Tankshal ni Masjid: An Experience Worth Remembering

” The process of documentation started with the site observations and sketches for a better understanding, followed by setting up the datum and recording the measurements.“

I find myself fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to be a small part of the initial process of documentation of Tankshal-Ni-Pol mosque as a part of the academic studio project in Spring 2019. This site always remains special to me, as my journey through the process of the studio was filled with challenges, experiences, and a lot of learnings. The objective of the studio was to record the historic built environment, understand the significance of built structure within the context, assess the condition while having information of historic building materials, and develop suitable proposals to conserve the values possessed by the site. The process of documentation started with the site observations and sketches for a better understanding, followed by setting up the datum and recording the measurements. We tried decoding the setting of the plan to understand the relationship between the entrance of the mosque and the orientation of the prayer hall. Also, visited the surrounding structures to understand the context better, found graves in the basements of structures around, and tried understanding the exact purpose of the Tankshal-ni-pol mosques with respect to other mosques in close vicinity. There were a lot of narratives around the conflicts of religions that may have affected the mosque and there was no access to the upper floor found within the mosque.

20th February 2021