TheEconomistJuly 13th 2019 751T
he storygoes that devout followers of
Nizamuddin Auliya, a Sufi saint who
lived from 1238 to 1325, had already begun
work on his baolior stepwell when Ghazi
Malik, the new sultan of Delhi, ordered all
projects to stop until the construction of an
impregnable citadel for him was finished.
Out of adoration for Nizamuddin, the la-
bourers worked on the fortress by day and
the baoli by night. Enraged, Ghazi Malik
banned the sale of oil for lamps—whereup-
on Nizamuddin blessed the well’s water
and told his followers to use that instead.
Miraculously, it burned.
Today, Nizamuddin remains one of
South Asia’s most admired Sufi saints. His
message of tolerance and humanity ap-
peals in an age when political leaders
preach communal division. Not just Mus-
lims but Hindus, Sikhs and Christians
flock to his dargah, or shrine, in New Delhi,
where qawwali songs of devotion are per-
formed. Thousands crowd every day down
the narrow, beggar-lined passageway that
runs alongside the baoli on their way to
strewing rose petals on the holy man’s
tomb. Many pilgrims believe in the healing
power of the baoliwater (pictured above).
Until recently that water was filthy. The
tank was full of rubbish; the neighbour-
hood’s raw sewage flowed into it. Worse,
the structure, which is more than 160 feet
(49 metres) deep, was in an advanced state
of dilapidation. One section of its walls of
grey Delhi quartzite had collapsed. Other
parts were bulging alarmingly—and, for
the dozens of families who had built
homes atop them, perilously.
India has thousands of surviving step-
wells, but the great majority are similarly
run-down. Many others have vanished, of-
ten filled in and built upon. This neglectful
attitude is extraordinary, for they are one of
India’s unsung wonders. At last, through
restoration efforts by the Aga Khan Trustfor Culture (aktc), among others, they are
starting to get the recognition they deserve.
The earliest of the wells date back al-
most 2,000 years. They were first and fore-
most a response to a climate in which a
year’s rains fall chiefly in the four brief
months of the summer monsoon, when
they fall at all. The point of the staircases
and side ledges is to provide permanent ac-
cess to ever-fluctuating water levels—and
cool shelter in the hottest months. In the
north-western regions that are India’s
most arid, such as Rajasthan and Gujarat,
the baolis underwrote life, as sources of
both irrigation and drinking water. They
were often located on ancient trade routes.
In Delhi, every community once had its
own tank.
Many stepwells were used for ablution;
the tanks associated with mosques, Hindu
temples and other shrines offered the most
purificatory form. Summoning water from
the depths was also a symbol of temporal
power. Around Hyderabad in south-central
India, many of the baolis were built by
kings and zamindars. A surprising number
were built at the behest of women, includ-
ing princesses, courtesans and merchants’
wives, who wished to attain immortality
through the gift of water. Indeed, stepwells
have always been considered women’s
spaces—places to gather without inhibi-
tions, away from men’s domineering eyes
(in India, after all, it is traditionally a wom-
an’s job to fetch and carry water). Rani-ki-
Vav, or the queen’s stepwell, in Patan in Gu-
jarat, graces the new 100-rupee note.Conservation in India
Liquid assets
DELHI
India’s neglected but magnificent stepwells are relics of a nuanced history
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