1/n After these funny “why taj will never win” threads. I’m starting my why “Indian architecture will never win thread” #subjectivity
2/n #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin - Djoser’s step pyramid - pre dated and dwarfed all of the Harrappan civilisations buildings
3/n #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin The pyramids of Khufu & Khafre - no building was able to match their scale and volume for 4000 years
4/n #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin The Sphinx - higher than the Shravanabelagola Bahubali statute and 3600 years older
5/n #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin the Lateran Obelisk - dwarfs every single Indian Jayastambha in height, weight & volume. Built 1500BC
6/n The Hypostyle halls of Luxor & Karnak. 3000 years older than Rameshwaram & Madurai, and unsurpassed by ANY Indian temple in size
7/n temple of Hatshepsut 1500BC Presaged & influenced every modern architecture school #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
8/n The Ishtar Gate of Babylon - 550BC influenced every triumphal gate after. India influenced what? #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
9/n The Pont Du Gard - the highest and most voluminous aqueduct even in terms of water carried #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
10/n the coliseum- the first real stadium built - all concrete 73 AD India didn’t have these till 1933 #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
11/n The Pantheon & the Treasury of Atreus -India wouldn’t get its first domes till 2600 years later #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
12/n Dome of Hagia Sophia 537 AD unsurpassed for a 1200 years. Who brought domes to india? MUSLIMS #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
13/n the great Sassanid arch of Tisfoon - 242 AD - it’s span remained unsurpassed till the 19th century #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
14/n The Dome of the Rock - the first TRUE Dome 800AD. India didn’t get these till 600 years later #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
15/n #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin the 4 imperial cathedrals of germany - all 1000 yrs old. Each Could contain tanjore temple within
16/n saint peters & the florence duomo. India had a comparable Dome in the taj only 100 years later #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin
17/n #WhyIndianArchitectureWillNeverWin the great glass cathedrals of Europe. Every Modern glass building is based on them
18/n so to sum up - wanna shit on the taj, be my guest. But remember EVERY one of your achievements has a bigger, better & earlier precursor
@eldolit Potala is shit
@prashik2107 2/n faithfully restored using original techniques & dimensions. Hagia Sophia dome rebuilt 7 times to exact same design & specs
@prashik2107 Running theme across Yuval Harari, ian Morris, Jared diamond, Huntingdon. All sympathetic to us, but can’t get data or archive
@prashik2107 Situation continues. Archives seen as punishment posting
@TheChakravartin And yet . Remind me who built this earthquake proof tower again?
@TheChakravartin And even in that you were dwarfed - consistently - in every century, century after century
@TheChakravartin @souvick_c @uktapratyukta The whole of the Mediterranean, Rome Greece Egypt & Persia, equidistant from seismic faultlines as north india
@thekaipullai @smjalageri @AbhinavAgarwal 2/2 that card, what criteria are we using? Innovation, internal volume? Total volume? Height? Span? What?
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks She’s a good friend, please refrain from calling her Aunty ji. We’re having a nice civilised conversation, please don’t make it uncivil
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks I was distinctly unimpressed with GWC. After Daulatabad, Gwalior, & Rajasthan its a letdown. Scale yes, military value or architecture no
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks Really??? Why? It’s just a bunch of hits juxtaposed - big hug small hut big hut small hut -no innovation, nothing
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks In what way? What criteria are we using? Difficulty of construction? Military value? Mass?
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks Yes, not arguing with scale. Just didn’t find it precarious enough , high enough, & military architecture out of date by then Chinese stds
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks Hmm but remember GWC was a total military failure except in early Ming period when it was used as a dynamic forward defence
@hailstorm_s Yup. That was the point of the tweet storm. Retarded to compare 🍎 & 🍊
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks Issue was it was redundant even when built. Bit like how we never built star forts
@hailstorm_s @neha_aks Those “nomads” conquered the world!!! Out of 1400 years of Muslim history only 300 is Arab. Rest is Turkic. We woefully underestimate them
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