Tombes van Kootub-i-Alum en zijn zoon in Batwa bij Ahmedabad before 1866

This is an albumen print by Thomas Biggs, capturing the tombs of Kootub-i-Alum and his son in Batwa near Ahmedabad. The domes, rounded and serene, immediately evoke a sense of the eternal, a concept stretching back to ancient Roman mausoleums and beyond. They remind us of the Pantheon, a similar statement of cosmic harmony and power. The archways, repeated in rhythmic succession, create a play of light and shadow. We find similar arches in the Roman catacombs, a portal between worlds, a symbol of transition and passage to the afterlife. The psychological weight of these forms is significant. The dome represents the heavens, and the arch, the gateway to the divine. It's a language of form that resonates across cultures, a testament to humanity's shared yearning for meaning and transcendence. The persistence of these forms across millennia is no accident, it speaks to our collective unconscious and our shared experience of mortality and spirituality. It invites us to contemplate the cyclical nature of existence and the enduring power of symbols to connect us to the past.