di's Baoris

As Tyler had mentioned, Bundi was filled with baoris, or water tanks, that were used for ceremonial purposes in the late 17th/early 18th century. The most impressive was the Ranij-ki-Baori, or Queen's Baori that was only 20 meters from the main market area. The tank was built deep into the ground, with beautiful carvings on the walls and pillars connected with carved elephants and sinuous arches. The scale was impressive. It must have been almost 50 meters deep into the ground.

We saw others around town, some that were almost equally impressive but not as well-tended. Most were overgrown and being used for more domestic purposes, such as drying cow dung. One closest to the market that we stumbled upon seemed to have been re-purposed as a garbage pit.


Queens bath--you can get a sense of the scale by seeing Tyler down at the bottom


Graceful pillars and sinuous arches at the entrance


Another baori, or water tank, demonstrating why they are sometimes referred to as "step wells." Note the power station built right next to it.



Bundi is a city and a municipality of approximately 88,000 inhabitants (2001) in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. It is of particular architectural note for its ornate forts, palaces, and stepwell reservoirs known as baoris. It is the administrative headquarters of Bundi District.




Stepwells, also called bawdi (Hindi:??????) or baoli ([[Hindi:?????), are in essence wells in which the water can be reached by descending a set of steps. They may be covered and protected, and are often of architectural significance. It can be multi-storied also in which a bullock turns the water wheel ("Rehant") to raise the water in the well to the first or second floor.

They are most common in the west of India. They may be also found in the other more arid regions of the subcontinent, extending into Pakistan. The construction may be utilitarian, but sometimes includes significant architectural embellishments.

A number of distinct names, sometimes local, exist for stepwells. In Hindi speaking regions, they include names based on baudi (including bawdi, bawri, baoli, bavadi). In Gujarati and Marwari language, they are usually called vav.

All forms of the stepwell may be considered to be particular examples of the many types of storage and irrigation tanks that were developed in India, mainly to cope with seasonal fluctuations in water availability. A basic difference between stepwells on the one hand, and tanks and wells on the other, was to make it easier for people to reach the ground water, and to maintain and manage the well.

In some related types of structure (johara wells), ramps were built to allow cattle to reach the water.[citation needed]

The majority of surviving stepwells originally also served a leisure purpose, as well as providing water. This was because the base of the well provided relief from daytime heat, and more such relief could be obtained if the well was covered. This led to the building of some significant ornamental and architectural features, often associated with dwellings and in urban areas. It also ensured their survival as monuments.

Stepwell construction is known to have gone on from at least 600 CE. Most existing stepwells date from the last 800 years. There are suggestions that they may have originated much earlier, and there are some suggestions that precursors to them can be seen in the Indus Valley civilisation.

Numbers of surviving stepwells can be found in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. There are also smaller numbers elsewhere including in the British isles where the water source is close to the surface [now covered over at Rooskey in Co. Leitrim}. Significant ones include;