Wind Catchers of Orchha, a photo from Madhya Pradesh, Central

Photographer's Note

In the center of Orchha town and walking past Phool Bagh, are the wind-catching tall towers popularly called Sawan Bhadon. Legend states that these tall towers were erected in memory of two prince of Orchha who were sentenced to death, for killing a saint.

The Phool Bagh in Orchha (part of which you can see on the left) served as a summer retreat by the kings of Orchha. This was actually built as a memorial for Dinman Hardaul, the prince of Orchha, who died a martyr, to prove his innocence to his big brother. Chandan Katora was a beautiful fountain in Phool Bagh, which has dried up now.

The Sawan Bhadon towers, which one can see on the right are actually air shafts, which captured the prevailing wind and circulating cool air to the underground halls that served as pleasure retreats for the royals during summer months. There is an resourceful system of water ventilation connecting the underground palace with Chandan Katora. These cooling towers, came to Orchha from their origin in Yazd in Iran. Windcatchers (Persian: Bâdgir) are traditional Persian architectural devices used for many centuries to create natural ventilation in buildings. How does a Wind Catcher work? Pls. do check the Workshop for an illustration.

Dedicating this post to Malgorzata, who had recently visited Orchha.

Budapestman, JT50, subhendu_bagchi, ChrisJ, dip, holmertz, emjleclercq, danos, jafadabret, Bluejeans, crckt, bukitgolfb301, macjake, Didi, josepmarin, jhm, pierrefonds, patdeph, pablominto has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mesutilgim (0) 2009-11-19 0:36

Hello Angshuman,
Very nice capture with vivid warm colors. Good pov and very nice details. Good and usefull notes as well.
TFS and have a nice day
Best regards
MESUT ILGIM

pajaran (114915) 2009-11-19 0:56

Pozdrav.
Kontrast sadasnjosti, stara arhitektura i ulicna trgovina, lepa fotografija, boje i pravi trenutak snimka.
Sve najbolje, Paja.

Budapestman (82620) 2009-11-19 0:56

Dear Angshu,
a splendid shot of this place with spectacular POV and beautiful architectural details, the colours and lights are very nice, great view, Tfs! Have a nice day, my friend!
George

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2009-11-19 4:00

Hello Angshuman,
This a very lovely view to this nice place with all the interesting buildings around. I like the colours of the clothes of the people. Well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

JT50 (1491) 2009-11-19 5:28

Hi Angshu,
A nice composition. I like your higher POV. You have managed to capture both the daily life and the historical place. Good clarity of the details. I think the white washed wall is out of place here. It is sad to see this buildings with unique architecture left to decay.
Have a nice day.
Janak

emka (157280) 2009-11-19 6:49

Hi Angshum thanks for the dedication!! We visited Orchha but we were mainly on the island on Betwa river. We visited beautifuil palaces there and then wanted to see Gwallior the same day. But we had a bad luck, the traffic was so busy that we went a bit more than 200 km all the day and reched Gwallior too late. Now we travel more slowly but I am not sure if we wee everything worth seeing. Today we saw a fantastic Mahrangarth Fort in Jodhpur and tomorrow go to Jaisalmer (and to the Thar desert!!).

regards
Malgorata

ChrisJ (171222) 2009-11-20 1:26

Hello Angshuman

Looks like a fascinating place to wander around. Good sharpness & a superb high pov. The people add scale. Excellent color, sharpness & framing. Tfs!

erhan1958 (15961) 2009-11-20 6:19

selam ANGSUHEMAN
very colourfull daily life.
greetings
ERHAN

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2009-11-20 8:46

Dear Angshuman da,
nice presentation of the historical building and the interesting 'shawan bhado' tower. Great high point of view. Nice colours and depth. The note is so informative. Great to see those structures with the colourfull daily life. Very well done. Tfs.
Have a nice weekend.
Subhendu

TopGeo (38220) 2009-11-20 9:18

Hello Angshuman, This is very fine photography of architecture! Very nice capture with vivid contrast and colors. Good pov and very nice details with nice place and frame with all of daily of city life. Good and clarity of FG and BG notes as well.
TFS and have a nice day

Best regards,
Georgios

dip (21408) 2009-11-20 10:16

Hi Angshu,
beautiful shot of daily life with many interesting architectural details,
very good POV and lighting,
greetings,
Dimitris.

holmertz (101988) 2009-11-20 13:39

Hello Angshuman,
An interesting and very colourful picture from a good POV. India is endlessly fascinating.
Regards,
Gert

emjleclercq (15778) 2009-11-20 13:43

An usual air conditionning system, and a very interesting note. But I agree, I have notice that the air is fresher even at low altitude because the wind is more easily caught.

All the best,

Emmanuel

Graal (103040) 2009-11-20 23:49

Hi Angshuman,
an interesting presentation. Good shot from fine POV. Unusual old towers. Well informations. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

danos (110407) 2009-11-21 0:28

Hi Angshu,
a panoramic view of the center of Orchha town,leading the eye to the Phool Bagh and the Sawan Bhadon towers.I like this colourful snapshot in the center of Orchha,with the people to looks so tiny.Informative your note as well.

Have a nice weekend,Danos

jafadabret (56501) 2009-11-21 2:48

Bonjour Agshu.
L'animation de ce marché est bien saisie. Les couleurs des vêtements et des marchandises sont autant de points sur le premier plan. La ville semble très ancienne et les édifices de belle facture.
Amicalement
Jacques

Bluejeans (64251) 2009-11-21 3:41

Ola Angshuman ,
Beleza de praça com estas pessoas tem umas roupas bem coloridas , bonitos detalhes de arquitectura neste templo , bom trabalho!!
Um abraço Gonçalo

Bom fim de semana

rajiv_077 (1412) 2009-11-21 5:17

Hi

Good shot of this nice architecture's. Indeed this is some different view of the Phool bagh & Sawan Bhadon's from your lens. Good atmosphere there, colors are more attractive. Good control on lights as always.

Good one

regards

rajiv

* Please wait for my new cam's pictures.

crckt (7222) 2009-11-21 8:01

Dear Angshumanda,
Orchha is a wonderful place! Stunning architecture and so much to see and learn. I enjoy reading your notes on the shots, they are always so informative. I like this high POV to capture the daily scene with so much color.
Well done,
Shaeri

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2009-11-21 14:42

Hello my dear Prof. Angshuman

What is another great shot!
Good composition/framework and sharp focusing in the detail are excellent as usual! The comparison between legacy and daily life is quite interesting and good idea.
Congratulation on your masterpiece!
Thanks for sharing and best regards,
Have a nice Sunday !

Takero

macjake (98262) 2009-11-21 19:03

Hi Angshu

You're photographers notes often deserve a positive critique alone! lots of information.
There are so many speckles of bright colors placed around your subjects.
great photo and high POV.
well done
have a safe and happy weekend
Craig

Didi (61589) 2009-11-22 11:10

Salam Angshu
Interesting way to make air conditionned
The view is interesting on theese old architecture, but the white building is not according with the style :)
Best regards.

josepmarin (59385) 2009-11-23 0:58

Namaste, Angshuman,
A good high POV that allows to see this square and the beautiful architecture that surrounds it, under a good light and with a well-saturated colors.
Your informative note discovers us the usefulness of these two wind catchers towers, and it is really interesting.
Excellent work, my friend.
Best regards,
Josep

jhm (211734) 2009-11-24 3:36

Hello Angshu,

Sharpness and clarity are very nice for look at.
The colours and lights are very nice
Excellent panorama sight with different towers in background.
Good and usefull notes as well.
Very well done, TFS.

Warmest regards,
John.

pierrefonds (113590) 2009-11-24 5:18

Hi Angshuman,

The presence of the people has an effect of scale. The point of view is showing the daily life in Orcha. It is also allowing me to see the details and colors of the architecture of the buildings. The trees are framing well the buildings. It is clear and sharp. The afternoon light has a good effect on the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

patdeph (35750) 2009-11-25 1:46

namaste Angshuman
everything I love in India is on this picture:the beautiful monments,the life in the streets,the colors of the people!And here,you had a splendid light to enhance the scene!Superb!
Regards
Päscale

serp2000 (47063) 2009-11-30 0:19

Privet, Angshuman,
Interesting view and good note. I like conception of our site: Learning the world through the photography.
Thanks for your job!
Serghei

Longroute (19600) 2009-11-30 10:32

Genial invention those windcatcher towers! I've never heard of the extistence such a thing!
I visited India long ago but not this area. I like to see this ancient architecture (even if the one at the left have been painted awfully! (:-) and the market down below reminds me of my day there... interesting composition full of Indian light and colours.

Best regards,
Donato

pablominto (53746) 2010-01-13 22:38

Hello Angshu,

The fine light and warm colours are characterizing this scene!
The elevated point of view works well, and the ancient architecture contrasts well with the more modern elements...
The scene is well framed, good details in the colourful street life..!

Greetings,
Pablo -

Disabled_A (0) 2010-01-16 2:47

Hello Angshuman,
this is a very interesting shot (I like it that it was taken from that height!), so we can see so many details of the local life and architecture! Very well composed! and very warm in many respects :)
I doubt that I will ever travel to India, so far I enjoy photos :)
Very best wishes from snowy Moscow,
Elena