G M Srivishal

HR4004

 Pleasure, perspective, and dominion: Landscape iconography of Jaipur. This project examines the horseshoe-shaped landscape of what is today known as Jaipur, by focusing on how the landscape was symbolized, Inhabited, perceived, and drawn. By identifying the enclosed gardens as a paradox between the built and the unbuilt, they are recognized as intermediaries between humanity and the cosmos. The concept of an enclosed garden merges expansive natural elements with contained architectural spaces, symbolizing order amidst chaos. Borrowing the method of the ‘Civilised’ landscape, the project traces how imperial gardens evolved from territorial emblems under different imperial powers in Jaipur’s topography. Starting from Rajput and Mughal ideologies that reflect cosmological aspirations through spaces like Maotha, Jaigarh, and Jainiwas Bagh. The project disputes that Sawai Jai Singh II's city grid exemplifies the "proliferation of paradise," blending Persian, Indian, and celestial influences by disputing the idea of Navagraha. Further, we observe how the British interventions in the 19th century modified Jaipur’s landscape, incorporating colonial infrastructure while capturing its imagined ideals through maps and institutions like Albert Hall and Ram Niwas Bagh and destroying the concentric idea of enclosed walls, gardens, and the cosmos. By analyzing planning methodologies, miniature paintings, topographic sections across the landscape, and celestial artifacts, the project explores Jaipur’s gardens as metaphors for dominion, cosmology, and urban development.