Sandstone in India
Sandstones in India are utilized in the making of images, statues, buildings and many household appliances. The Vindhayan sandstones constitute a great storehouse of excellent stones, which, because of their regular bedding, uniform grain-size, pleasing colors, easy workability and durability, have been extensively used all over northern India as a building stone.
The exquisite temples of Khajuraho are made of the fine-grained Vindhayan sandstones. Other famous structures made of the Vindhayan sandstones include the Buddhist stupas of Sanchi, Bharhut and Sarnath; many memorials and mosques of the Mughal period, as well as the Governmental buildings of New Delhi. Emperor Akbar’s city of Fatehpur Sikri had been constructed entirely of red sandstones of Vindhayan age.
Many idols and temples of Puri, Bhubaneswar, Atgarh, Konark, Khandagiri etc. have been constructed with sandstones belonging to Proterozoic age. Many buildings of Chhotanagpur (Bihar and West Bengal), Madhya Pradesh (Kamptee and Panchamari), Gujarat and south India (Tirupati) have been made with sandstones.
On metamorphism, sandstones are transformed into quartzite, which is quite hard and durable in nature. This quartzite, found in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Chhotanagpur areas are quite suitable as road metals.
