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Uch Monuments
The architecture of the numerous mosques,
tombs and madras- sahs/khanqahs at Uch has been
described as an extension of, or a derivation from. the
better-known monuments of Multan However, while these two
centres did have close cultural and political ties, the
characteristics of the Uch monuments are sufficiently
distinct to be identified as a related but independent
building tradition There are two distinct types of
buildings to be found at Uch:
fiat-roofed and domed. Both also exist in
Multan. But while the brick-domed structures might well
have been inspired by Mul- tan precedents, the reverse
might equally be true of the flat roofed timber forms.
These flat-roofed structures are represented by the
tombs of Jalal Din Surkh Bukhari, Abu Hanifa,
Jahaniyan Jahan Gasht and Rajan Oattal.
The dates of original construction in most of these are
not certain, and most of them were restored or rebuilt
during the 19th or early 20th centuries. Nevertheless,
even in their present form they faithfully represent the
originals built in the 13th and 14th centuries. This is
borne out by inscriptions on the tombs recording the
restorations, and is confirmed by the remaining structure
of the tomb of Abu Hanifa, which has survived in its
original shape without major repairs.
Typically, these structures consist of
rectangular halls, with flat timber roofs made up of
boards on purloins carried on timber beams spanning from
column capital to column capital in both directions. The
column capitals themselves are elaborately carved
brackets supported on slender square, round or octagonal
posts. The interior woodwork is painted or lacquered with
brilliant yellow and white floral designs, usually on a
brilliant red or orange ground. The enclosing external
walls are in fine burnt-clay bricks, often in mud or lime
plaster, cut and dressed into a variety of geometric
patterns. The walls are sometimes slightly battered, and
occasionally reinforced with timber courses. The
entrances are usually marked by a generous projecting
porch, also in timber, with projecting eaves. These
details are characteristics also of the domestic
architecture of the region as it survived into the 19th
and early 20th centuries.
The use of brick domes was usually
restricted to mausoleum, but may on occasion have been
employed for a Zavia or madrassah. Typical of the domed mausoleum at Uch
are those of BahauDin Uchi (also
known as Baha-al-Halim), Bibi Jawindi, Ustad
Ladla and Musa Pak Shahid32. The
development of this type of tomb structure has been
traced from the Tomb of Khaliq or Khalid Walid near
Multan to a similar tomb at Bela in Baluchistan, to the
tomb of Shah Gardez at Adam Wahan in Bahawalpur, to the
tomb of Baha ul-Din Zakariya at Multan (1262), to the
mausoleum of Shah Rukn al-Din Rukn-i-Alam (1320- 25)33.
Although none of the domed mausoleum at Uch have survived without major damage,
the features of
a distinct local style are evident from the remaining
structures. These consist of an approximately
hemispherical, slightly-pointed dome on an octagonal drum
over a square or octagonal chamber, with round corner
towers, slightly tapered towards the top and sloped
inwards. Externally, the surfaces are decorated with
striking bands of blue glazed tiles, alternating with
broad bands of lime plaster. Each of the round corner
towers and smaller turrets on the octagonal drum appear
to have been crowned with elaborately sculptured floral
forms. The tombs of Baha al-Halim and of Bibi Jawindi are
probably the best examples of the domed mausolea at Uch.
Among the other extant buildings of this
period are the much altered tombs of Baba Farid-ud-Din
Shakar Ganj and Ala-ud-Din Mauj-e-Darya at Pakpattan
(Ajudhan). The latter was built by Shah Mohammad Tughlaq
in 1335-34.
Taken From "The Architecture of
Pakistan" By Kamil Khan Mumtaz
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