Comments on: Indian stairwells

Indian stairwells

curious nu — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 17:26:20 -0800

Rudimentary stepwells first appeared in India between the 2nd and 4th centuries A.D., born of necessity in a capricious climate zone bone-dry for much of the year followed by torrential monsoon rains for many weeks. It was essential to guarantee a year-round water-supply for drinking, bathing, irrigation and washing, particularly in the arid states of Gujarat (where they're called vavs) and Rajasthan (where they're baoli, baori, or bawdi) where the water table could be inconveniently buried ten-stories or more underground. Over the centuries, stepwell construction evolved so that by the 11th century they were astoundingly complex feats of engineering, architecture, and art.

By: mandolin conspiracy

mandolin conspiracy — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:06:05 -0800

These are really fascinating. Thanks for posting this!

By: Drab_Parts

Drab_Parts — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:08:06 -0800

Now I know what they're called! Edward Burtynsky had some images of stepwells in his "Water" exhibition. This one. And this one. And here's one more. And a whole page of stepwell stuff. I'm not a huge Burtynsky fan, but those particular prints are huge and stopped me cold.

By: George_Spiggott

George_Spiggott — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:16:31 -0800

I can only suppose that the Hellwell in Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light -- a novel which draws principally upon Hindu mythology -- was inspired by these. Particularly the kind in Drab_Parts' links above.

By: Nelson

Nelson — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:35:17 -0800

I'm so used to seeing the open square pit of Chand Baori in photos I didn't know this gallery style existed. I just did a tourist trip through Rajasthan and am sad I didn't get to see any step wells. I did get to see the 18th century Jantar Mantar though, an amazing set of astronomical observation instruments in Jaipur. Really fascinating monumental architecture.

By: fings

fings — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:45:59 -0800

I had two immediate reactions. The first, many of these are lovely. The second wasn't quite as serious, so I hesitate to share, but... You say "millennia old stepwell?", I say "perfect excuse for why my next fantasy RPG world will have 'dungeons' littering the landscape".

By: lagomorphius

lagomorphius — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 18:46:51 -0800

They are still handy if you need to hold Batman prisoner.

By: holyrood

holyrood — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 19:00:01 -0800

This is an amazing post. Thank you, curious nu! Another thing to add to my to-do list for my long-wanted trip to India.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 20:10:06 -0800

That's amazing!

By: vanar sena

vanar sena — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 20:40:54 -0800

> I did get to see the 18th century Jantar Mantar though, an amazing set of astronomical observation instruments in Jaipur. You missed out! Agrasen's baoli is walking distance from Jantar Mantar. It's a little tucked away behind bungalows though, so you have to already know it's there to find it.

By: vanar sena

vanar sena — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 20:43:59 -0800

Uh, that's the Jantar Mantar in Delhi, not the one in Jaipur.

By: Dip Flash

Dip Flash — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 20:51:20 -0800

Those are seriously impressive engineering and construction projects.

By: Stilling Still Dreaming

Stilling Still Dreaming — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 21:13:32 -0800

Stepwells! Thanks so much for this—stepwells are great and this is a fantastic article on them that will take some time to dig through (down into?). A couple things: 1) I was just in Bundi which features quite a few beautiful stepwells, most prominently Raniji ki Baori, but also lots of other stepwells, including at least one that is privately owned and several that are abandoned in the overlooming Taragarh fort. Definitely a good place for convenient, compact viewing of stepwells, mostly in pretty good shape and easy to access. 2) For my PhD, I work on a Hindi poet, Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh, one of whose most well-known (and well-liked by me), poems, "The Brahman-Demon," features a stepwell as its setting for the said Brahman Demon. Here is all of the poem translated by a colleague, and this is my own translation of the first few, stepwell-heavy, lines: Out of the city, towards the ruins inside an abandoned, empty stepwell in the cold darkness the settled depths these drowned steps around old water... makes no sense you don't get it but you know it's deep. Around the stepwell tangles of branches a single fig tree standing over. and on the branches hang owl's nests abandoned, brown, round. The glory of a hundred good deeds settles into a smell raw, wild and green swimming in the air becomes the dark suspicion some past greatness unknown to you rattling in your heart Stepwells! It seems hard to imagine them as anything other than always-already ruins, just as it seems equally unlikely that they would ever be filled in and paved over—but both must happen. Thanks again!

By: jadepearl

jadepearl — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 01:10:47 -0800

Very interesting, I am curious on how to go about dealing with the issues of keeping the water and environment clean. The Article describes vavs being uncomfortable for people with phobias towards bats, snakes, bugs, etc. Not to mention algae growth.

By: subliminable

subliminable — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 07:24:28 -0800

Wow. This is excellent! Thanks for posting! ArchDaily used to be one of my Favorites, but I got to a point where all the starchitect buildings and $500/SF private residences were just so many monuments to ego that I couldn't take it anymore. They need more posts like this. Now do one on double-helix stairs, ArchDaily!

By: Theta States

Theta States — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 07:45:35 -0800

Ha was going to mention Burtynsky (whom I love) by Drab_Parts beat me to it. I love these, thanks for the post.

By: IAmBroom

IAmBroom — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 08:18:01 -0800

OK, I can't seem to find any explanation of whether they are dug, or built into already-existing chasms. Or both. Anyone know?

By: jillithd

jillithd — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:29:47 -0800

These are gorgeous and amazing and so very functional! Thanks for posting!

By: sio42

sio42 — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:57:23 -0800

I would drink all the water I carried up out of there if my water intake on the stair master is any indication. But man my legs would look awesome.

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:49:17 -0800

Way late to the party, but wow.

By: homunculus

homunculus — Thu, 24 Sep 2015 17:53:13 -0800

What he said.