The Alai Darwaza is a magnificent gateway built by Ala-ud-din Khilji of the
Delhi Sultanate, having exquisite inlaid marble decorations and latticed stone
screens. It highlights the remarkable artisanship of Turkish and local artisans
who worked on it. The Alai Darwaza was an important part of the project
undertaken by Ala-ud-din Khilji in his quest to decorate the Qutab complex.
The Qutab Minar and the various monuments within
the Qutab complex, including the Alai Darwaza, belong to the period of the
Delhi Sultanate (1191–1526). The Alai Darwaza represents a new style of
architecture, popularly referred to as the Indo-Islamic style of architecture.
The Indo-Islamic style is neither a local variant of Islamic art, nor a
modification of Hindu art, but it is an assimilation of both the styles, though
not always in an equal degree. It is so because each region in India has its
own form of Indo-Islamic architecture, which varies from place to place and
there is no standardization. On the other hand, Islamic art itself was a
composite style, which had various Muslims influences—Turkish, Persian, and
Arabic.
This assimilation of exotic and indigenous
architectural styles was possible due to a variety of factors: the Muslim
rulers had to use, in most cases, Indian craftsmen and sculptors who were
schooled in their own art traditions. Though both the Indian and Islamic styles
have their own distinctive features, some common characteristics made fusion
and adaptation easy. Both the styles favor ornamentation and buildings of both
styles are marked by the presence of an open court encompassed by chambers or
colonnades.
The Qutab Minar, the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, and
the tomb of Iltutmish, which were constructed by different rulers of the Slave
dynasty (1193–1290), heralded the birth of Indo-Islamic architecture. Of these
monuments, the Qutab Minar is a tower symbolizing the victory of the first
Muslim rulers of India over the indigenous people. This fluted tower with
floral patterns and Qur’anic inscriptions around in a flowing calligraphic
style was the first monument of the Indo-Islamic style of architecture. The
Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque was the first mosque to be built in India and is made up
of the remnants of 27 Hindu and Jain temples, broken down by the Muslim rulers
of the Delhi Sultanate. It is also a representation of Muslim power. The tomb
of Iltutmish was the first Islamic tomb to be built in India. As the concept of
a domed tomb was new to the indigenous craftsmen, the resultant structural
flaws in the building let to the collapse of the dome—the first one to have
been built in India. Thus, one can say that the monuments belonging to the
Slave dynasty were the first attempt to combine two cultures in the field of
architecture.
The Alai Darwaza is a perfect specimen of
architecture belonging to the period of the Delhi Sultanate. It was built in
1311, by Ala-ud-din-Khilji, of the Khilji dynasty (which ruled the Delhi
Sultanate from AD 1290 to AD 1316). The Alai Darwaza was a part of
Ala-ud-din-Khilji’s extension of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. It was one of the
four grand gateways; the other three could not be completed because of the
death of Ala-ud-din in AD 1316.
The main structure of the Alai Darwaza consists
of a single hall 34½ feet on the inside and 56½ feet on the outside. The domed
ceiling rises to a height of 47 feet. The three doorways on the east, west, and
south are lofty pointed arches, in the shape of a horseshoe, which rise above
the flanking side bays. The entrance to the north is of an indigenous
character, as its arch is semi-circular in shape. The overall outlook and
proportions of the Alai Darwaza is pleasing to the eye. The recessed corner
arches of the attractive horseshoe forms, supporting a simple spherical dome on
top of the square chamber, are an especially happy solution to the perpetual
problem of supporting a good dome. It would be well worth noting that the
earlier attempts at raising the dome, particularly the tomb of Iltutmish, had
been unsuccessful. The dome of the Alai Darwaza, in this respect, is a notable
achievement.
The dome was constructed on highly scientific
principles. A series of squinches of pointed shape, one recessed within the
other, in the upper section of each angle of the hall, changes the square into
an octagon, and then the octagon into the circle of the dome with an
interweaving sixteen-sided shaft formed by a bracket at each end of the
octagon. With use of complex geometric calculations, the load of the dome has
been gracefully conveyed to the ground—from the circle to the sixteen-sided
shaft, from the latter to the octagon and then onto the four walls of the
square chamber. The plinth on each side is beautifully carved with floral and
geometric patterns in both white marble and red sandstone, creating a superb
polychrome effect. Perforated latticework window screens (jali) are set in the
recessed windows on both sides of the entrances. These marble screens set off
the monotony of the vertical lines of calligraphic ornamentation. The most
charming aspect of surface decoration is the lace-like interweaving of floral
tendrils, repeated with a flawless symmetry on all the three entrances,
elegantly designed and perfectly built.
The northern entrance is semi-circular with a
shallow trefoil in its outline. The façade is elaborately ornamented in
sensuous carving and patterns, characteristic of the pre-Turkish days (the
first Muslim rulers of India came from Turkey). The Alai Darwaza also shows the
influence of Seljuk art. The Seljuks had started fleeing Western Asia after
Mongol invasions in the 12th century AD and had reached Delhi for protection.
The ‘spear-headed’ embellishment on the three entrances is of particular
importance in this regard. In addition, the surface ornamentation has been done
with an eye for lavishness and detail.
Though the Alai Darwaza stands isolated at the
southern end of the Qutab complex, with the Qutab Minar behind it, it appears a
fitting part of the grand structures of the Delhi Sultanate.