Difficult it seems to believe but Delhi, at point in time, had over a 100 baolis (stepwells). Of these, only a handful remain. Others have either dried up or have been covered up. Constructed thousands of years ago, these baolis served as a source of water and are a proof of exemplary engineering. A perfect example of rainwater harvesting.
I remember one of my friends who works with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) once mentioning about some baolis in the Mehrauli Archaeological Park (MAP). So I called him to confirm and he obliged me with this information.
“There are two baolis – Gandhak Ki Baoli and Rajon Ki Baoli – in MAP. A third one stands next to the dargah of Sufi mystic, saint and scholar of Chishti Order Bakhtiyar Kaki near Zafar Mahal, just outside the park complex. While Gandhak Ki Baoli and Rajon Ki Baoli are maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the one in the dargah complex is taken care of by the Waqf Board,” he said.
He invited me for a quick tour of these water bodies the coming Sunday and I quickly agreed.
Spread over 200 acres, MAP is home to over 100 historical monuments, including the two baolis. One of the best ways to reach here is to take Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line and alight at Qutub Minar.
The park is around 500m from the station, on your left. We started our tour with the Rajon Ki Baoli, the larger and the more ornamented of the two. It was used by masons (raj mistris) for drinking and cooking, hence the name.
This four-level rectangular tank has steps at one end and a circular well at the other. The steps are in four stages, each in descending size with floors at every stage. Rooms were constructed on every floor to provide a cool resting place for people then, they are still there. This one was constructed by Daulat Khan in 1516 during the reign of Sikander Lodhi.
The next one is Gandhak Ki Baoli. The water here had curative value due to its rich sulphur content, thus the name gandhak. It was built by Iltutmish for Sufi saint Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki. Legend has it that on a trip to meet Kaki, Iltutmish was informed that the saint is unable to have daily baths due to acute water shortage in the area. So, he ordered the construction of this stepwell.
This one is a huge five-tiered stepwell, including a circular well on southern side and is devoid of any ornamentation.
But I had also read about another baoli – Anangtal Baoli here. Constructed by Rajput king Anangpal II (great grandfather of Prithviraj Chauhan) of Tomar dynasty in 1060 AD, this one is considered to be the oldest in the city. When I asked my friend about it, he told me that this was a natural depression which was converted into a water body, hence cannot be called a baoli in true sense.
As we ended our baoli trip, I couldn’t help but admire the farsightedness of people of those ages who built these stepwells as a source of water to use in case famine struck. Why can’t these be revived, I wonder. It would solve most of the Delhi’s water scarcity problem.