While travelling in India, I became fascinated with the variety of patterns in its architecture. Historically, they’re mostly a legacy of the Sultanates and the Mughal Empire, and Islam’s tradition of non-figurative art. But interesting patterns can also be found in Jain, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and modern architecture, and also in natural forms.

These galleries collects all the photographs of patterns I took during my visit. I’m releasing these into the public domain. They are far from comprehensive, and others can be found in various places such as Wikimedia Commons.

Part 1: Delhi
Part 2: Agra and Fatehpur Sikri
Part 3: Rajasthan
Part 4: Chandigarh
Part 5: Miscellaneous

CHANDIGARH

The Rock Garden

The Rock Garden of Chandigarh is one of the great outsider art installations of the world, on a par with the Palais Idéal in France.

It’s built entirely from waste, and the random patterns formed from broken ceramics, plastics and so on, are more akin to natural forms than the precise geometry of Islamic tombs.

But in some of the decorations you can see the influence of more conventional design.