As a young student travelling through India during the ’50s, architectural historian Andreas Volwahsen was “overwhelmed by the immense wealth of forms, decorative ornaments and sculpture” in Indian architecture. Armed with his Hasselblad camera, his efforts in documenting various monuments culminated in two bodies of academic work – Living Architecture: Islamic India (1968) and Living Architecture: India (1971). Now a photo exhibition organised by Tasveer called “Andreas Volwahsen – Living Architecture”, will display the 73-year-old’s pictures of historic sites across the country for the first time. Volwahsen’s images offer an insight into the laws and principles behind Mughal architecture, rather than just being an aesthetic appreciation of monuments

How did you build an association with Indian architecture?
When I was young, I was interested in technical assistance that led me to Afghanistan, where as a student, I worked with a German building company. When it was time to return home, I thought why simply take a straight flight out. Having already seen one image of the Maharaja’s (Maharaja Jai Singh II) observatory (Jantar Mantar) in Delhi, I felt it would be much more pleasant to look at India first. I took a bus via Khybar Pass to enter the country as there was nothing more interesting in the world than Indian architecture.

You’ve dedicated two volumes to the monuments. What intrigued you about these?    
One is overwhelmed by the immense wealth of forms, decorative ornament and sculpture. It makes it all the more delightful to penetrate through these externals and to inquire what canons or laws governed the work of architects, especially the medieval Indian architecture with its numerous Hindu temples.

There is a strong presence of Maharaja Jai Singh II’s Jaipur observatory in your works. What drew you to that monument  and others in India?
I had seen the structure’s image before I visited India and that sparked my interest in Indian architecture. Through my research I also realised that there had been few attempts to study it, academically or architecturally. I’m also fond of Mount Abu, Cupola of the Tejapala temple and the stone wheels in the Surya temple in Konark.

How was it for you to be able to study these monuments without getting influenced by Western architecture?
Once one has grasped the geometric principles underlying Indian architecture, one is bound to draw comparisons with corresponding epochs of European architecture. Parallels with modern architecture also manifest. Modern architecture is sometimes reproached for being poorer than that of earlier years since most buildings are constructed on a grid plan today. Yet by contrast, Indian architecture does not seem to have suffered any kind of limitation on its wealth of forms by using such grids, even figures as rigid and unyielding as squares.

As someone from another culture, what were you aiming to capture through these images?
However strange Indian architecture may seem from a Western perspective, the designs of Indian architects were based on a strict grid plan. This central fact adds fascination to one of the most important architectural periods in history. The grandeur and mystery behind these buildings, with their teeming sculptural forms and immense detail were just some of the aspects I wanted to convey, through the photographs.

Your pictures have a strange symmetry and geometrical pattern in them. Was it a conscious decision?
I was simply conveying the essence of the architectural elements because for the Mughal architect the square was the mystical, absolute, basic form that did not permit any variation in construction. It could also be more easily embellished with abundant decoration.