Chhatri

A chhatri is an open pavilion in which a small dome or curved canopy is lifted on slender pillars. The word comes from Hindi chatri, "umbrella" or "parasol", and the shape does look like a stone umbrella. Chhatris are one of the most recognisable roof elements of northern and central India: rows of them break up the skyline of forts and palaces in Rajasthan, and larger ones stand alone as memorials over the cremation sites of rulers.

Form

The simplest chhatri is a single dome on four pillars set on a square platform. Larger examples are octagonal or round, rest on eight, twelve or more columns, and may group several domes together over a base containing rooms. Some imitate the curved Bengal (bangla) roof instead of a hemispherical dome; in Jaisalmer, chhatris of the 18th and 19th centuries use that drooping form. The twelve-pillar type with a corbelled ceiling, built up from overlapping stone courses rather than a true arch, borrows from the porches of Hindu temples in north-west India, used since at least the 11th century.

Because chhatris are mainly ornamental, they are built of the same stone as the building they crown: red or yellow sandstone, grey-blue stone, or white marble. Interiors may be carved or painted with frescoes.

Origins and spread

Chhatris began as canopies over tombs and memorials. The earliest known examples on the subcontinent are at the Shrine of Ibrahim at Bhadreswar in Gujarat, of the 12th-13th centuries. The form is most closely associated with Rajasthan and the Rajput courts, and was taken up in Mughal architecture, where chhatris surround the main domes of buildings such as Humayun's Tomb in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra.

Roof ornament and memorial

On palaces and forts, chhatris are set along parapets and at the corners of roofs, giving shade to anyone on the roof terrace and making the skyline more varied. As memorials they mark the cremation places of royal families. Well-known groups include:

• Bada Bagh, Jaisalmer: chhatris of Jai Singh II (d. 1743) and later rulers of Jaisalmer.
• Gaitore, Jaipur: cenotaphs of the maharajas of Jaipur, including the carved chhatri of Jai Singh II.
• 84 Khambhon ki Chhatri, Bundi (1683): a memorial on 84 pillars.
• Malhar Rao Holkar's chhatri, Alampur (1766), built by Ahilya Bai Holkar.
• Memorial groups at Orchha, Shivpuri, Gwalior, Indore and Maheshwar built by local rulers, including the Scindia and Holkar families.

Roofing interest

Chhatris are roofs in their own right: the stone dome or canopy is both structure and weathering surface, with no separate covering of tiles, metal or thatch.