AN APPRAISAL OF KHAN - E - JAHAN STYLE IN ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

A blend of indigenous style and imperial style of Delhi at a time when Bengal was in the process of developing its own identity draws attention of the authors. The style dubbed as Khan-e-Jahan style has been evaluated here in this paper to identify its characteristic features. The factors responsible for the rapid decay and disintegration of many introduced style to this Bengal region include absence of permanent construction materials, natural calamities like flood and change of river coarse, and moreover the hostile warm-humid climate with the extreme salinity prevailing in the area. All the factors described above raised a Dialectic platform as a context for the builders in Khan-e-Jahan style of Khalifatabad in Bagerhat. This study shows that the building characteristics of the style were familiar with and sympathetic towards the local context, which in turn helped its survival against the hostile forces of nature. These are the distinct characteristics for which some of the finest pieces of architecture evolved under the Khan-e Jahan Style. The features of this style were adopted by the builders of the later date. Thus the style has also survived in a transformed form to give continuity to the development of the Architecture of Bengal.