Adalaj stepwell

Adalaj stepwell

Introduction to stepwells

• Main article: stepwell
• While in Gujarati and Marwari language, the stepwell is called a vav, (leading down to the level of water), in other Hindi-speaking regions of North India it is known as a baoli (also spelt, ‘bawdi’, ‘bawri’ and ‘bavadi’).
• Step wells like the one in Adalaj were once integral to the semi-arid regions of Gujarat, as they provided water for drinking, washing and bathing. These wells were also venues for colourful festivals and sacred rituals.
• Stepwells, also called stepped ponds, built between the 5th and 19th centuries, are common in Western India; over 120 such wells are reported in the semi-arid region of Gujarat alone, of which the well at Adalaj is one of the most popular. Stepwells are also found in more arid regions of the Indian subcontinent, extending into Pakistan, to collect rain water during seasonal monsoons. While many such structures are utilitarian in construction, they sometimes include significant architectural embellishments, as in the Adalaj stepwell, which attracts a large number of tourists. In the past, these stepwells were frequented by travellers and caravans as stopovers along trade routes.
• The first rock-cut step wells in India are dated from 200-400 AD. Subsequently, the wells at Dhank (550-625) and construction of stepped ponds at Bhinmal (850-950) took place.
• The city of Mohenjo-daro has wells, which may be the predecessor of the step well; as many as 700 wells have been discovered in just one section of the city, leading scholars to believe that 'cylindrical brick lined wells' were invented by the people of the Indus Valley Civilization. Between third and second millennium BC, at the 'Great Bath', at the site of Mohenjodaro of the Harappan civilization, filling of water was achieved from a large well located in one of the rooms in front of the open courtyard of the building–complex.
  
• While early stepwells were made of stone, later step wells were made of mortar, stucco, rubble and laminar stones. The well cylinder was the basic form used to deepen the wells. It is also inferred that the Stepwells in Gujarat have survived so long in view of the builder’s knowledge of the soil conditions and the earthquake proneness of the region.
• The well size recommended, based on considerations of stability, was of four to thirteen hasta (‘hasta’ a Sanskrit word, which means "forearm" of size varying from 12–24 inches (300–610 mm)), A size of eight hasta was considered ideal and a 13 hasta well was considered dangerous. However, the well thickness from top to bottom remained generally uniform.^[12] By the 11th century, the step well planning and design acquired architectural excellence and the Hindu Stepwells were standardized.

History

• The Adalaj step well or 'Vav', as it is called in Gujarati, is intricately carved and is five stories deep. It was built in 1498. The history of the Adalaj step-well is established by an inscription in Sanskrit found on a marble slab positioned in a recess on the first floor, from the eastern entry to the well. Its construction was started by Rana Veer Singh of the Vaghela dynasty of Dandai Desh. But he was killed in a war, wherefater the Muslim king Mahmud Begada of a neighbouring state built it in Indo-Islamic architectural style, in 1499.
  
• The Sanskrit inscription in the stepwell describes,
• "Samvat 1555 (1498 AD), month of Magha, Mahmud Padshah being king.
• "Salutation to Vinayaka (Ganesha) to whose race belonged King Mokala, chief of the country of Dandahi. From him was born Karna, whose son was Mularaja. Mahipa was Mularaja's son, and Virsinh and Naisha were the sons of Mahipa. Virsinh's queen, whose name is Rooda, has constructed this well.
• "It is dedicated at this time — when the sun is in the north, the month is Magha, the bright half (Shukla Paksha), the 5th day, the day of the week, Wednesday, the lunar mansion — Uttara, Karana-Bava, the yoga — Siddhi."
• Then follows a glowing description of the well, after which the queen, or rather lady of the chief, is praised in a few verses; the expense is stated at 5,00,111 tankas, or over five lakhs, and the whole ends with a repetition of the date as given above.
• The cultural and architectural depiction in the deep wells at various levels are a tribute to the history of step wells, built initially by Hindus and subsequently ornamented and blended with Islamic architecture during the Muslim rule.