ZENANA vs MARDANA

Spatial arrangements and architectural features of the female and male areas in Islamic Architecture of India

Abhishek Behera A/1935/2007 B.Arch IIIrd yr sec B School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi

ZENANA vs MARDANA

Spatial arrangements and architectural features of the

female and male areas in

Islamic Architecture of India

Gender has always played a very important and a crucial role in every society. The roles offered or rather assigned to men and women varied in each society depending upon the social constraints and the requirements and the needs. These gender differences not only showed in the activities but also on the architecture of the place or the settlement. In the Indian federal societies, women played a very important role. Be it in the Hindu or in the Islamic kingdoms. Social norms and rules that prevailed at that time, and which still continue, defined their roles in those societies. The age old purdah system in our country is the best example of this. This segregation of the gender got reflected in the architecture also. Special spaces were designed and marked out on the basis of gender and the activities done by the members. This further transcended into architectural elements and features of these places as elements of design. These spatial arrangements and architectural features found in the Islamic Architectural style of India will be discussed in the study. Women folk had always been kept away from ‘direct’ contact or association with non family members in the Islamic society.

As mentioned before, they were kept behind the ‘purdah’. This was not only seen in the royal households, but also in the homes of the commoners. The homes used to be divided into the ‘Zenana’ – the female areas and the ‘Mardana’ or the male areas. There were restrictions as to who all can enter which space and when.

Women in purdah

(www.tribuneindia.com)

This was seen in the royal palaces or forts also. The forts were majorly segregated as the public and the private spaces. The private spaces were themselves further divided. The private spaces used to be mainly used by the royals only. It included their residences and areas where they did other activities including entertainment. For example the Red Fort of Delhi had been clearly separated into the public and private spaces. The public or semi public areas being confined till the diwan-i –aam. The private areas began after it. Within the private area, the zenana and the mardana were also clearly distinguishable. The mardana meant for the princes and other men of the royalty (marked in blue) was very open i.e. it wasn’t closed by walls and boundaries, unlike the zenana (shown in pink). Our societies have most of the times preferred men over women, by giving them special privileges and special trainings. The area around ‘nahar-i-bisht’ used to be the areas used by the princes for their training and leisure, ‘Jahangir bagicha’, with an easy access to the charbagh where performances used to happen. The area around it was more rugged or can be said “more masculine”. The zenana which included the royal harem has been divided into numerous blocks. And many walls and boundaries have been made “to protect their women from public eyes”. Another reason might be due to the sheer number of wives and concubines the emperor had. Smaller charbaghs with pools in the centre also dotted the area. These smaller charbaghs can be seen as an order of hierarchy or their use depended on the status or role played in the royal harem. Differences can not only be seen in the spatial orders but also in the architectural detailing of the areas. The areas which were frequented by ladies were more exquisitely detailed and the materials used were also different.

Plan of Red fort Delhi showing the public areas (orange), the mardana (blue) and zenana (pink)

The hamam along the diwan-i-khas can be seen as a example for architectural detailing of spaces used by women. The ‘Zafar Mahal’ and the ‘Rang Mahal’ are clear examples of the distinction in materials. The former being made out of sand stone and the later out of marble and studded with precious stones and gold.

The fort at Agra can also be viewed along similar lines. The structures of the mardana area like the Jehangiri mahal and the Akbari Mahal did not allow direct contact of the harem with the outside world and thus ensures purdah and strict seclusion of the women, according to the prevalent social customs.1

as can be seen in the adjoining map, there is a vast open area in the mardana. Like its contemporary, the Red Fort in Delhi, the zenana is hidden from the public ‘contact’ by the walls demarcating the public area (diwan-i-aam). The Khas Mahal along with the Angoori Bagh, lies at the intersection of the mardana and zenana. The Khas Mahal has been described by the court historian Abdu’l Hamid Lahauri as the ‘blessed and exalted aarambagh or the bed chamber’2. The exquisite marbal screens of the Khas mahal act as the purdah for the harem as mentioned earlier.

The Khas Mahal (www.wikipedia.com)

The Muthamman Burj and the Sheesh mahal, both part of the zenana have been exquisitely decorated. The former is situated over the Sheesh Mahal was built by shahjahan for mumtaz mahal. Both the structures are known for their decorative elements. The sheesh mahal was the royal dressing room featuring tiny mirror-like glass-mosaic decorations on the walls.

1 Pg 42 The Jehangiri Mahal;, Agra And Its Monuments,Prof R.Nath 2 Pg 49 The Khas Mahal;, Agra And Its

Monuments,Prof R.Nath

The map of Red Fort Agra, public areas in orange,

mardana in blue and zenana in pink (Agra And Its Monuments,Prof R.Nath)

Left : glass work in Sheesh Mahal Bottom : muthamman Burj (www.wikipedia.com)

Spatial and architectural demarcation wasn’t only in the residential areas. It also transcended in the religious areas also. As mentioned before the role of women in the Islamic society played very important role in arrangements of spaces.

Exquisitely carved pillar and roof of the zenana area of the Jami Masjid Ahmadabad (source : author)

The mosques have a separate area for women to offer prayers. As the mentioned in the above photograph, the zenana area of the jami Masjid, Ahmadabad has beautifully carved pillars, beams, capitals and roof. The decorations decrease as one moves towards the main area in the mosque. In the lesser Islamic kingdoms over other parts of the country such distinction can be clearly seen. Some of the buildings were even commissioned by the female rulers of these kingdoms, like those by the begums of Awadh and Bhopal. In awadh, there were specially designed rooms for entertainment purposes like mujras. The Gohar Mahal built by the first begum of Bhopal, Qudsia Begum. The Moti Mahal and the Moti Mahal wee both commissioned by the next begum, Sikandar Jehan Begum. The palaces of the nizams of Hyderabad, were built towards the end of the Islamic period in the country. These palaces had majorly been influenced by the colonial style. But still there was a separation in the male and female areas, though not prominent.

Gohar Mahal built by first Begum of Bhopal

But the nizams were a step ahead of their predecessors in terms of spatial arrangements. Special rooms were created in the zenana for purposes like child birth, nikah, dressing room for the bride etc. In the Chowmahalla Palace of Hyderabad, a central courtyard separates the zenana, Aftab Mahal and the mardana, the Mehtab Mahal. The gender based restrictions and constraints of the Islamic society, being a shortcoming in its own way, has led to development in the spatial arrangements of spaces in their society. And the fact that the quarters were being designed for women, further led to the emphasis of the decorations donr in those structures. COVER PAGE : Noorjahan, (www.wikipedia.org) Jahangir (Hambly, G. (1968). "Cities of Mughal India". New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 1. www.wikipedia.org 2. Prof R. Nath, Agra and its Monuments 3. Shobita Punja, Great Monuments Of

South Asia