Framing the Divine

Navina Najat Haidar's Jali is a well-researched book that explores the significance of the lattice in Mughal architecture

- Mustansir Dalvi

JALI: Lattice of Divine Light in Mughal Architecture by Navina Najat Haidar MAPIN

It is only appropriate that the first double spread in this sumptuous exploration of the jali is the carved arch from the Sidi Sayyid Mosque in Ahmedabad. This swirling emanation, crafted stone brought to vegetal life as a kalpavriksha or a Blessed Tree in Paradise is metonymic of the syncretism at the confluence of Islamic and Indic art practices.

The jali is etymologically Sanskrit, meaning net or web. Architecturally, a jali is a perforated wall, or a latticed opening. An articulated fenestration, it modulates light into interior spaces, filters and softens it in a manner only possible (and necessary) in harsh West or South Asian environments.

The evolution of this architectural element through its aesthetic, utilitarian and metaphysical avatars is presented vividly by Navina Najat Haidar, curator of Islamic Art at The Met in New York. Along with photographer Abhinav Goswami, and with the contribution of scholars Ebba Koch, George Michell and Mitchell Abdul Karim Crites, Haidar takes the reader through a visually rich journey from the jali's earliest manifestations in rock-cut chaityas and freestanding temples like Belur, traverses its highs in IndoIslamic tombs, mosques and palaces of Sultanate/ Mughal rulers to contemporary iterations in art. Through it, this osmosis of filtered light moves from the rudimentary to sublime 'celestial imagery'.

Haidar describes the initial appearance of the jali in early Islamic buildings in Gujarat, where temple-building traditions move smoothly into mosque design. Monuments like the 14th-century Hilal Khan Qazi mosque in Dholka show how far back syncretic amalgams extend, and how unselfconscious they are.