The Vanishing Stepwells of India

Kwami, a must read for you Folks 

These water reservoirs provided a water supply to locals in medieval India

Graceful arches, handsome pillars and ornate carvings were added to these stepwells

Stepwells became a social hub for travellers and women

India’s oldest stepwell is believed to date to 600 CE, although most of those

still standing were built after the 10th Century.

Stepwells proliferated in public areas in towns as well as along important trade

routes, and were open for use by the entire community.

As such, over time they became a social hub for travellers and for women,

who would come to fetch water each day.

One of the grandest, the Unesco-listed Rani ki vav

(vav is the local word in the west Indian state of Gujarat), was built in the

11th Century by the queen Udayamati as a gift to her people.

Rani ki vav originally goes seven floors down, but the bottom two

are currently closed to visitors due to recent earthquakes..

Many stepwells, as is to be expected in India, have legends of love and valour!!

The most tragic of these is around the Adalaj ni vav near the city of Ahmedabad.

The story goes that in 1499 the kingdom was conquered

by the Muslim ruler Mohammed Begda

who killed the Hindu king Rana Veer Sinh

and fell in love with his beautiful widow Rani Rudabai.


Rani Rudabai demanded that Begda complete the work on the stepwell

begun by her husband in return for her hand in marriage.

And so Adalaj ni vav took shape, a work of love expressed through its

amalgamation of Hindu-Islamic styles.

When the vav was proudly presented to the loyal queen, she inspected it

and then drowned herself in the waters.

Although echoes of the story have faded with time –

with even many locals unaware of the site’s rich history –

Adalaj remains one of the most beautiful stepwells in the region.

Before that in 1492 Columbus sailed the Ocean blue

In 1493 Columbus sailed the deep blue Sea.

btw Folks, my ending would read thus NOT above Columbus :

SCA dived in and saved her from those 'barbarian savages'

Kwami waited calmly on the shoreline with dry white towels

Gog Lee was overheard chanting the Gyatri mantra. 

Ketch,

there is a series on netflix call Sanrachna.  Its about all these amazing structures in India.  A good watch.