Step-well architecture, a classic example of fusion of designs in Gujarat

The unique underground architectural marvels called step- wells have been constructed in Gujarat since historical times.

This underground construction peculiar to the Gujarat region (except for southern Gujarat) was the outcome of the hot, arid climate and the paucity of water available for human and animal use in the region.

These step-wells celebrate water and take the architecture of the region to its high points. Step-wells can be found in towns like Patan, Jhinjuwada, Viramgam, Vadhvan, Sarsa, Dhadhalpur, Chobri, Anandpur, Gondal, Virpur, Jetpur and all the way up to the coast in Somnath.

There are hundreds of these "water shrines" in Gujarat, but the step-wells of Adalaj (near Ahmedabad) and  the Ranki vav of Patan (the old Solanki capital in the north of Gujarat) are the supreme examples of this step-well architecture.

There are three examples of the step-wells in the walled area of Ahmedabad.

These step-wells or rather "stepped wells" (as such a step-well was accessible through steps), known as "vav" in Gujarati, were always built on the caravan trade routes.

The Gujarati word for the step-well, vav, is derived from the old Sanskrit word "vapika"; the oldest existing step-wells in Gujarat are Zilani (550 AD) and Manjushree (650AD) in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat.

These great subterranean water structures provided the travelers and their animals with rest, water and other supplies for their journey on the trade routes.

But these vavs were also religious places apart from being resting and meeting places, and in times of wars and insurrections, they also became hiding places!

Even today some communities perform certain crucial rites like marriage  at the Adalaj step-well.

The step-well of Adalaj, built on the main caravan route of Ahmedabad and Patan (the then capital of Gujarat), was commissioned in 1499 AD by Rudabai, the widow of a Rajput noble Vikramsinh Vaghela.

Ruled by the Muslim sultans then, the style of architecture known as the Hindu-Muslim style had come into being in Gujarat. The Adalaj step-well is a magnificent example of this fusion of Hindu craftsmanship and the floral, geometric patterns of Islamic architecture.

All five stories of the Adalaj structure use cross beams all along their lengths. This step-well, of the type of the three faced "Jaya step-well" as described in the classical manuals of Hindu architecture, is a mesmerising procession of arabesque designs, decorated columns, ornamental balconies with exquisite carvings, carved walls and niches with shrines of Hindu gods and goddesses, elephants, flowers, birds and chhatris all through its five floors of length and breadth underground!

The octagonal spaces unfold in front of the eyes while the steps take one to the circular well.

The Ranki Vav, or the Ranki step-well, located within two kilometers north-west of today's Patan in north of Gujarat is an incomparable example of step-well architecture which is why it is also known as the Queen of Step-wells. It was commissioned by the Solanki King Bhimdev's (1022-1063 AD) wife Udaymati in 1063 AD.

This colossal 64-meter long, 20 meter wide and 27 meter deep step-well has a touch of the divine in its architecture, which is why it is an ornament of the world architectural heritage.

There are literally forests of ornamented columns here,and gardens of sculptures of Gods and Goddesses, balconies and carved entrances, that seem to lead to the heavens.

This step-well also gives a glimpse of the classical Hindu architecture of the previous centuries and the  mastery of the technique and materials that the artists and architects had achieved in their craft. It was due to the efforts of the Archeological Survey of India that this step-well, buried for almost 800 years, was excavated for the world in the 1980s.