Photos

dada hari nu vav, ahmedabad, gujarat

a vav is the gujarati term for a stepwell, my favourite architectural typology.

what is a stepwell? well it is basically a well or a reservoir with steps so as to provide easy access to the water level.

stepwells were popular through much of india, but the most jawdropping ones are found in the driest regions - gujarat and rajasthan.

the vavs of gujarat are typically ornate. they are cool places- deep, intricate and mysterious. mostly out of use, they are extremely evocative spaces.

dada hari nu vav is an undiscovered gem. while most visitors skip monuments altogether and head to the city's excellent shopping scene, the few architecturally inclined give this the miss and head to the infinitely popular adalaj vav which is quite some distance away, and looks more like a prison thanks to the authorities habit of 'protecting' it with metal bars.

dada hari nu vav sits quietly in the heart of the city, in a near forgotten bylane. it appears out of the blue and you never realize the presence of a stepwell till you take a full view of the pavillions at its entrance.

very few visitors, mostly locals wanting a free place to drink or smoke, means that the place is not in the cleanest or best of conditions, but gujarat is a state with a high civic sense, and the litter does not put you off.

as you venture deeper, you begin to realise the importance of water in these often parched lands, so much so that water gains higher status than gold, and the construction of these fabulous wells was considered both blessing and economically viable.