Its All In The Detail…..

It is easy to get overawed by magnificent edifices and miss out on the exquisite details that contribute to making them awe-inspiring in the first place.

With my design background, it isn’t so much that I don’t notice the finer nuances of architectural construction, as that I get so carried away by their intricacies that I forget to capture them on camera. I additionally get distracted by the people-watching the more popular sites afford.

Here’s a sampling of close-ups that did make it to my albums:

From the Taj Mahal, Agra – that benchmark for simple perfection – a pietra dura panel and delicately turned marble edge molding.Pietra Dura inlay and marble edge molding - Taj Mahal, Agra

A skillfully carved marble plinth from the Red Fort, Delhi.Detail of carving on plinth - Red Fort, Delhi

Back home in Chennai, the detail of a doorway in the Kapaleeswarar temple. Its ornate painted spire forms the background.Kapaleeswarar temple, Chennai

Detail from an equally colourful spire across the bay in the beautiful Wat Arun, Bangkok. Wat Arun, Bangkok

And finally a set of gorgeous features from Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur;Detail - Mehrangarh FortDetail of ornate door shutter – Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur

Spikes on main door - Mehrangarh Fort
Mean metal spikes on the gigantic main door to deter the advance of elephants – Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur
Red sandstone pillar and trellis - Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur
Red sandstone pillar and trellis – Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur
Door - Mehrangarh Fort
Details of an exquisite inner door frame and shutter.

Until next time……..happy travels, no matter where life takes you!

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Madhu is an Interior designer turned travel blogger on a long sabbatical to explore the world. When not crafting stories on The Urge To Wander, she's probably Tweeting @theurgetowander or sharing special moments on instagram.com/theurgetowander

50 thoughts on “Its All In The Detail…..

  1. It shows you are a true artist, who else can see the detailed work that you have captured in your shot. It’s truly amazing ,Madhu, Congrats. From Ranu

    1. Aww, thank you for the lovely compliment Ranu! I think this blog is influencing the way I ‘see’ things these days!

    1. Thanks Sylvia. Those spikes looked pretty intimidating from down below, must be even more so at elephant eye level 🙂

  2. The details are extraordinary Madhu, the marble plinth is amazing work. Beautiful shots of the close-ups ~ hope you have a lovely weekend.

  3. This is a lovely perspective, very true we all get lost in the grandeur of the historical structure and the visiting people around us who keep distracting us and they are busy in their own world, many times only when we sit back and reflect we realize that there was so much things to see and so may things to learn but we didn’t have enough time, what an irony we go to place just to tick our list of places to visit and put only our broad agenda on track and not the details…life is in details not in the devil, we realize when we see the details how much thinking and time has gone in making it what it is today…

    Thanks so much for bringing out this overlooked dimensions of beautiful architecture around us.
    😀

  4. They are all comforting to these eyes that have been offline so often! Well, those metal spikes look pretty brutal, but the others, ah, so lovely! Thanks for giving me a dose of history and culture!

  5. Fabulous details, Madhu. I was only thinking the other day, that on my next trip I must concentrate on details a little more, as I often seem to get too caught up with capturing the whole.

  6. Simply exquisite! God and the devil are in the details! I think we Indians are so spoilt and take the intricacies and finer details for granted.

  7. Ah, what gorgeousness lies in these details, Madhu! It’s so easy to get caught up in the grander scale of things and miss these extraordinary delights. Thanks for sharing these beautiful images!

  8. Historic places have the most beautiful carvings. I think it’s becoming a lost art. Your photographs have incredible detail that only close ups could showcase. I enjoyed them all.
    Very nice ..!!! 😀

  9. Really beautiful photos – the door shutter detail is my favorite. I had a similar post/thought process in Istanbul – grand city – but so many beautiful details!

  10. I love this post, especially the details in front of the blurred image of their setting. I tend to take closeups because they’re less daunting than vastness, which I’m not good at capturing. I agree with praise for your eye: it too is exquisite.

  11. Each picture carries its own meaning doesn’t it? The sharpened steel rods reminds me of a nail bed a holy man near our residence in Pune used to lie on. Don’t know how he did that without serious injury.

  12. Indeed, Madhu. We get so spellbound by their overall magnificence and fail to appreciate the finer details that make them what they are. These are great shots that makes one take note of those intricacies.

  13. These photos are simply gorgeous. I would say “stunning” but everyone uses that word to praise photos on WP. We need a new word for you. Great take on the prompt.

  14. Lovely! Often, caught up in the larger picture, we miss the smaller details – and that’s where the beauty lies. (My first time here, enjoying browsing through your posts)

    1. True, it is easy to forget that it is the details that transform the mundane into the magnificent.

      Welcome to my blog Charukesi. Happy to connect with you here and on Twitter.

      PS: My background and index menu are missing this morning due to some WP issues. Apologies for the inconvenience.

  15. All of these, they are wonderful the details so much for the eye to take in. The forth in the series though, draws the eye (at least mine), is that a hand? What else is there? I want to see more.

  16. This is great, such detail and perspective that comes from your lens…it is a look into a whole new world that makes me want to go further and further. Beautiful work.

  17. These photos are beautiful! You have inspired me to pay more attention to the little things with my camera when I am travelling!

  18. It’s like magic looking at this beautiful details with your eyes, Madhu. This is great artistic work, from you as well as the architects and builders.

  19. Such rich photos, Madhu, thank you for sharing. Being myopic, I am prone to looking at things closely (sometimes a little too closely) – refreshing to promote this point of view. It’s another world altogether, lurking in the details, waiting to be unfurled.

  20. An exquisite set of photos, Madhu. Your background in design is apparent in the way they are taken. I’m just the opposite I think – for me getting carried away by the intricate detail means clicking away with my camera like no tomorrow!

  21. Gorgeous shots Madhu – seriously beauty does lie in the small details. Love the angle at which you have captured those spikes… and the cows look almost life like!

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