HOME/ COLLECTIONS / MONUMENTS / Photography / Step well/Baolis

Photographs from the visual archives

Step well/Baolis
  • Step well/Baolis
  • Step well/Baolis
  • Step well/Baolis
Step well/Baolis

A step well (Baoli, Vav, Vapi) is generally a rectangular structure containing a draw well, constructed below the ground level. It is approached by a long stepped corridor which leads from the ground level to the water of the well. Building stepped-wells especially in arid regions was a common practice in the Indian subcontinent. Mostly placed on travel routes, these not only served to quench thirst of the travellers, the space created several levels below the surface of these elaborate wells provided cool resting places. Besides the well these used to have additional tanks for bathing and washing purposes. The Center for Art and Archaeology's image collection of stepped-wells include documentation from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh.

 
K
Galleries

Kupuldhara Tulao, Varanasi, Uttar P...

Kupuldhara Tulao, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

Collection type: