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Adalaj Stepwell
Adalaj Stepwell or Rudabai Stepwell is a stepwell located in the village of Adalaj, close to Gandhinagar city in Gandhinagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat, and considered a fine example of Indian architecture work. It was built in 1498 in the memory of Rana Veer Singh (the Vaghela dynasty of Dandai Des) by his wife, Queen Rudadevi.
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 colorful festivals and sacred rituals.
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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 rainwater during seasonal monsoons. While many such structures are utilitarian in construction, they sometimes include significant architectural embellishments, as in the Adalaj stepwell, which attracts many tourists. In the past, these stepwells were frequented by travelers and caravans as stopovers along trade routes.
India's first rock-cut stepwells 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.
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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 because 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.By the 11th century, the stepwell planning and design acquired architectural excellence and the Hindu Stepwells were standardized.
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