Book titled ‘Architectural Ornamentation in Shrines and Mosques of Kashmir’ released today by Prof. Shakil Ahmad Romshoo, Vice Chancellor Islamic University of Science & Technology, Awantipora, in presence of other eminent dignitaries including Prof. Siddiq Wahid, Dr. G. Q. Allaqaband, Mr. Masood Hussain, Mr. Syed Shakeel Qalander, Mr. Sayed Mir Mohammad Tayyib Kamili, Dr. Fouzia S. Qazi, Mr. Qamoos Bukhari, Dr. Hakim Sameer Hamdani, Mr. Mehran Qureshi and other social activists and members from media fraternity. The event was held at Institute of Hotel Management, Rajbagh. Srinagar.
The book is a compendium gathering photographs, writings and drawings, of the extraordinary architectural elements of Kashmir’s historical khanqahs, shrines and mosques. The purpose of the book is to give a sense of the evolving intellectual history about the craft practices and the ideas that inform them, its character, social and cultural properties, its complex relationship with other media, and the great variety of roles it performs.
The book focuses on the role of arts in the khanqahs, shrines and mosques of Kashmir as they respond to changing economic, political, and historical shifts providing a vivid window into Kashmir’s culture and society.
Kashmir traces many of its artistic expressions back to Iran and Central Asia and has over the ages honed its best living traditions of craft and the unique tradition of craftsmanship. One can only wonder at the ways in which materials such as wood, stone and plaster have been transformed into masterworks of decorative art.
The book will attempt to place this built tradition in a specific cultural context, where the attention is focused on the delicate details, innovative patterns, and extraordinary motifs that combine to create a unique style. To make sense of material culture, it is necessary to understand written and verbal representations of it, not as ‘illustrations’, images standing outside it, but as a constituent of its meanings.
Alongside photographs and drawings, the book draws together narratives from scholars/experts from various disciplines to explicate the meanings, semblance, and significance of an object, representation, with a particular focus on the intersection of traditions with artistic, religious and cultural practices in the local and wider regions.
