Stone selection

Form follows function

Stone stepwells are a prime example of
medieval Indian architecture.

52

issue 14 www.discoveringstone.com.au

ost common in western India, stepwells are unique

constructions combining form with function. To cope
with seasonal fluctuations in water supply, stepwells were
designed to store water in a well while making it easily accessible by
descending a series of steps. After heavy rains, visitors could access the
clean, fresh groundwater by traversing only a few steps; when water
was scarce, they could reach it by negotiating more levels of stairs.
As well as providing water, stepwells gave people of all but the
lowest castes a cool, sheltered place in which to congregate,
socialise and bathe. Some wells are vast, open craters with hundreds
of steps paving each sloping side, often in tiers, wrote Richard Cox
and Mark Grainger in a recent article in Geographical the official
magazine of the UKs Royal Geographical Society. Others are more
elaborate, with long stepped passages leading to the water via several
storeys built from stone and supported by pillars, creating covered
pavilions that sheltered visitors from the relentless heat.
Cox is an artist and gallery director at Cardiff College of Art in South
Wales, UK; his exhibition of digital photography, entitled Subterranean
Architecture Stepwells in Western India, is currently touring the UK.
The authors continue: But perhaps the most impressive features are the
intricate decorative sculptures that embellish many stepwells: deities,
mythical beings, royalty and creatures are depicted in all manner of
activities, from fighting and dancing to everyday acts such as women
combing their hair and churning butter; some even portray erotic acts.
Known as baori in Hindi-speaking areas and vav in the Marwari
language, stepwells are believed to have been first constructed

Left (both): Raniji Ki Baori, constructed in Bundi in 1699, remains in

exceptional condition. Above: Chand Baori in Abhaneri

www.discoveringstone.com.au issue 14

53

Stone selection

from stone in the ninth century Chand Baori and Katan Vav are
good examples. Unfortunately, the types of stone, and the precise
methods of construction, are not known.
Chand Baori in the village of Abhaneri, near Jaipur in the Dausa
District of Rajasthan is the countrys largest stepwell and one of
its deepest. Constructed around 850 AD, it sits in front of the now
ruined Harshat Mata temple. In Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells
of India, Morna Livingston notes that it is one of the few water
buildings with extensive additions, this making it a fine example of
two classical periods of architecture.

Unlike other old wells, which only benefited from minor mending
and whitewashing, Chand Baori was refurbished over the centuries:
Mughals rebuilt the upper stories as a palace in the eighteenth
century, and added a four-sided arcade which effectively closes
the well. A terrace above the arcade offers unbroken views of
the Harshat Mata temple and farmland to the south and east. The
stepwell is still in excellent condition as a result of these additions
and recent restoration work.
The design and ornamentation of the two sections of the well
the upper one, Muslim; the lower, Hindu are quite different.
The short and square Hindu columns built from extremely hard,
almost black, stone of unknown origin feature crisp carvings and
rest on similarly carved railings. According to Livingston, The
simplicity and brevity of the column shafts are attractive, and the
pavilions they enclose are dark, simple and well proportioned. In the
Muslim portion of the well, however, the columns are carved in an
unidentified hard green stone. The palace features more curves and
organic shapes, in contrast to the straight lines found beneath it.
Livingston also points out the spatial compactness of the stair triangles
that run parallel to the stepwells edge. The rise-to-run for each flight
adds no more than eighteen inches [45 cm] of width to eight feet [2.4
m] of drop, making an extremely sharp descent. The wall is so steep
that the top of the stair triangles, seen from the ponds brim, alternately
hide and reveal the people going down from above.

Above and left: Chand Baori, built in 850 AD, is found in Abhaneri
a small village that was an important cultural and religious centre a
thousand years ago.

54

issue 14 www.discoveringstone.com.au

>

Stone selection

Katan Vav in Osian, near Jodhpur, is a ninth-century baori adjacent to

a Jain temple.
Katan Vav, in the ancient town of Osian in the Jodhpur District of
Rajasthan, is one of the earliest examples of stepwells in the state.
Built in the ninth century from a deep, orange-red stone (rather than
the almost black stonework found in Abhaneri), it has three walls of
completely plain steps; shrines, columns and pavilions comprise the
fourth wall.
The extra cost of ornamenting a large building might explain
Rajasthans preference for shrines on only one wall, or perhaps the
scheme was a matter of taste, Livingston writes. The absence of
detail in the steps seems to be in direct proportion to their durability;
whereas they are still usable, the ornately carved pavilions are now
mostly in ruins. However, considering its age, the stepwell is in
remarkably good condition.
Many centuries later, Raniji Ki Baori was built in the walled city of
Bundi, in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan. Constructed in 1699 by
Rani (Queen) Nathavatji, it is the largest of more than 50 stepwells in
the city few of which have been maintained now that Bundi has a
piped water system.
Nathavatji was the younger of the ruling kings two wives, and the
only one to bear him a male heir. To assuage the elder queens
jealousy, she gave the child to her, and devoted the rest of her own
life to serving her subjects. Her most lasting achievement may have
been to commission 21 stepwells in the Bundi area.
At 46 m deep, 30 m wide and 40 m long, Raniji Ki Baori is one of the
finest examples of a single-shaft stepwell in India. Four pillars, joined
by arches, frame the narrow entrance, which leads to the well down
broad steps.The stepwell is richly decorated with fine sculptures of
Ganesh, Sarawati and the ten incarnations of Matsya, Varaha and
Narsingh. The repeated motif of a drinking elephant a powerful
symbol of good luck is found particularly around the arches.
Richard Cox notes that the Archaeological Survey of India responsible
for protecting the cultural heritage of the nation has recognised the
importance of preserving stepwells as part of the countrys rich history.
These architectural marvels, Cox and Grainger write, serve as a
reminder of both the ingenuity and artistry of ancient civilisations and of
the value of water to human existence. Caroline Hadley
These images, taken in the state of Rajasthan between 1993
and 2008, are part of a research study documenting 150 sites in
Western India, including Gujarat and New Delhi. Many of these
sites are located in the Thar Desert and some have never been
recorded before often because they are found in small and
remote villages, far beyond the reach of public transport. This
work was supported by Wales Arts International, the Arts Council
of Wales and Cardiff School of Art & Design, UWIC. For further
information on Subterranean Architecture Stepwells in Western
India or Richard Coxs research, email richardcox55@hotmail.
com or visit www.richard-cox.co.uk.
Step back in time by Richard Cox and Marc Grainger in
Geographical (February 2008; volume 80, number 2, pages
5257) can be viewed online at www.geographical.co.uk.

00

issue 14 www.discoveringstone.com.au