ARCHITECTURE UNDER THE BRITISH RAJ

With each new conqueror comes a need for establishing their supremacy and their power over the state. The British, in an attempt to modernise India established the indo - sarcenic style of architecture, which became the trademark for all their public built forms. The British Raj system heralded a break from the past with the development of new urban design principles and the bungalow typology and cantonment towns that cropped up in almost each city.These cantonment towns were vastly different from the quintessential Indian villages and cities that had existed before the Raj. It was an entity distinct from the old cities and purely for the British troops and civilians. They were small European towns that became mini cities with the bungalow as their main typology. A good example of this was the Bangalore cantonment town which had a population of 20,000 with various shops, parks and churches.

The bungalow typology is said to be the fusion of the British suburban villa and a detached Bengal house and became a trademark for the Indo Saracenic style of architecture. The bungalow typology was so influential that it remains synonymous to wealth and power even today. The bungalow, a new type of dwelling introduced with the advent of the British has a continued relevance today.

The rebuilding of Delhi also marked the a new phase for India. The shifting of capitals from Calcutta to New Delhi was significant assertion of the Raj system's power. A major shift towards the India we know today occurred with this change.

BUNGALOW TYPOLOGY

The British Raj system advocated the development of educational institutes. Mayo college is a classic example of the Indo Saracenic architecture. The boarding school was built in 1875 for the princes of the Rajput state. The building wad designed by Major Mant in the Indo saracenic style. The building features domes, jalis and jharokhas as elements pasted onto a British style colonial building in an attempt to imitate the Indian style of architecture. The planning on the building was done in the western style of architecture which was deemed pure and beautiful. The building was Indian in appearance but western in it's functions.

MAYO COLLEGE

JHAROKHA AT MAYO DOME

COLLEGE

REFERENCES-

https://www.slideshare.net/aalam123/mayo-collage-ajmer

https://www.slideshare.net/rajatrmr/british-colonial-architecture