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Class 8 A Journey Through Indian Architecture: cheat sheet
CBSE Social Science. India’s buildings through time: Harappan brick cities, forts and palaces, tombs and gardens, stepwells and havelis, and their features and materials.
Key ideas
- Architecture is the art of designing and building, combining usefulness and beauty.
- Harappan cities used bricks because they stood on river plains rich in clay.
- Many forts were built on hills, which were easier to defend and gave a wide view.
- Stepwells stored water and let people reach it as the level rose and fell through the year.
- Havelis are mansions built around courtyards, like those of Shekhawati in Rajasthan.
- A mausoleum holds a tomb; a cenotaph is a memorial where the person is not buried.
- Monuments need protection: pollution from industry was yellowing the Taj Mahal’s marble.
Remember
| Jali | pierced stone screen for air and light |
| Jharokha | overhanging, enclosed balcony |
| Chhatri | dome-shaped pavilion on pillars |
| Charbagh | garden divided into four parts |
| Stepwell | vav or baori |
| Taj Mahal / Humayun’s Tomb | built by Shah Jahan / commissioned by Bega Begum |
| Mehrangarh / Agra Fort | above Jodhpur / mainly red sandstone |
Watch out
- Mixing up a jali (screen) and a jharokha (balcony).
- Mixing up a mausoleum (holds a tomb) and a cenotaph (no burial).
- Dividing the wrong way round in a “per worker” question: total space ÷ number of workers.
Worked example
Suppose 5,500 workers built a courtyard that holds 49,500 people. How many people of courtyard space is that per worker?
Working: 49,500 ÷ 5,500
Answer: 9 people per worker
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