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INDIA
PERSPECTIVES
GLORIOUS YEARS
JANUARY Stepwells of Gujarat, by Shahid Akhter Makhfi
AFP
2001
(Clockwise from above) Tourists throng the Adalaj Ni vav in Gandhinagar; and sculptures in Adalaj Ni vav and Rani Ki vav
Architecture marvel
S
tretch your imagination to wander among the caravans drifting in the semi desert regions of western India. You are travelling by night, guided by the star strewn sky that tells you the time. It is soon going to be daybreak and you will be approaching your cherished halt—a vav or a stepwell where you will be spending a greater part of the day relaxing and refreshing yourself for the next night’s journey. This is 15th century Gujarat and night journeys are in vogue, to avoid the fierce midday sun or the afternoon storm that can besmear you and your baggage. No one fears travelling in the night as robberies are few and far between. Imagine the 32 years of Sultan Ahmad Shah’s reign with only two murders on records! Back to our deluxe accommodation for the day—the pretty vav which is characterised by a long stepped corridor descend-
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ing down—beneath the earth’s surface and punctuated in-between with spacious storeys that finally lead to the pool of water with least possible exposure to the sun. The labyrinthine interior of the vav’s underground spaces is dark and cool—the ultimate that a weary traveller can ask for. Gujarat is home to hundreds of stepwells or vav scattered throughout the state. In fact, constructing a well was held to be a pious deed. A typical well is made up of the Mandapa or the entrance pavilion, which forms the main approach at the ground level and the Kuta or the flight of steps leads down to the water or Kund at the bottom. Most of the wells are decorated with sculptures. While appreciating these works of art we often forget to appreciate the science and engineering skills with which so many pillars and lintels are made to support the five or seven storeys and that too with everything under earth’s surface!
The earliest among the stepwells in Gujarat are nested among the Junagarh hills—Navghan Vav and Adi-Chadi Vav. The two stepwells appear to have been carved out of soft rocks and executed to great depths—a marvel even by modern standards. In the long list of structurally created stepwells, one has to revert to Dhank where sixth century Jhilani and Manjushri vav exist. The most magnificent of all stepwells is Rani Ki vav, in Patan. Built in 1022-1063 AD by Rani Udyamati, the queen of the Chalukya King Bhimdeva I, its lateral formation of steps is punctuated with a number of miniature shrines at all levels. Mata Bhavani vav in Asarva, near Ahmedabad, is another stepwell assigned to the Chalukyan period. Helical vav in Pavagarh is an unusual well, attributed to Visvakarma Vastushastra, where the entrance staircase leads to a spiral stairway which further culminates into the well. In fact, the spiral stairway gradually becomes the wall of the well and a timid soul should avoid these steps that make one dizzy, with the sight of the water getting closer with each step.