram sara is connected to emperor’s private chambers by a screened viaduct. This building consists of queens’ apartments around a central court. The scheme resembles in planning the Raj Mahal at Orchha. Its introverted form with a single gate was well suited for the days when women were still screened from public view. The Nagina Masjid to the north of the haram sara served as the queens’ private place of worship. Fatehpur Sikri is also known for two more buildings – the gem of a dargah of Sheikh Salim Chisti, and the Buland Darwaza.



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The Buland Darwaza is a massive gate mounted on steps, which faces the old town. It was built to commemorate Akbar’s military victory over Gujarat. This great triumphal portal leads into the mosque court, one corner of which is occupied by Sheikh Chisti’s dargah. This tomb with its filigree screens and exquisite carving was originally planned in red sandstone, but was finally made entirely of marble at the beginning of Jahangir’s reign. Fatehpur Sikri itself grants Akbar pride of place as a builder in the history of India. But there was still more to come – tombs, mosques, palaces and civil structures. As a remarkable man who not only won and consolidated political and military power but also patronized the arts and sciences, Akbar has rightly won the sobriquet of ‘the Great’. Town of Shahjahanabad (Delhi) Shah Jahan after acceding to the throne began to look for suitable terrain on which to build a new residence. Since in summer it was intolerably hot, it was impossible to return to the ruins of the old towns at Delhi, since they were too cramped. Fatehpur sikri was also out of the question, since there was no way of remedying the water shortage. The court astrologers, who although Hindus exerted a considerable influence, though they had found auspicious terrain on the west bank of the Jumna, to the north of the towns of Old Delhi. The construction of ‘Red Fort’, lasted for nine years without interruption. Shah Jahan was an orthodox Muslim. Unlike Akbar, he did not sympathise with other religions, and correspondingly did not allow his architects to choose between different spatial concepts. During Akbar’s reign architecture was as flexible as the sovereign’s outlook on the world; Shah Jahan’s architecture was as simple as his orthodox beliefs. The site plan of the Red Fort is characterized by emphasis on the axial relationship between successive courts. The Red Fort at Delhi was evidently planned as a rectangle with sides in the proportion 3:4; in the east it fronts on the River Jumna, but since an arm of the river would have formed an acute angle with the north Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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wall, the architect preferred to include this triangular area within the walls of the fort. Only this reason does the wall have an irregular shape. The southern corners of the rectangle formed by the walls are cut off; corresponding recesses in the north - western and north - eastern corners. The palace was divided by its east-west axis into a northern and a southern part, in the proportion 1:1. The visitor enters the fort along this main axis, on which lie the reception courts. Perpendicular to this it was planned to build a long bazaar, extending from the south gate to another one in the north; this bazaar divides the palace in the proportion 1:2. Since the north wall lay along the riverbank, there could be no north gate and the bazaar from the start lacked the connection it needed with one of the streets of the town. The northern part of the bazaar thus formed a blind alley; whether it was ever completed or used is open to doubt. The area west of the large bazaar, was reserved for the servant’s and soldiers quarters. At the point where the north-south and east-west axis intersects there is a square court, still accessible to the public. In the eastern periphery of the fort, on the east-west axis, lie the emperor’s private apartments, which form a second axis running from north to south; without exception they are oriented towards the Jumna recalling a similar alignment in the fort at Agra. Between the northern part of the bazaar and the imperial chambers there were gardens and offices; to the north of the gardens lay the houses of princes. South of the east-west axis lay the zenana area. Hence in Mughal period cities like Agra, Delhi was re-developed. Fatehpur sikri was entirely planned. Fortification was strengthened in Bijapur, Lucknow. They built many forts in places like Agra, Delhi and developed beautiful ornamental gardens popularly known as ‘Mughal Gardens’ some of them are still in good conditions, for e.g. Kabul Bagh at panipat by Babur, Shalimar Bagh and Nishat Bagh by shah Jahan, Lal Bagh by Haider Ali. In the same period, other rulers also built beautiful cities like Jaipur and Vijayanagar with new concepts of town planning. Moghul Shahajahanabad Moghul monarch Shahjahan established Shahjahanabad circa 1638 as a capital city from Agra when the monarchy was at its peak and he its greatest builder. The city for 60000 people, spread across 600 hectares enclosing a wall punctured with seven gates from which radiated highways to all parts of his empire, was planned on principles prevailing for cities in that era. The city's urban design was an amalgamated model of Persian, Islamic and Vedic principles. Persia (Safavid empire) enjoyed trade and diplomatic relations with the Moghuls, and its architects Ustad Hamid and Ustad Ahmed determined the formalism and symmetry of the Palace complex, gardens and boulevards and even the style of its buildings. Islamic influences have been inferred from the likeness of Samarkand plan to the Shahjahanabad one (Islamic cosmology, manmacrocosm anologies; Spine – Chandni Chowk, Ribs-streets, Head-fort, Heart-Jama Masjid, Organs-Sarai, Wall-skin). The Vedic texts of 16 th century Vastu Shastra and the Mansara on Architecture and city planning respectively are perceived to have influenced its settlement geometry as a bow shaped semielliptical ( Karmukha ) city located on a river, its axes interpreted as the bow and the archer's arm, and, its circumferential streets the bow shaft. The junction of the two axes, an auspicious center, is the Emperors Palace. Scholars have further explored the dimensional relationships of the city's main elements, and chroniclers have recounted boulevard streets with water channels, grand mosques, Havelis and gardens of the courtiers, arcaded bazar streets, prominent localities, baolis, sarais, kotwalis, exclusive garden Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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retreats, baradaris, chhattas kuchas gallis, madrassas, maktabs, khanqahs, khirkis, ganjs – a host of other elements of the material culture, some still surviving. Courtyard houses of various scales, complexity and ornamentation signified the owners status and social ranking; the larger Havelis reproduced a scaled down version of the Palace complex and were self contained. These Havelis with their spillover dependants building around them formed the nucleus of the 'morally system. Several locality names (Teliwara, Malliwara, Katra Nil, Farashkhana, Ballimaran, Khari Baoli…) survive in the original, imprinting the associations, images of work settings, caste or social grouping, or the peculiarities of that area (Khari Baoli saline water stepwell, Chahlpura locality of 40 houses, Chandni Chowk silver square etc). Faiz bazar and Chandni Chowk the two main axes had well stocked shops of even imported goods. The city had a healthy trade presence. It peaked at 5 lakh population on the king's death.

It is approximately shaped like a quarter circle, with the Red Fort as the focal point. The old city was surrounded by a wall enclosing about 1500 acres, with several gates: 1. Nigambodh Gate:North/East, leading to historic Nigambodh ghat on Jamuna 2. Kashmiri Gate: North 3. Mori Gate: North 4. Kabuli gate: West 5. Lahori gate: West 6. Ajmeri Gate: South East, leading to Ghaziuddin Khan's Madrassa and Connaught Place, a focal point in New Delhi. Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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7. Turkman Gate: South East, close to some pre-Shahjahan remains which got enclosed within the walls, including the tomb of Hazrat Shah Turkman Bayabani. 8. Delhi Gate: South leading to Feroz Shah Kotla and what was then older habitation of Delhi then. The surrounding walls, 12 feet wide and 26 feet tall, originally of mud, were replaced by red stone in 1657. In the Mughal period, the gates were kept locked at night. The walls have now largely disappeared, but most of the gates are still present. The township of old Delhi is still identifiable in a satellite image because of density of houses. The famous Khooni Darwaza south of Delhi Gate, was just outside the walled city, it was originally constructed by Sher Shah Suri.



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Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens at work Lutyens' Delhi He's a one-man brand for New Delhi's heritage but does he deserve all the credit? What Lutyens Built  Rashtrapati Bhavan  Four bungalows inside the President’s Estate  India Gate  Hyderabad and Baroda palaces at India Gate Unsung Heroes Robert Tor Russell built Connaught Place, the Eastern and Western Courts, Teen Murti House, Safdarjung Airport, National Stadium and over 4,000 government houses. E. Montague Thomas designed and built the first secretariat building of New Delhi which set a style for the bungalows. Herbert Baker made seven bungalows and the North and South Blocks. The other bungalows of New Delhi are the work of architects like W.H. Nicholls, C.G. and F.B. Blomfield, Walter Sykes George, Arthur Gordon Shoosmith and Henry Medd. Lord Hardinge insisted on roundabouts (Lutyens had initially designed the streets at right angles), hedges and trees (Lutyens said the trees wouldn’t survive) and demanded the Raisina Hill site for the Viceroy’s House (Lutyens preferred a more southern setting closer to Malcha). Hardinge also insisted on a Mughalstyle garden for Viceroy’s House (Lutyens was keen on an English garden with ‘artless’ natural planting). Using P.H. Clutterbuck’s list of Indian trees, W.R. Mustoe, director of horticulture, was actually responsible for the roadside planting work for New Delhi’s avenues. It was Mustoe and Walter Sykes George who landscaped and planted Lutyens’ Mughal Garden. Swinton Jacob, advisor on Indian materials and ornaments, suggested raising the ground level of Rashtrapati Bhavan, on a carefully studied contour plan. Lutyens’ Delhi" is used indiscriminately to include the work of all the other brilliant architects who worked to build New Delhi in the 1930s. The only four bungalow-residences designed by Edwin Lutyens, for the private secretary, surgeon general, military secretary, and comptroller, lie hidden within the security zone of the President’s Estate. So how can history bury all the bungalows and buildings which are the work of other architects? Robert Tor Russell built Connaught Place, the Eastern and Western Courts, the commander-inNotes on Town planning and Human settlements


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chief’s house (now Teen Murti House), Delhi’s Safdarjung Airport, Irwin Amphitheatre (now the National Stadium), and over 4,000 government houses—and not many even know Russell’s name. The other bungalows of New Delhi are the work of prominent architects like W.H. Nicholls, C.G. and F.B. Blomfield, Walter Sykes George, Arthur Gordon Shoosmith (from Lutyens’ office), and Henry Medd. Herbert Baker made seven bungalows or ‘bungle-ohs’—as Lutyens described them to make fun of him. Ironically, these same ‘bungle-ohs’ are now attributed and credited to Lutyens himself! Baker also designed the North and South Blocks. Today, Delhi’s building activity has spilled beyond its boundaries to fashionable second homes called ‘farmhouses’. Indian architects and interior designers create sprawling dream homes amidst acres of landscaped abundance, imitating the loggia-encircled dwellings set in English gardens which the earlytwentieth century had realised in New Delhi. To the layperson, any colonial bungalow in Delhi is a Lutyens house—the misperception is as inaccurate as the mispronunciation, ‘Lootens’ instead of ‘Lutchens’. But then Delhi’s nouveau riche choose to appropriate the ‘Lutyens style’ for their own snobbish purposes, with as fine a disregard for pronunciation as for architectural verity. History and the connotations of Empire apart, a bungalow home—should one have the space—is ideally suited to the tropical climate of Delhi. Large, open verandahs, apart from their elegance, keep the inner room cooled away from the direct rays of the sun, while high ceilings carry the hot air up, to be let out from the ventilators. Even with air conditioning a bungalow adapts itself well and gives more than enough headroom to de-stress from urban claustrophobia and clockworks. As there is a renewed interest in building colonial bungalows to suit Delhi’s farmhouses, it’s time to ask, "Who designed New Delhi’s stunning white bungalows?" And why does the credit always go to someone else? Both clients and architects need to educate themselves and get their facts right. Building Lutyens

An architectural drawing of Lutyens’ iconic dome for the Viceroy’s House Most writing by the English on the building of New Delhi was contemporaneous or just subsequent to the city’s founding and completion in 1931. But without history’s hindsight, it fell too easily into the trap of instant glorification or vilification—mostly the former. Edwin Lutyens, the architect of Viceroy’s House Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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(Rashtrapati Bhavan) and the estate’s bungalows for staff and bodyguards, as well as of the two Hyderabad and Baroda palaces at India Gate, had evidently risen from relative anonymity in England to becoming a signature, the unparalleled heroic architect of his times—now once again because of Raj nostalgia. He strode as a colossus on his stage, hero-worshipped by his charmed circle who cast as villains and persecutors all those who opposed him. These villains included Herbert Baker, his associate architect on whose strength he had won the contract; the viceroy, Lord Hardinge, the city’s founder-patron; and a host of other collaborators-cum-antagonists. Among those who wrote of those times with a pro-Lutyens bias were Robert Byron, the official writer for Country Life and Architectural Review; A.S.G. Butler, who produced three commemorative volumes on Lutyens in 1950; Robert and Mary Lutyens, the architect’s son and daughter; and Christopher Hussey, who wrote a biography based on the papers which Lutyens had proposed to use for writing his autobiography. Jane Ridley, Lutyens’ great-granddaughter has now written another family eulogy. They have all built a cult other architects could not match. It should be remembered that even before Herbert Baker and Edwin Lutyens set foot in India, E. Montague Thomas had designed and built the first secretariat building of New Delhi which set a style for the bungalows. Later, when the North and South Blocks (then called the secretariats) were designed by Baker, and Rashtrapati Bhavan designed by Lutyens, the bungalows of the new imperial capital were evolved from the existing style by a host of architects. What conservationists today call the LBZ (Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone) has not a single bungalow designed by Lutyens except within the President’s Estate. So what are the other contributions he is credited with and what actually is the true credit he deserves? City Plan Even Lutyens’ layout plan cannot be considered original. He had initially designed a city with all the streets crossing at right angles, much like New York. But Hardinge told him of the dust storms that sweep the landscape in these parts, insisting on roundabouts, hedges and trees to break their force, giving him the plans of Paris and Washington to study and apply to Delhi. The final plan borrows from many other town plans and from earlier plans for New Delhi. Roderick Gradidge writes, "Although the plan was a group effort, it has often been attributed to Lutyens, and there is no doubt that he was a powerful influence in its creation." Choice of Site Lord Hardinge had suggested that the Imperial Delhi Committee consider Raisina, a dramatic rocky outcrop abutting the Ridge, as a site for Government House. John Brodie favoured this site as well. Lutyens, however, proclaimed that if the committee’s tentative proposal for a site between Malcha and Raisina was abandoned, he would side with Swinton Jacob in favour of Malcha. On 4 November, 1912, the viceroy, accompanied by three engineers, T.R.J. Ward, W.B. Gordon and C.E.V. Goument, visited all the proposed sites and concluded that "Raisina was the best for Government House". The engineers agreed unanimously with this view. So the site was not chosen by Lutyens who had preferred a more southern setting towards Malcha. A Commanding Stature It was Swinton Jacob, advisor on Indian materials and ornaments, who suggested raising the ground level of Government House (or Viceroy’s House), on a carefully studied contour plan—not Lutyens. Placed on the ground, it would have been less grandiose. The plinth was raised by over three metres (10 feet), and this was to enshrine forever the stunning eastern view along the axis, right up to Purana Qila (Old Fort). But unfortunately, a later decision by the viceroy to build Irwin Stadium to perpetuate his name (now called National Stadium) at the end of the vista has blocked this dramatically symbolic axis forever. However, after giving both shape and stature to Lutyens’ building (which was never acknowledged), Swinton Jacob Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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realised Lutyens’ stubbornness in taking advice and resigned saying he had ‘no courage to withstand’ public criticism for what might eventually happen. At that point an all-Roman building was feared. But Hardinge pursued Jacob’s concern and saw to the Indianising of the structure. Materials The use of the superb rhubarb-red and beige-pink sandstones for Rashtrapati Bhavan is also credited to Lutyens. But, he had actually opposed it in favour of white marble as used in the Taj Mahal. He could hardly have been aware that in white he too would have built a mausoleum. In fact, sandstone was suggested by the geological department, which got no credit but only received brickbats for the sandstone’s heat-retentive qualities! Trees It was P.H. Clutterbuck who compiled a list of 72 species of trees that would green the area successfully and reported on 18 August, 1912 that the afforestation of the Ridge was "decidedly possible". T.R.J. Ward, though an engineer, also supported this proposal. Lutyens, however, did not agree. He wrote ‘privately’ to the viceroy: "Will trees really grow on the Ridge? I could imagine them doing well for 10 or 15 years, but after that they may die off." Ward had said the reverse, that there would be a fine growth in 10 or 15 years. Lutyens went on to insist, "The Ridge would prove an exception if the planting proved permanent. I refer to forest trees, not to scrubs, shrubs and small trees; the risk is a very great one, and I do not think Mr Clutterbuck’s report is very emphatic on this point; ...but would it be permanent for the life of a tree, and would it allow for any designed scheme of planting to be carried out?" Lutyens was not embarrassed to denounce the professional competence of Clutterbuck, whom Hardinge referred to as "the most able Forest Officer in India". Using Clutterbuck’s list of Indian trees, W.R. Mustoe, director of horticulture, was actually responsible for the roadside planting work for New Delhi’s avenues. Today, Lutyens is credited for the greening of the Ridge where the trees have lasted almost a century, not just 10 or 15 years as he had warned. Land-Use The late Satish Grover, a former head of the Department of Architecture at the Delhi School of Planning and Architecture writes: "In the Bungalow Zone the population density is 12 to 15 people per acre; in the old walled city of Delhi it is 1,500 people per acre." Today the bungalow zone serves as the lungs of New Delhi, and the density is lower perhaps than any other planned city. This has less to do with the planners’ farsightedness, as is imagined, and more to do with practical constraints. Let it not be forgotten that these disproportionately large gardens were a design compromise to overcome a diminished budget and yet cover the maximum land area with about half the number of houses. The Mughal Garden Lutyens was keen on doing an English garden with ‘artless’ natural planting and in this view his friend and mentor Gertrude Jekyll had supported him. Hardinge forced him to travel and see the Mughal gardens of Agra, Lahore, and Srinagar. Constance Villiers-Stuart’s pioneering research on Indian water-gardens was also introduced to Lutyens by Hardinge. But almost as if not to acknowledge his influences, Lutyens called it not the Mughal, but the ‘formal Indian garden’. It was Mustoe and Walter Sykes George who landscaped and planted Lutyens’ Mughal Garden where there were 17 miles of hedges to maintain!



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The Mughal Garden being laid Lutyens’ Loathing For Things Indian If not a single bungalow in what is now called Lutyens’ Bungalow Zone was designed by Edwin Lutyens, why do we continue to perpetuate this misnomer? Is it to honour an imperialist architect who took every occasion to denounce all that was India—its architecture, its people, their food and their mindset. In fact, after he had built all there was to be built, Lutyens was even ungrateful enough to say that Indian craftsmen had broken thumbs. Lutyens’ talent is hugely overrated for his times. He was flaunting classical styles to evoke the decadent and last phase of empire. Lutyens had been unperceptive enough to pass a sweeping judgement on all of India’s standing architectural heritage when he wrote: "They are just spurts by various mushroom dynasties with as much intellect in them as any other art nouveau." If Lutyens’ own work is put to scrutiny under his patronising view, it was also just a spurt. He may have immodestly imagined that the Delhi Order which he created for the capitals of his pillars would match and last with the five classical orders—the Doric, Corinthian, Ionic, Tuscan and Composite. His clapper-less bells were to hang out of the capitals to hauntingly sound the death-knell of the British empire. Design apart, where had Lutyens made provision for the new inventions of the age which had come with industrialisation? Corbusier was only 18 years younger than Lutyens. His Chandigarh was built 30 years after Viceroy’s House, but his modernism, perhaps equally irrelevant and inappropriate for India, makes the town look a century ahead of New Delhi. Today, almost all the English commentators on Lutyens have to explain with embarrassment the architect’s remarks on India. According to Gavin Stamp, Lutyens is "guilty by association", Elizabeth Wilhide writes that "Lutyens’ impressions of India do not always make sympathetic reading", and Roderick Gradidge suggests that they were "vulgar...[and he] may have brought these expressions with him from England." William Dalrymple has recorded his impression of Lutyens upon reading the architect’s correspondence: "Perhaps the overwhelming surprise of the letters is Lutyens’ extraordinary intolerance and dislike of all things Indian. Even by the standards of the time, the letters reveal him to be a bigot, though the impression is one of bumbling insularity rather than jack-booted malevolence. Indians are invariably referred to as ‘black’, ‘blackamoors’, ‘natives’, or even ‘niggers’. They are ‘dark and ill-smelling’, their food is ‘very strange and frightening’ and they ‘do not improve with acquaintance’. The helpers in his architect’s office he describes as ‘odd people with odd names who do those things that bore the white man’. On another occasion he writes of the ‘sly slime of the Eastern mind’ and ‘the very low intelligence of the natives’." Lutyens came to the conclusion that it was not possible for Indians and whites to mix freely as "They are very, very different and I cannot admit them on the same plane as myself." Lutyens Bows To Hardinge—At Last Eleven years before Sir Edwin Lutyens died, it seems that in a final moment of honest self-appraisal and a reckoning, he finally acknowledged the viceroy’s contribution with a pricking conscience: "This new city owes its being to Lord Hardinge...His patience and courage in times of great stress, personal and political, his even temper in the midst of diverse discussion remain in my memory as being parallel only with the greatness of his conception." Notes on Town planning and Human settlements


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Herbert Baker had been a forerunner to Lutyens in designing Pretoria’s Union Buildings. The resemblance to New Delhi’s Great Place (Vijay Chowk) is staggering. But poor Baker was consciously sidelined and trampled by Lutyens who had so cunningly used him to win the New Delhi commission jointly. History forgets this, as also the fact that Lutyens’ war memorials in Europe are a copy of those that Baker designed. That Baker finally returned to England heartbroken and died after a nervous breakdown is something Lutyens’ conscience would never quite be able to wash off. It is a great pity that the statue of Lord Hardinge, New Delhi’s founder, was removed from beneath the Jaipur Column—for this city would not have seen the light of day without him—and that Lutyens’ still remains within Rashtrapati Bhavan. Parallel Lines For all their rivalry and the vicissitudes of fame there’s no question that Messrs Lutyens and Baker worked long and hard on the monumental project that was New Delhi. Surely they deserve memorialisation somewhere on the sprawling landscape of the capital? A couple of streets named after them perhaps? Well, as it turns out, that honour was bestowed long ago. On an early map ‘Lay Out Plan of New Delhi’ from the papers of the legendary contractor Teja Singh Malik, both architects appear in uncomfortable proximity to each other.Baker Street runs between Reading Road (now Mandir Marg) and Baird Road (Bangla Sahib Marg), while the diminutive Lutyens Road runs parallel to it between Reading Road and what was then Lawrence Square (now part of RML Hospital grounds). Look them up in your Eicher city map and you’ll be disappointed—the streets have no names.



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TOWN PLANNING OF JAIPUR CITY Jaipur city was planned with great precision and was designed as per the ancient Hindu treatise, Shilp Shastra. It was built in the form of a rectangle, divided into blocks (Chowkries) with roads and avenues running parallel to the sides. The layout of the streets was based on a mathematical grid of nine squares, representing the ancient Hindu map of the universe, with the sacred Mt. Meru, the abode of Lord Shiva, occupying the central square. A 'nine square' subdivision of space also helps to utilize the central space for the privileged use and relate it visually and mathematically to the surrounding area as well. This arrangement also makes it convenient to undertake vertical constructions. The place sector or the Chowkri Sarhad, with major monuments of the city is located at the centre of the old city. The 3×3 square grid was also modified by relocating the NW square in the SE, allowing the hill fort of Nahargarh to overlook and protect the city. At the SE and SW corner of the city were square with pavilions and ornamental fountains. The blocks were well defined by broad running at right angles to each other, three of them running north south and intersecting the main 3.5 km. long east - west exis. The three junctions thus formed were named from east to west as Amber Chowk, Manak Chowk and Ramganj Chaupad. The width of the main roads in the city was kept around 108 ft. or 72 hastas (cubits). Some of the lesser roads were half this width, the others one fourth. It is quite interesting to note that all the roads were not built on a standard width, but the concept of hierarchy of roads was utilized to the fullest. The entire city was also surrounded by a crenellated masonry wall, measuring 20 ft. in height and 9 ft. in thickness. It could be entered through 7 huge gateways: Dhruvapol (Zorawar Singh Gate) on the north, Gangapol and Surajpol on the east, Rampol (Ghat Gate), Shivapol (Sanganeri Gate) and Kishan pol (Ajmeri Gate) on the south, and Chandpol on the west. Jaipur differs from most other Indian cities, which were subject to haphazard growth. Here, town planning was carefully practiced and separate areas for markets, residences and guidelines were provided by the State even for the construction of private residential buildings, so much so that the building line, the height of the ground floor and buildings were controlled. The prevailing environment encouraged the richer classes to incorporate architectural elements like jharokhas, jalis, chhajjas, chhatris and todas which contributed in the beautification of the city.



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Reasons for Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh to change his capital from Amber to Jaipur:

Military Reasons Defence was an important consideration. A site at the South of Amber ensured greater distance from Delhi and also prevented the expansion of the city in that direction. It was clear that the out skirting hill ranges (Nahargarh hills) shaped as a horseshoe would allow the new city to expand only in the South. So this flat site with a basin like shape was chosen. It was an open plain bounded on the north-west and east by hills. Earlier rajput capitals were established in the hills, and so moving capital to the plains was an ex of Sawan Jai Singh's boldness. Geographical Reasons  The rocky terrain of Amber restricted expansion.  Jaipur had the potentialities of developing into a city with adequate drinking water due to the presence of a perennial stream nearby and good drainage system. Its rugged hills also ensured a constant supply of building material, which might be required in the times to come



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Two significant facts responsible for the origin of the city and its subsequent layout:  

The need of a new capital for 18th century Dhoondhar as the earlier one of Amber built on a hill was getting congested. Sawai Raja Jai Singh’s vision of the new capital as a strong political statement at par with Mughal cities and as a thriving trade and commerce hub for the region.

The site with the natural east west ridge and the surrounding forts as defense feature



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The site selected for establishing the new capital of Jaipur was a valley located south of Amber and the plains beyond, a terrain that was the bed of a dried lake. There used to be dense forest cover to the north and the east of the city. The physical constraints that informed the building of Jaipur city included the hills on the north that housed the fort of Jaigarh and the Amber palace beyond, and the hills on the east, which contained the sacred spot of Galtaji. To facilitate water supply to the new city, the Darbhavati river in the north was dammed to create the Jai Sagar and Man Sagar (that later housed the Jal Mahal) lakes. Later the Jhotwara River in the north west was diverted through the Amani Shah Nallah and a number of canals were channelised through Brahmapuri and Jai Niwas to supply water to the city. PLANNING OF THE CITY



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The generic plan of a medieval Rajasthani hill town- as in Dausa and Amber (TOP) The hill town of Dausa with an organic layout guided by the topography (BELOW)



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Amber Town with the Fort on top of the hill and the walled town down the slopes

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The medieval towns of Rajasthan were of military, agrarian, mercantile or religious nature. The presence of a deity marked the reference point for the ruler’s abode and the rest of the city. The name of the town was usually associated with the political or religious centre (with the Ambikeshwar temple in the case of Amber and with Sawai Jai Singh in the case of Jaipur). Unlike Dausa and Amber, the two previous capital cities of the Dhoondhar region established on hilltop, whose planning was guided by topographical structure of the areas, Jaipur city was revolutionary both in terms of its grid-iron pattern planning and its location at the base of the hills. There was also a significant economic shift from an agricultural base in Dausa and Amber to trading in the capital of Jaipur.



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The layout of the city of Jaipur wonderfully links the concept of a Shastric city with the practicalities of the chosen site. First, the straight line of the ridge suggested itself as the route for one of the main east-west thorough fares and building a road along its crest makes best possible use of the topography for the purpose of drainage. What followed then was to regularize the Amber-Sanganer road as a north-south route at right angles to it. The point of intersection would be one of the city’s main cross-roads (chaupar) Although the location of the axes was determined, their extents were yet to be defined. The southern boundary of the city had to lie within the line of the Agra-Ajmer road. So by extending the NS road as far as possible southwards gives the first fixed dimension, the length of a side of a square and so establishes the size of the unit or module of the city. A hunting lodge known as Jai Niwas. It was the king’s wish that this establishment come within the city. A road cutting the plain from N to S linking Amber,the capital to Sanganer, the principal trading town. This road had to be preserved and controlled and therefore had to fall within the city’s boundaries A second road ran E to W between the Mughal cities of Agra and Ajmer and placing the new city on this already established communication line would help secure its economic success. However since this was an imperial road that could not be encroached on, thus the city had to be contained to the north of this line. Also, a natural ridge runs across the plain, N of the road and parallel to it, in a roughly EW alignment (with a slight deviation of15 deg. from the cardinal axes). The area to its S is flat while that to its N slopes down gently. In Shastric terms, this is an ideal arrangement as declivity towards the north-east Is considered the best site. In practical terms, the ridge too had to be accommodated.



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The intersection of the axes to define the Badi Chaupar (City Square).

Division in to eight portions, ends of the roads marked by Gates in the City Wall



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CONCEPTUAL PRASTARA PLAN

A DIVINE CONCEPT JAIPUR IN RAJASTHAN IS KNOWN FOR ITS PALACES AND MUSEUMS, ITS CRAFT TRADITIONS AND ITS CHARACTERISTIC PINK SHOPS AND HOUSES A WELL PLANNED CITY WITHIN WALLS, IT WAS BUILT IN PRE MODERN TIMES ACCORDING TO A DISTINCTIVE INDIAN THEORY KNOWN AS VAASTU VIDYA JAIPUR IS A TRUE SHASTRIC CITY BASED ON THE CONCEPT OF VAASTU SHASTRA AND PLANNED LIKE THE VAASTU PURUSH MANDALA FORMED BY NINE SQUARES IN GRID PATTERN OF 3 X 3 . THE CENTRAL SQUARE REPRESENTS BRAHMASTHANAM WHICH IS THE MOST POWERFUL AMONG ALL AND IS THE SOURCE OF ENERGY. HENCE THE TEMPLE ,THE PALACE AND OTHER IMPORTANT BUILDINGS ARE LOCATED IN THE CENTRAL SQUARE.

JAIPUR

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It is a model of town planning- the first planned city in India. It is based on Hindu systems of town planning and followed the principles prescribed in the Shilpa-shastra, an ancient Indian treatise on architecture .according to this shastra the site should be divided into grids or mandalas rangung from 2x 2 to 10 x 10. Planned according to the Prastara type of layout, which gives prominence to the cardinal directions. Thus plan of jaipur is a grid of 3x3 with gridlines being the city’s main streets.



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The central axis of the town was laid from East to West between the gates of the Sun(Suraj pol) and the moon(Chandpol) This was crossed by two roads at right angles dividing the town into nine almost square, almost equally sized blocks, which were further sub divided by lanes and alleys all at right angles.

But by building the western boundary of the city right up to the hill’s southern apex, it provided a continuous line of defense. The mandala could not be complete in the NW due to the presence of the hills. On the other hand in the SE an extra square has been added that plugged the gap between the city and the eastern hills.



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The town has around it a masonry wall, 25ft. high & 9ft. thick, with eight gates. The gates are:  Chandpole Gate,  Ghat Gate,  Ajmeri Gate,  Sanganeri Gate,  Surajpole Gate,  Gangapole Gate,  Zorawar Singh Gate,  and New Gate.

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The palace building covered two blocks, the town six and the remaining ninth block was not usable on account of steep hills. So this North-West ward was transferred to the South-East corner of the city, making the shape of the plan as a whole asymmetrical rather than square. The city’s division into nine wards was also in conformity with the Hindu caste system, which necessitated the segregation of people belonging to different communities and ranks. Even the lanes were named after the occupations of inhabitants such as Maniharon ka Rasta, Thatheron ka Rasta & many others. Following the directions of the Hindu Shilpa shastra, width of the main streets & other lanes were fixed. Thus the main streets of the city were 111ft. wide, secondary streets 55 ft. wide & the smaller ones 27ft. wide.



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South of the main road were four almost equal rectangles. The rectangle opposite the palace has been broken up into two equal and smaller rectangles by the Chaura Rasta.Thus altogether there are now five rectangles on the south of the main road called Chowkris. On the North of the main road from West to East are the Purani Basti, the Palace and Ramchandraji. The principal bazaar leads from the western gate in the city wall, The Chandpole, passing in front of the Tripolia Gate, to the eastern city gate, the Surajpole.



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To the NW of this lay the Jai Niwas. Given that its royal association meant that it had to be within the palace compound, the site of the palace was established. Indeed, given the wish to locate the palace centrally, the position of the brahmasthana was also established. A wall surrounds the palace buildings. The serving class occupied the peripheral areas. Another constraint was the position of the lake, which formed a part of the pleasure garden around which the city was built. This lake lay close to the hillside. In the original design it fell outside the main block of the city; but due to Jai Singh’s wish to include the old garden in the city, the lake was made the tank of palace garden.

URBAN FORM AND ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY

WHY PINK?



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Jaipur is known as the Pink City, a rather idealized description of the terra-cotta-colored lime plaster that coats the old part of the city's walls, buildings, and temples. The reasons for painting the town pink are unknown, but various theories have been tossed about, from using pink to cut down glare, to Jai Singh II's apparent devotion to Lord Shiva (whose favorite color is reputedly terra cotta). Others believe Singh wanted to imitate the color of the sandstone used in the forts and palaces of his Mughal emperor-friends. The most popular reason (spread no doubt by "Britishers" during the Raj era) is that pink is the traditional color of hospitality, and the city was freshly painted and paved with pink gravel to warmly welcome Edward VII for his visit here in 1876. URBAN FORM AND ARCHITECTURAL IDENTITY 

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ROAD NETWORK

Jaipur’s road network follows a definite hierarchy. The major east-west and north-south road ,form the sector boundaries and are called Rajmarg as they lead to the city gates. These measure 33m. wide. Next there is a network of 16.5m wide which runs north-south in each sector linking the internal areas of the sectors to the major activity spine. An orthogonal grid of 8.25mx4.00m roads in the prastara-chessboard pattern further divide sectors into Mohallas.



Ancient System of Town Planning in India

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