About the names of stepwells: in Hindi speaking areas, stepwells are known as bawdi bawri, baoli or baori. In Gujarat they are usually called vav.
Part II: November 2018
CHAND BAORI, ABHANERI, RAJASTHAN
Chand Baori is certainly the largest stepwell of all those we have visited, and one of the largest, if not the largest, in all of India. It is 90km outside of Jaipur, in the village of Abhaneri, but given India’s transportation practices – where cows and herds of sheep wander freely across the narrow roads, even those between cities, it takes us more than two hours to get there by car. Ali, Doreen’s longtime rickshaw driver, has finally been able to fulfill his dream and buy a car. He is taking his wife and youngest son along with us, turning our trip into a family outing, complete with picnic on the lawn outside the stepwell.
Chand Baori was built by King Chanda of the Nikumbh dynasty between 800 CE and 900 CE,[3] and was dedicated to Hashat Mata, Goddess of Joy and Happiness upon completion. In other words, here we see again the relation of stepwells to the feminine.
At the bottom of this stepwell that is some 20 meters deep, the air is several degrees cooler than at the surface, conserving water, and in the past, providing a pleasant place for community gathering during periods of intense heat.
Somehow, despite the impressive architecture, this stepwell does not touch me as deeply as I thought it would, as did many of those I saw in 2016. Perhaps because we arrive at midday, the sun blinding, too strong for photography. And certainly because of the visually disturbing fences around it, that turn this better known - and very steep - stepwell into a site fit for tourists.
It does not feel right to try to try to go down, even though I could easily jump over the low fence that surrounds the deep structure. Guards are watching – and there is another fence on a lower level, making sure the visitors don’t descend. Perhaps going down would have given me a different perspective, to experience the cooler temperatures at the bottom, to listen to the silence, to be contained in the stepwell’s inner space.
Even though this stepwell lies not far from the Amer Fort, one of Jaipur’s main tourist attractions, it does not receive as many visitors, and not much is written about it. The stepwell is said to have been built in the 16th century, but possibly as early as the 11th.
Recently restored, with clean-looking water, the walls of Panna Meena are painted yellow, which gives it a slightly artificial air, but its architectural design, with eight levels of crisscrossing sets of stairs, and its elegant, domed corner pavilions, as well as its setting near other antiquities, returns the sense of authenticity.
Here too, there are guards that make sure nobody goes down the steps and risks falling. At least here there are no fences and gates that visually detract from its beauty.
NAHAGARTH – JAIPUR
Nahagarth appears in the list of Jaipur stepwells I found on the internet, but with no indication of how to get there. Our driver Ali, now with his rickshaw that is much easier to maneuver in crowded city-streets, shows us this structure, also lying near the Amer Fort. He does not know its name, but I am able to match it with a photo of Nahagarth I had found. Less a stepwell that is fed by underground sources of water, it is more like a dam, and much of it has been washed away. Still, it has a charm of its grander days gone.
KILA HANUMAN BAORI –JAIPUR
At first we cannot find this stepwell that is hidden behind a wall on a deserted street, not far from the lake in Jaipur. Then we notice a gate that leads to the well, but it is locked, and there are no other entrances, so that I am only able to photograph it through the bars. I have not been able to find any information about it.
PARSHURAM BAORI – JAIPUR
It takes Ali much asking around to find this stepwell, which is actually at in an easy location, just across the Jaipur lake in a complex of old buildings, entered through a covered gateway.
Here, an entire new world opens up. In the back of an elegant structure with an imposing set of stairs, we find a large yard with tall leafy trees, shaded pavilions, and the stepwell we have been looking for.
The place is deserted, but the neglect is not overwhelming – it still has a sense of serenity of a lost paradise and brings back memories of my childhood in the Curaçao countryside. It evokes a place to spend a long afternoon in, with good friends and family, food and swimming.
CHEELA BAORI – JAIPUR
I have not found much about this stepwell, that is located in Amer.
Full of refuse, it is not too inviting to go down into it, but it intrigues me to see what is there, in each of its rooms, one after the other, that go further down, until I reach the water- which is there, but hardly visible because of the garbage.
RUKMANI BOARI – JAIPUR
Rukmani Baori, not far from Cheela Baori, is built according to a very similar U-shaped plan. It is also covered in garbage – but perhaps the neglect is temporary, as there are bamboo poles that serve as scaffolding, a sign of concern for the stepwell’s preservation.
There is another nearby stepwell of the same formation on my list, Naku Baori, but we do not look for it after I fall flat on my face while climbing on a stone to photograph across the walls into Rukmani Baori. Ali is a distance away, but Doreen and a lovely passerby help me back to my feet – my first question is: how is my camera? I had heard it bang on the ground, but luckily it is not damaged and I can continue my photographic quest. Aside from a few scrapes, I too am fine. So I shoot photos of the patterns on Rukmani’s old, worn walls, instead of peeking over them.
JOHARA OR JORA BAORI –NAWARGARTH, SHIKAWATI, RAJASTHAN
Visiting old havelis in Nawargarth, Rajasthan, on our roundabout way from Jaipur to Delhi, we are told about this stepwell, lying out in the fields, referred by the locals as Johara, or Jora Baori. It is a large, dirty pool, that has seen more elegant days. Probably not fed by a well, it might technically not be a stepwell, though it has a few wide steps along its sides and symmetrically placed gate structures and nearby pavilions.
STEPWELL – MANDAWA, SHIKAWATI, RAJASTHAN
Again through asking around, our driver is directed to this stepwell two kilometers east of Mandawa, on our way to visit more havelis. Nobody knows its name and I do not find it on the internet, but notice that, with a few minor variations, it is almost an exact copy of the better-known stepwell in Fatehpur, Rajasthan, also with a narrow tower in its center.
PURANA QUILA BAOLI - DELHI
Located in Purana Quila or the Old Fort, that is now a large, green park, this Baoli lies just in front of the magnificent Qila-i-Kuhna Mosque. Regretfully, it is locked behind a high fence, and so I can only photograph it through the grill gate.
It consists of a narrow flight of stairs, with 89 steps, separated by eight landings, going down 22 meters. The bottom of the steps is dark, but when I edit my photo and lighten up that area, I discover that, magically, a rectangular pool of water comes in to view.
FEROZ SHAH KOTLA BAOLI - DELHI
The Feroz Shah Kotla Baoli is located in Feroz Shah Kotla, the fifth citadel of Delhi built by Sultan Feroz Shah Tughlaq in the fourteenth century.
It is unusual in that it is circular, consisting of concentric circles, leading down to the water level at the center. Unfortunately, it is also fenced in, because, according to the locals, “two illicit couples have jumped there to their deaths”.
The only way to photograph this stepwell is it to peek through the gate for a very narrow view and then to climb the adjacent Pyramidal Structure with the Ashokan Pillar at the top, which we do. I take photos from each level – though not much can be seen of its interior. I read that this well is still active, and is used to water the lush lawns of the surrounding park.
NIZAMUDDIN DARGAH BAOLI - DELHI
The large Baoli is located next to the northern entrance of the Nizamuddin Dargah – a mausoleum for the fourteenth century Sufi saint. To get to the baoli, we squeeze our way among the crowds of pilgrims, and the colorful stalls of rose petals that the pilgrims bring to the grave.
Again, we come upon a large locked gate. We are told we might be able to have it opened, but the man with the key just went out to pray. Since the view of the boali through the bars of the gate is quite wide, and not much more would be visible if it were opened, we see no need to wait.
Photos on the web show children happily swimming and diving in the large pool of the boali. The waters, now not at its cleanest, are said to possess miraculous healing powers and according to legend, have been blessed by Hazarat Nizamuddin himself.
TUGHLAQABAD FORT BAOLI – DELHI
Tughlaqabad Fort Baoli lies on the immense grounds of the Tughlaqabat Fort, the largest of Delhi’s forts, constructed in the fourteenth century. Outside the fort, with its ruins of many structures, is what might have been a moat, with standing water, garbage and large families of monkeys. An entry fee is charged, a considerably higher one for tourists, but perhaps due to its distance from the center of Delhi, the site hardly receives any foreigners, its main visitors seem to be groups of schoolchildren.
With such large grounds, a park ranger guides us to find the baoli, walking through paths overgrown with shrubs and thorns, as if we are far in the countryside, and not in a tourist site in the capital. Monkeys follow us along the way, jumping in trees, on the walls of the ruins.
The Tughlaqabad Fort Baoli, does not follow the traditional stepwell form, but is rectangular, with stairs along the walls to reach the water. Here there is nothing to stop me from going down, but the bottom of this pit is overgrown with shrubs, with no trace of water. It is not clear how this baoli is fed – is the structure itself a well that reaches the groundwater level and has become silted over the ages? I read there are flights of stairs along the three inner walls, but I see only two – could it be that the third one is buried in the ground and the well is much deeper than it seems?
Scarier than going down, is standing on its parapet to photograph, looking down into that deep hole in the ground. Putting aside all my archetypal images of the stepwells, the attraction of the mysterious depths – which I have already examined in this particular baoli and found somewhat prosaic – I ask our guide to give me a hand while I look down to photograph, to make sure I won’t fall.
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