engineering

Sidi Bashir Mosque

Sidi Bashir Mosque is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Sidi Bashir Mosque rather than just read about it. In short: The Sidi Bashir Mosque is a former Sufi mosque, now in partial ruins in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Only the central gateway and two minarets survive; they are known as the Jhulta Minar or Shaking Minarets.

Key takeaways

Sidi Bashir Mosque belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Sidi Bashir Mosque to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Sidi Bashir Mosque from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Sidi Bashir Mosque is a former Sufi mosque, now in partial ruins in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Only the central gateway and two minarets survive; they are known as the Jhulta Minar or Shaking Minarets. The structure is a Monument of National Importance. The Jhulta Minar, a part of the Siddi Bashir Mosque, is a notable example of Indo-Islamic architecture built in 1461 CE. The three-storey tall structure, with intricate designs on each of the minarets, is known for swaying when minimal force is applied to its uppermost arc. A gentle shaking of either minaret results in the vibration of the other minaret after a few seconds, though the connecting passage remains free of any vibration. This unconventional structure is a mystery, unsolved by engineers. According to popular belief, the Jhulta Minar was built to receive early signals of earthquakes.

History The mosque is believed to have been constructed either by Sidi Bashir, a slave of Sultan Ahmed Shah, or by Malik Sarang, a noble in the court of Mahmud Begada, another Sultan of Gujarat. Construction was dated from 1452, although the style and material of the minarets point to the close of Mahmud Begada's reign in 1511, or later. The body of the building was destroyed in 1753 during the war between the Marathas and Jawān Mard Khān, Mughal governor of Gujarat; only two minarets and the arched central gateway connecting them remain.

Minarets The minarets are the tallest in Ahmedabad and are located to the north of Ahmedabad Junction railway station. Though much damaged, especially near their footings, the stairs inside the minarets may be used. The minarets are three stories tall with carved balconies. A gentle shaking of either minaret results in the other minaret vibrating after a few seconds, though the connecting passage between them remains free of vibration. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is not known, although the layered construction is thought to be a factor. The phenomenon was first observed in the 19th century by Monier M. Williams, an English Sanskrit scholar. The minarets are able to withstand fast-moving trains passing close by. Entry to the shaking minaret was prohibited following an incident in 1981 at Qutb Minar in Delhi, when a stampede resulted in the deaths of many children. There is also damage to the upper sections.

Other shaking minarets The Raj Bibi Mosque, also in Ahmedabad, also had shaking minarets similar to those at the Sidi Bashir Mosque. Under the British Raj, one was dismantled in order to study the construction, but could not be reassembled. The Monar Jonban (shaking minarets), in Isfahan, Iran, has almost the same properties. A further example is a large mosque built by Makhdu-Ma-I-Jahan, mother of Sultan Qutubuddin Ahmad Shah II in 1454 CE, who is buried in the mausoleum situated to the east of the Sidi Bashir Mosque.

Gallery

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Sidi Bashir Mosque

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Sidi Bashir Mosque claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Sidi Bashir Mosque before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Sidi Bashir Mosque ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Sidi Bashir Mosque

In research: Sidi Bashir Mosque appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Sidi Bashir Mosque in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Sidi Bashir Mosque is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 15th-century mosques in India, Buildings and structures completed in 1452, Gujarat Sultanate mosques, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Sidi Bashir Mosque outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Sidi Bashir Mosque in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Sidi Bashir Mosque means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Sidi Bashir Mosque out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sidi Bashir Mosque in simple terms?

Why does Sidi Bashir Mosque matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Sidi Bashir Mosque?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Sidi Bashir Mosque.