Tank Design
Water is considered a purifying and regenerative element in India, and is an essential element of prayer and ritual. Water is also revered because of its scarcity in western India where dry and monsoon seasons alternate and failure of the monsoon season means famine and death while plentiful water replacing irrigations sources is a time of rejoicing. This resulted in building water storage tanks that combined the practical and sacred. Since ancient times, the design of water storage has been important in India'a architecture As early as 3000 BC sophisticated systems of drains, wells and tanks were built to conserve and utilise water. Tank building as an art form began with the Hindus and developed under Muslim rule.
An example of the art of tank design is the large, geometically spectacular Stepped Tank at the Royal Center at the ruins of Vijayanagara, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, surrounding the modern town of Hampi. It is lined with green diorite and has no drain. The tank was filled by aqueduct.
Read more about this topic: Irrigation Tank
Famous quotes containing the word design:
“Nowadays the host does not admit you to his hearth, but has got the mason to build one for yourself somewhere in his alley, and hospitality is the art of keeping you at the greatest distance. There is as much secrecy about the cooking as if he had a design to poison you.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)