60 SOCIAL SCIENTIST The Architecture of Mughal India is an important book since it analyses and illustrates the wide range of monuments that can be grouped together under the generic term of Mughal. The impact of the imperial architecture of the period began to filter and diffuse into the lesser known peripheral kingdoms in the north-east and west of India. Many of the rulers' palaces in the Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar and Bengal borrowed their architectural imagery from imperial prototypes in Delhi, Agra and Lahore. In a chapter dealing with sub-imperial patronage, Asher identifies many lesser known buildings in Thatta, Ahmedabad, Merta, Patna and other places, where there are still fine examples of Mughal-inspired buildings. The tensions created by a strong imperial rule are not glossed over. For instance, when describing the Mughal relationship with the rulers of Rajasthan, the author describes how the imperial orders forbade the ruler of Amber from using the Makrana marble quarries in his own kingdom and how all the marble extracted from these quarries had to be used for the emperor's buildings only. The commencement of Shah Jahanabad in 1639 meant that almost all the marble quarried in Makrana had to be used exclusively for the new project of the emperor. The book has been researched at a level of detail that is admirable. Since it is addressed to a much wider audience than just architectural historians, it provides, for the first time, an opportunity for a non-specialist reader to take a fascinating journey into the Mughal period. The history of events during this period is related as a narrative while touching on many of the imperial and regional non-imperial architectural accomplishments. Thus it could very easily be used as a guide-book too. Certainly many of the buildings of Mughal India can be regarded amongst the most beautiful on the subcontinent. An interested traveller would therefore be well advised to keep a copy of the book with him if he intends to travel to the imperial cities of Lahore, Delhi and Agra. But apart from that, were he to stop over at some of the smaller settlements en route such as Narnaul, Jaipur, or go to Ahmedabad, he could find important references to buildings which are now sadly in neglect, but collectively form a very important part of the Indian heritage. In many ways Mughal architecture symbolises the essence of the Indian architectural heritage which is truly pluralistic. This heritage is spread across the various regions of India regardless of religious sentiments. For instance, the powerful influence of Mughal architecture on the whole tradition of Rajasthani palaces and forts is undeniable. Indeed if one were to take the palaces of the rulers of Jaipur and Amber, almost every architectural feature was influenced by Mughal prototypes. Considering that these Mughal prototypes were themselves influenced by Timurid and Persian examples as well as non-Islamic Indian ones, one is quite likely to go around in circles trying to look for and identify pure sources of inspiration for a Hindu architecture. In many ways the period of Mughal rule in India was a