J is for...Just ... Jaw-dropping

Jahan Tu Chala by Jasleen Royal is the first track I have today, followed by Ae Dil Hai Mushkil by Jubin Nautiyal. The last number - Jimmiki Kammal, is a film track in Malayalam from Kerala, which went viral upon release in 2017 and many dance covers mushroomed. Apparently, US anchor and host Jimmy Kimmel listened to it and shared on social media that he liked the song :)  

Jaali. Judicious. Jaw-dropping.

Jali frog sculpture.

An Indian ‘jali’ (jaa lee ) sculpture from Agra is today’s object. Jali in Hindi/Urdu means net, web or lattice. If you look really carefully, you will see that it’s a ‘frog inside a frog’ - a kind of matryoshka animal, if you like. And below is a jali window I clicked a few years ago at Humayun’s tomb in Delhi. The finest jali screens are to be found at the Taj Mahal, the experts write, and it was the Mughal’s who refined this design form to its greatest heights in the subcontinent. 

Jali  window in Humayun's Tomb, Delhi

Jali screens have evolved because they are effective against the Indian hot and sunny climate - they allow sunlight in but keep the glare out. And they keep the interiors cross-ventilated and cool. Bonus - the filigreed light and shadow patterns of the screen on the floor adds another aesthetic element to an already sophisticated design. 

The inmates are protected from the gaze of passers by, very nifty from the point of view of privacy. You can see from the photograph that due to the difference in the levels of lighting inside, nothing of the interior space is visible except the opening on the other side, through which the grounds of the mausoleum can be seen. However, the inmates' view outside isn't restricted by the lattice, they have a good handle on what's going on outside.  So...not a bad idea in terms of defence either.  Judicious choice!

Credit Latticework on balcony railings in Gwalior Fort, completed 

before Babur came to India.

But jalis did not come to India with the Mughals, they have existed prior to their entry, in Hindu temples in South India and in North Indian palaces. Ancient temples built in the 7-8th century in Pattadakal in Karnataka have examples of latticework windows. Similar windows are also found in Aihole and Hampi. And here's another example from the Gwalior fort, with jali screens acting as railings for balconies. Built just a few years before Babur the first Mughal led his men over the Khyber Pass into India in 1526.

Though they did not bring the concept with them, the Mughals certainly took jali work to another level - under them the simple mesh or cutaway designs evolved to include the complex girih patterns of Middle Eastern origin, as well as the more fluid floral and scroll patterns mandated by the Islamic stricture on the representation of the human form. Some of the most exquisite jali work can be seen in the screen windows of the Fatehpur Sikri, Red Fort and the Taj Mahal. Read more about jali windows and their evolution in India here.

The design motif has transcended its architectural moorings in buildings and come into common use in everyday articles in many unobtrusive ways. Contemporary jalis have gone from balconies and walls to garments and photo frames, and of course to decorative items like the frog above. Here are more examples -

Lattice work on balcony, built 1930s. Kolkata.

Chikankari embroidery from Lucknow.The jali is 
formed at the back of the fabric, only a subtle

'shadow' of the lattice is visible 

Are there any motifs in your culture  - design, literary, whatever, that have transcended their original setting and spilled over into different areas?

Blog pick of the day : Temenos of the Blessing Light 

A-Z Challenge 2020