Nostalgic feeling is often deep and shaking for historian swhenever they are either asked to write something or pay a visit even to nearly destroyed monuments which lay scattered in almost all parts of India. whether prominent or obscure they still evoke an oveerawed admiration from their visitors. Even in poorest of shapes as time has had an edge over them, they would remind us of their forceful existence a bunch of hundred year back. the effervescence of Mughal rule, in India covering a span of almost two centuries, had been eventfl both politically and culturally. The Mughals had not only been great conquerors and administrators but also men of refined tastes with deep interest in various branches of find arts: painting, poetry, music, dance and architecture. They have left many glowing prints on the places they conquered. It was during this period that some of the finest works of architecture had been created and they are so many in number that even great works of history could not possibly include all of them, specially those which are relatively less prominent. But even those, considered relatively obscure reflect much of the great Mughal architectural spirit and it is primarily to cover the so called ‘obscure ones’ found in abundance in the Punjab and Haryana that the present work has been undertaken. Nowhere else in India such exquisite specimens of Mughal Sarais can be seen as we come across in the said states. Besides, there are remarkable specimens of gardens, mosques, tombs, madrasas, baolis, bridges, Kos-minars and fragmented pieces of palaces also. But unfortunately the fifty odd Moghul monuments recorded in this volume are fast crumbling and so it is always wise to bring them in a written record before they go with the wind, so that posterity does not miss them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Subhash Parihar
Subhash Parihar was born on 12 August 1953 at Kot Kapura, East Punjab where he still lives. He is M.A. (History of Art), M.A. (History, M.Phil., Ph.D. As an art historian, he has done pioneering work on the Indo-Islamic architecture of the North-Western India. He is author of Mughal Monuments in the Punjab and Haryana (Delhi, 1985) (Honoured with Dr. W.G. Archer Award by the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi); Muslim Inscriptions in the Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh (Delhi, 1985); Some Aspects of Indo-Islamic Architecture (Delhi, 1999) and more than three dozens of research papers published in international journals like Oriental Art (London); Iran (London); East and West (Rome); Muqarnas (Leiden); Journal of Pakistan Historical Society (Karachi); Islamic Studies (Islamabad); Marg (Mumbai); etc. He was awarded Homi Bhabha Fellowship (1994-96). He undertook a Photographic Survey of Architectural Heritage of Haryan under Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2001-03). Also contributed to The Dictionary of Art (34 Vols.) published by Macmillan (London) and Encyclopaedia of Persian Language, Literature and Culture in the Sub-Continent (to be published in Iran). He has just completed his fifth book-Land Transport in Mughal India: Agra-Lahore Mughal Highway and its Architectural Remains-Partially financed by The Barakat Trust. Dr. Parihar is active in the fields of painting, sculpture and photography also. As an artist he has been actively participating in art exhibitions since 1977. He has had two one-man shows of his works in Government Museum and Art Gallery, Chandigarh (1979) and Triveni Gallery, New Delhi (1982). He was awarded by Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi in 1979 for the best collage. He has also participated in Artists’ Camps in 1979 and 1980, and in 1997. In the field of photography too, he has bagged about two dozen prizes including the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi Award (1997). At present he is doing a book (under University Grants Commission) on the Architectural Heritage of the erstwhile Sikh State of Faridkot. He is working as lecturer in History at Government Brijindra College, Faridkot, Punjab.
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