jali

 A jali or jaali, (jālī, meaning "net") is the term for a perforated stone or latticed screen, usually with an ornamental pattern constructed through the use of calligraphy and geometry. This form of architectural decoration is common in Indo-Islamic architecture and more generally in Islamic architecture.^[1]

Jali screens in the tomb of Akbar the Great near Agra, India

The jali helps in lowering the temperature by compressing the air through the holes. Also when the air passes through these openings, its velocity increases giving profound diffusion.^{[clarification needed]} It has been observed that humid areas like Kerala and Konkan have larger holes with overall lower opacity than compared with the dry climate regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan.^[2]

With compactness of the residential areas in the modern India, jalis became less frequent for privacy and security matters.^[3]

HistoryEdit

Early jali work was built by carving into stone, generally in geometric patterns, while later the Mughals used very finely carved plant-based designs, as at the Taj Mahal. They also often added pietra dura inlay to the surrounds, using marble and semi-precious stones.^[1][4]

See alsoEdit

• Girih
• Jharokha
• Openwork
• Venturi effect

IllustrationsEdit

Details of marble Jali screens around royal cenotaphs, Taj Mahal

 

Jali in Sidi Saiyyed mosque in Ahmedabad exhibiting traditional Indian tree of life motif

 

Jali at Tomb of Salim Chishti, Fatehpur Sikri shows Islamic geometric patterns developed in western asia

 

Jali at Bibi Ka Maqbara, Aurangabad with typical Indian motifs

 

Jali at Champaner utilize traditional indian geometric patterns and Islamic geometry

 

Pattadakal window

 

another window at Pattadakal

 

Pattadakal Virupaksa temple window

 

Chola temple

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article  Metasyntactic variable, which is released under the  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.