When #JannalTwitter was trending I thought it may be some foreign language hashtag but it was very much Indian – jannal or janal means window in Malayalam and Tamil. So I learned a new word thanks to this amazing aspect of being Indian: that there are so many languages we can call our own. In recent times, our windows and balconies have come to mean a lot to us; another reason that this hashtag seemed to catch people’s fancy.
This is a window in Florence that dates back to the 13th century. This instantly transports us - it makes us wonder at the kind of people that may have looked out of this very window and how what they saw may have changed over the different epochs of history.
…To a window. The window is a fascinating architectural device that lets people look outside, lets light in and gives a sense of balance and symmetry.
Movies have long used windows to create a sense of longing, loneliness, tension, drama, suspense…. watching someone from a window or looking up at a shadow in a window. In the case of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic, solving a mystery just by looking out of a window (Rear Window).
Varied Indian architectural traditions have given us some amazingly beautiful types of windows over the ages.
Stunning windows
They remind us of days when we used to travel.
This is surely the best place to put a bed!
Windows seem to stimulate creativity in some people.
The Hawa Mahal of Jaipur is a building made up principally of windows.
Looking out from inside – or looking in from outside – windows can create fascinating frames and perspectives.
Now during the pandemic lockdowns, most of us have developed a new appreciation for windows of all sorts.
…But cannot be. Those of us who adore travel would rather be on a long journey to somewhere away from it all.
To look out upon this beautiful world of ours.
Beautiful windows are part of stunning architecture that was perhaps created to frame beautiful people who looked out at the world around them.
Each one with a story.
Windows with views; each window with a story of its own.
Such as this cosy window seat. Windows are evocative – no wonder people had a lot to say about #JannalTwitter.
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