CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY 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.
The stepwell is built on an L-shaped plan. It is partly in a ruined condition and partly repaired by the villagers with concrete and plaster all over. This stepped corridor descends with five storeys deep into the earth. The stepwell does not have much carved ornamentation, except some sculptures in niches. The sculptures are: in kuta two sculptures of goddess Amba Mata and Bhairava; in kuta three on the third storey, there is a niche filled with floral ornamentation. One can identify a woman giving birth to a child and four women attending to her, all arranged in a long row. In a niche next to this is a sculpture of Sesasayin Vishnu.
Reference: Jain-Neubauer, Jutta. The Stepwells of Gujarat: In Art-historical Perspective, 2003.