5/5 Aditya G. 5 years ago on Google • 574 reviews
Gumti
Gate
the
eastern
gate
of
the
citadel
of
Gaur-Lakhnauti,
the
Sultanate
capital
of
Bengal.
The
name
is
of
uncertain
origin.
In
plan
and
construction,
the
building
is
in
marked
contrast
to
the
Mughal
lukochuri
darwaza,
a
little
to
its
north.
It
is
smaller
in
size
than
the
latter
and
consists
of
a
brick-built
single
room,
7.60
sq.m
with
walls
2.65m
thick.
The
outer
dimension
of
the
building
is
12.80sq.m
with
four
doorways,
one
on
each
side,
the
east
and
west
entrances
being
flanked
by
fluted
turrets.
The
corners
of
the
building
have
the
usual
corner
towers
of
Sultanate
monuments.
A
single
dome
built
on
squinches
covers
the
structure;
a
feature
which
started
with
the
eklakhi
mausoleum
at
Pandua
and
continued
throughout
the
Sultanate
period
in
similarly
planned
monuments.
If
the
tomb
of
Iltutmish
in
the
Qutb
area
of
Delhi
is
regarded
as
the
forerunner
of
the
Eklakhi
Mausoleum,
the
Gumti
Gate
might
have
been
an
imitation
of
the
Alai
Darwaza,
the
southern
gateway
of
the
Quwwatul
Islam
Mosque.
There
are
indications
of
the
gateway's
connection
with
the
citadel
walls
on
the
north
and
south
sides
of
the
building.
The
gateway
has
a
carved
cornice,
and
was
ornamented
more
with
tiles
than
with
the
usual
terracotta
techniques.
The
date
of
the
building
is
uncertain.
Some
scholars
have
assigned
it
to
the
builder
of
the
citadel,
ie
Sultan
nasiruddin
mahmud
shah
(1442-59
AD).
Others,
on
the
evidence
of
an
inscription
found
in
the
Niamatullah
complex
in
Firuzpur,
date
the
construction
of
a
gateway
during
the
reign
of
Sultan
Alauddin
husain
shah
in
1512
AD.
Since
architecturally
there
is
no
clear
dynastic
definition
of
the
Sultanate
monuments,
there
should
not
be
any
disputes
about
why
the
date
of
the
monument
should
be
separated
from
the
date
of
the
citadel.
Professor
a.h.
dani
argued
that,
since
the
gateway
is
ornamented
with
tiles,
and
that
since
this
is
a
feature
of
the
Husain
Shahi
period,
the
building
must
have
been
the
work
of
Alauddin
Husain
Shah.
This
argument
may
be
untenable.
This
is
because
the
extant
remains
of
tiles
that
were
in
the
minar
at
Chhota
Pandua,
built
about
a
century
earlier,
continued
to
be
used
through
all
the
dynasties
ruling
Gaur-Lakhnauti
and
Pandua-Firuzabad.
Moreover,
if
there
was
a
ceremonial
gateway
from
the
north
for
the
Sultan,
there
would
have
been
other
subsidiary
or
emergency
gateways
on
other
sides.
The
existence
of
the
chika
building
generally
reckoned
as
the
daftar
khana
or
office
building
in
front
further
necessitated
the
erection
of
such
a
gateway
on
this
side.
The
flutes
of
the
gateway,
suggestive
of
the
adina
mosque's
influence,
speaks
of
its
proximity
to
an
architecture
that
left
a
permanent
impression
on
subsequent
building
art.
1 person found this review helpful 👍
