The History Of Tents In India
The exotic tradition of tents has touched the spirit and soul of many different cultures
, capturing the imagination of nomads and free spirits throughout the world. North American Indians, Bedouins, Romans, Ottomans, Arabs, Tibetans, Mongols, Mughals and Maharajas have all favoured the romance of life under canvas. These tents offered the ultimate in luxurious hospitality, often serving as royal structures for the Maharajas and their courts, and were used to entertain for a variety of occasions. Today, the tents are still used at palaces, private properties, gardens and resorts. And there are still Safari and Tented Camps in India at which travellers are welcomed.
For centuries they have been host to royal weddings, religious ceremony, polo events, hunting parties on safari, and dessert encampments.
The Mughal Emperor Akbar, is said to have lavishly patronized art during his era, his style was a mixture of Persian and Indian motifs, which gets reflected in the magnificent Tents, Carpets, Furniture, captured by the Ottoman army in the seventeenth century. The Sultan had his court in a huge encampment of hundreds, even thousands of Tents, at the center of which was the 'Tented Palace' called the 'Imperial Tent Complex'. The imperial tents were pavilions, walled in by a symbolic rampart of cloth and recognized by their size and the splendor of their decoration, both inside and out. Around the royal enclosure were grouped other imposing Tents of diminishing size belonging to high-ranking officers and officials. Within the royal enclosure is a great variety of Tents of differing size and function, including a Kitchen Tent, Dining Tent, Women's Tent, Bath Tents, Toilet Tents and Stable Tents.
India and particularly the desert state of Rajasthan have always had a special nomadic tent culture. In the era of the Mughal Emperors, whole tented cities were sometimes erected for royal weddings, special celebrations, durbars and hunting expeditions into the Thar Desert. In 1903 the most lavish and extensive example of these tented camps was set up in Delhi by Lord Curzon for the Coronation Durbar of King Edward V11, the purpose of which was to confirm the king as the Emperor of India, and also to announce the moving of the capital from Calcutta to New Delhi. It accommodated an astonishing twelve thousand, nine hundred and eighty-three people! The viceregal camp was superbly equipped with every comfort and luxury, and contained exquisitely presented camps from all the different Princely States and neighbouring kingdoms displaying the finest examples of local craftsmanship and materials.
However, by the mid 20th century the tradition of these magnificent tented camps had sadly died out, and the skills required to make them were becoming a distant memory.
During the mid 1990s our designer Clarissa Mitchell was living in Jodhpur working on a project for the current Maharaja.
Inspired by photographs of the tented camps that she had seen in the museum at Merenghi Fort, she suggested to the Maharaja that they should revive the art of decorative tent making. His Highness agreed and Clarissa's first commission was for eighty Shikar tents pitched along the lake at the camel fair in Pushkar. Further tented camps followed at Jaisalmer and Nagaur.
Hence the tent industry in Jodhpur was restarted and is now a thriving one providing much needed employment for the city.
Raj Tent Club has created a number of tented safari camps in India. These exotic camps not only offer all the romance and nostalgia of times gone by but are also an ideal way of providing comfortable accommodation in spectacular locations without disturbing the environment and without requiring planning permission.
by: Alex
Golden Triangle Tour: Experience The Grandeur Of India Gstarcad Attracts Much Attention At India-international Build Expo-2012 Demand Of Executive Mba Is On A Rise In India Avail Uppermost Gynecologist In India Are You Looking For Best Oncology Surgery India? Neuro Surgery India Is It Worthwhile To Opt? India: Park Of Information Technology Educate Your Child - Educate Your India India E-retail (e-tailing) Market, Companies Revenue Analysis & Forecast To 2015 Seo Company India Pgdba In India The Best For Management Post Graduation World Class Treatment For Breast Surgery In India New Bank Exams Pattern In India