yo ^_^
What I forgot to mention in my previous post on may summer trip was a bit of history. Please do not be alarmed! The information that I am about to reveal is indeed quite interesting, so I urge you to read on ^_^.
So for my trip we had gone to Puri. Not very far from Puri is the infamous, Konark temple. The temple was built in honour of the Sun God and was designed as his chariot which is coming from beyond the sea. The architecture was exquisite to say it simply. But what stands now is only a pale reflection of the original.
Our guide told us that the temple was originally 40 feet high. It was built in 1200AD. At the time, there was no cement to join all the bricks together so the builders came up with a brilliant technique. A small piece of iron was embedded in each brick. One by one each brick was laid. However the bricks could not hold out at such heights especially without cement. So a 52 ton magnet was placed on the top of the temple to hold the temple together. Yes! The small pieces of iron helped keep the temple together. Large iron beams where also installed in within the temple structure which were built by melting smaller pieces together.
Now having displayed their brilliance, the temple was completed. The arch in front of the temple was designed with equal brilliance. There was one main arch through which the first ray of sun light would pass through and fall upon the crest of the temple. But since the direction of sun light changes from season to season, two similar arches were constructed on either side of the main arch from which the temple still appeared to be right in front. And the sunlight would fall exactly on the crest. sugoi deshou.
But now comes the sad part. When the Portuguese came, on the high seas, their compasses went hay-wire due to the 52 ton magnet. So the Portuguese, not knowing anything, came and removed the magnet. Having done that, the temple collapsed. The British during their rule, tried to salvage what ever they could and blocked the entry to the temple to prevent the temple from collapsing further and to also protect the statue of the Sun God inside the temple which was too big to move.
That actually makes me really angry. What the Portuguese did was unforgivable. Thank God that the British weren't like that.
That is it for this lesson in History. Hope you feel educated.
nish^_^
What I forgot to mention in my previous post on may summer trip was a bit of history. Please do not be alarmed! The information that I am about to reveal is indeed quite interesting, so I urge you to read on ^_^.
So for my trip we had gone to Puri. Not very far from Puri is the infamous, Konark temple. The temple was built in honour of the Sun God and was designed as his chariot which is coming from beyond the sea. The architecture was exquisite to say it simply. But what stands now is only a pale reflection of the original.
Our guide told us that the temple was originally 40 feet high. It was built in 1200AD. At the time, there was no cement to join all the bricks together so the builders came up with a brilliant technique. A small piece of iron was embedded in each brick. One by one each brick was laid. However the bricks could not hold out at such heights especially without cement. So a 52 ton magnet was placed on the top of the temple to hold the temple together. Yes! The small pieces of iron helped keep the temple together. Large iron beams where also installed in within the temple structure which were built by melting smaller pieces together.
Now having displayed their brilliance, the temple was completed. The arch in front of the temple was designed with equal brilliance. There was one main arch through which the first ray of sun light would pass through and fall upon the crest of the temple. But since the direction of sun light changes from season to season, two similar arches were constructed on either side of the main arch from which the temple still appeared to be right in front. And the sunlight would fall exactly on the crest. sugoi deshou.
But now comes the sad part. When the Portuguese came, on the high seas, their compasses went hay-wire due to the 52 ton magnet. So the Portuguese, not knowing anything, came and removed the magnet. Having done that, the temple collapsed. The British during their rule, tried to salvage what ever they could and blocked the entry to the temple to prevent the temple from collapsing further and to also protect the statue of the Sun God inside the temple which was too big to move.
That actually makes me really angry. What the Portuguese did was unforgivable. Thank God that the British weren't like that.
That is it for this lesson in History. Hope you feel educated.
nish^_^
Really interesting!
ReplyDeleteReally interesting!
ReplyDelete