The following are exerts taken from “ Encyclopedia of Indian Architecture “

(Jami Masjid of sikhri)

As is not a few of the large mosques of India the fine open sweep of the flagged quadrangle leading up to the main interior façade produces at once an effect of great dignity and spaciousness. In this instance the façade consists of a large rectangular front on in the centre consisting a spacious alcove, with a pillared arcade extending on each wing, with ranges of pillared kiosks, along all the parapets to break the skyline.

The nave which is entered through an arched portico , is a square hall containing on its western side the principle mihrab, and is covered by the main dome. Leading out of this central hall though archways are the aisles, each with a chapel towards the middle of its length, with the side domes forming their roofs.

The pillars in the wings are exceptionally well grouped and appointed so that from any angle an elegant vista is observable. Added to this is the admirable combination of beams and arches, disposed in such a manner that the balance of the two constructional systems is well maintained throughout, the arches providing attractive passage of perspective and the lintels with their pendant brackets enriching the intervals between.

Reference should also be made to the mural decoration, which is distributed over most surfaces of the interior especially in the nave and in its adjacent compartments. All the technical resources that

the craftsmen concerned had at their command were used for this embellishment so that the carved , painted, and inlaid ornamentation is unsurpassed in any other building of Akbar’s reign.

(Buland Drwaza)

Some twenty five years after completion of this mosque , Akbar returned from his victorious campaign in the Deccan and was considering a site on which he could erect a great triumphal archway commemorative of his conquest , He finally decided on the southern entrance of the Jami masjid at Fathepur Sikhri as being a suitable position for this monument, and he accordingly proceeded to demolish the existing doorway and raise the Buland Darwaza or “ Gate of Magnificance” in its place.

There is little doubt that of all the architectural productions of the Mughals , their gateways were the most successful achievements, whetehr these were the bold entrances to fortresses, the more humble doorways to sarais, the elegant portals to tombs, the porticos to palaces or the civic archways, of the cities, they were invariably not only satisfying examples of the building art, but each one admirably fulfilled its purpose.

The Bulan Darwaza is a work of great force , especially when viewed from the ground below, as then it presents an appearance of aspiring and overwhelming strength without being viewed weighty or pretencious. Its position, it is true , is open to criticism as the ine of approach up an accent through what were service quarters and past hammams, was not ideal , and even more significant from the architectural point of view is that owing to its size it dominates everything in its vicinity and thus throws out of balance the scheme of the mosque to which it is attached ; the eye is first attracted and then deflected by it’s great bulk instead of being drawn naturally towards the edifice of which it should logically form a subordinate part .

(Tomb of Salim Chisti)

The tomb of Salim Chisti situated within its cloistered quadrangle, compared with the forgoing the spectator is confronted with a complete change of aesthetic and architectural values. On the one hand the Buland Darwaza represents the building art in a grandiose mood, massive and proposeful , the tomb on the other hand is an architectural cameo, its chaste marble forms being aerial in their delicacy, so that it appears as a chiselled , polished and fretted (in) exquisiteness.

When first constructed, at a time relatively contemporary with the foundation on the mosque , it was most probably a sandstone conception in the style of that period . Its present appearance is due to a later development , possibly that which prevailed at the end of Jahangir’s reign or the beginning of that of Shah Jahan, when authorities were inspired to transform its sandstone fabric into the mpre refined and costly marble , but retaining its previous shape and character.

The tomb building itself is of sipe parts as if consists of a square exterior of 24 feet side and containing a mortuary chamber of 16 feet diameter, the whole being covered by a low dome . Around the outside a wide veranda is carried , its roof supported on pillars with the interspaces filled by perforated screens, the total exterior measuring 48 feet in diameter, On the southern face a porch is projected , also on pillars , and there are carved brackets all round to sustain the extremely wide eaves. In general appearance this building is low and somewhat unimpressive, its effect depending notso much on its proportions or manner in which this material has been handled.

Ref: ( as stated in the book itself)

Smith E.W. Akbar’s Tomb, Sikandarah ( ASI , Vol XXXV) Allahabad, 1909

Smith E.W. Moghul Colour Decoration of Agra . Allahabad , 1901

Smith E.W. Moghul Architecture of Fathepur- Sikhri A.S vol 18 Allahabad, 1896

Exert for Satish Grover,

Jami masjid of Sikhri

The interiors of the central dome , decorated on the inside to give an appearance of a stone version of a timber ribbed dome, evokes the spirit of the rest of Sikri. The parapets of the cloisters and liwan are marked by a row of exquisitely designed domed chattris that served the purpose of lighting torches at night during festival seasons.

The Mighty Buland Darwaza

The Buland Darwaza is not a triumph of merely engineering and structural skill . Is is also a unique design solution of an inevitable problem of such ceremonial gateways- that of not merely impressing the viewer with its gigantic size, but at the same time evoking in him sensations of momentary shelter as he passes beneath it.

Thus, the problem lies in meaningfully installing an opening of a modest size within a frame of intentionally immense proportions and yet maintain a fluid relationship between the “ crescendo of the great alcove above” and the “ diminuendo of the man height doorway at the base.”

The huge almost 50 ft wide and 100 ft high arch resplendent like “ the browed morning” is backed by a scalloped semidome portal that guides one’s vision fluidly down the modest two storey rows of archesand balconies set in pentagonal fashion onto the courtyard of the mosque through a domed passage with attendants rooms on either side. It is thus that the transition from awesome monumentality to a humble and shetered passageway from wide open spaces to the sequestered courtyard , is smoothly and satisfactoriy concluded.