>Tamjeed Ahmed at 14:38, 14 May 2021

2021-05-14T14:38:07Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2018}}
[[File:Gandhak_ki_Baoli,_Mehrauli.jpg|right|thumb| Gandhak Ki Baoli, one of the three baolis in [[Mehrauli]]]]
The '''Baolis of Mehrauli''' are three water wells approached through single stage or three stage steps known as [[stepwell]]s located in [[Mehrauli]] in [[Delhi]], India, in the [[Mehrauli Archaeological Park]] mainlined by the [[Archaeological Survey of India]]. These are the Anangtal Baoli, the Gandhak Ki Baoli, and the [[Rajon Ki Baoli]].<ref name=Das>{{Cite web|last=Das|first= Alokparna |url= http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/well-worth-a-visit/456832/|title=Well worth a visit|access-date=1 November 2015|date=10 May 2009|newspaper=Indian Express}}</ref><ref name=Mehr>{{Cite web|url=http://www.delhitourism.gov.in/delhitourism/pdf/Baolis_%20HeritageWaterBodiesinDelhi.pdf|title= Baolis / Heritage Water Bodies In Delhi|access-date=1 November 2015|publisher=Tourism Department of Government of Delhi}}</ref> These were built below the ground level as ground water edifices and were built as near shrines in medieval times.<ref name=Jain>{{Cite web|url=http://www.delhiheritagecity.org/pdfhtml/mughal/jutta-jain-stepwells-delhi-finalpaper-06Oct2011.pdf|title=The Stepwells of Delhi|access-date=2 November 2015|publisher=Delhi Heritage City organization|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151126061312/http://www.delhiheritagecity.org/pdfhtml/mughal/jutta-jain-stepwells-delhi-finalpaper-06Oct2011.pdf|archive-date=26 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Location==
The baolis in Mehrauli are located in the [[South West Delhi|South West district of Delhi]]. Two of the baolis, Gandhak ki Baoli and Rajon ki Baoli, lie in the Archaeological Park maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India near [[Qutab Minar]]. Gandhak ki Baoli (to the south of the [[Adham Khan's tomb]]<ref name=Jain/>) is at one extremity of the Archaeological Park.<ref name=Das/> Rajon ki Baoli is {{Convert|200|m}} away from this baoli.<ref name= Three>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/asi-revives-three-water-bodies-near-qutub-minar/article6472999.ece|title=ASI revives three water bodies near Qutub Minar|date=5 October 2014|access-date=1 November 2015|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref> Anangtal Baoli is in a forest 100 meters (330 ft) west of the Yogmaya Mandir, behind a neighborhood and outside of the Archaeological Park complex. While the baoli built by [[Emperor Aurangzeb]] near [[Zafar Mahal (Mehrauli)|Zafar Mahal]] was illegally occupied and destroyed by locals to make residential houses.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aneja|first=Supreet|date=2018-06-23|title=Delhi: Aurangzeb ki Baoli lost in the sands of time|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-delhi-aurangzeb-ki-baoli-lost-in-the-sands-of-time-2628211|access-date=2021-05-14|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref>

== History ==
The oldest of the three baolis, Anangtal Baoli, was built in the 11th century (1060 AD<ref name=Jain/>) by [[Rajput]] king [[Anangpal II]] of the [[Tomar dynasty]] in the then capital area of [[Qila Rai Pithora|Lalkot]] of Delhi. Gandhak ki Baoli is believed to have been built during the 13th century when the [[Mamluk Dynasty (Delhi)|slave dynasty]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] [[Iltutmish]] (1211–1236 AD) ruled over Delhi. The Rajon ki Baoli is named after the ''rajmistries'' or masons who used it. It was built during the 16th century,<ref name=Mehr/><ref name=Jain/>{{Sfn|Sinha|2014|p=33}} by [[Daulat Khan]] during the rule of [[Sikander Lodhi]] of the [[Lodhi Dynasty]].<ref name=Mehr/> The Baoli of [[Aurangzeb]] was built by Emperor [[Aurangzeb]]. It measured 130 feet by 36 feet while the well was 30 feet in diameter, it contained 74 steps and was built in three stage.The Baoli was illegally demolished by local residents to make way for residential apartments. The area of the [[Baoli]] is now an uphill road with rows of homes, shops and warehouses on each side.The area of the [[Baoli]] is now an uphill road with rows of homes, shops and warehouses on each side.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aneja|first=Supreet|date=2018-06-23|title=Delhi: Aurangzeb ki Baoli lost in the sands of time|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-delhi-aurangzeb-ki-baoli-lost-in-the-sands-of-time-2628211|access-date=2021-05-14|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Paliwal|first=Amita|title=Zafar Mahal: A history of the Late Mughal Monument|url=https://www.academia.edu/16598808/Zafar_Mahal_A_history_of_the_Late_Mughal_Monument|language=en}}</ref>

==Features==
[[File:Anangtal Baoli.jpg|thumb|Anangtal Baoli on 8 December, 2018]]

===Anangtal Baoli===
The Anangtal Baoli (28°31'31.7"N 77°10'53.8"E), the oldest baoli in Delhi, is a single stage step well.{{Sfn|Sinha|2014|p=33}} Excavations at this site reveal that the well was probably very large; some steps leading to the water are extant. It used the technique of [[rainwater harvesting]] for its storage. The baoli is located in a forest behind a neighborhood and is used as a local waste dump and pig farm, with sewage running into it. While it was supposed to be maintained by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Delhi High Court ordered that the Yogmaya Mandir Welfare and Management Society take over, since the DDA was failing in its duties.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/dda-fails-hc-gives-private-body-a-chance/|title=DDA fails,HC gives private body a chance|date=2009-05-11|website=The Indian Express|language=en-IN|access-date=2018-12-08}}</ref> As of 8 December, 2018, the baoli is not maintained and does not have any markers signifying its historical relevance.

===Gandhak ki Baoli===
The Gandhak ki Baoli ({{coord|28.52078|77.18168|format=dms|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline|name=Gandhak ki Baoli}}) is a much larger step well than the Anangtal Baoli. It has decorative architectural features. As the name Gandhak implies, the water in the step well has sulphur content and hence smells of sulphur fumes, and the water is said to have curative quality. It has a simple plan with five stages or floors at each stage, in taper down fashion, with steps leading to the water surface at the lowest level.<ref name=Das/><ref name=Mehr/> The stairway here is about {{Convert|40|m}} long and {{Convert|12|m}} wide.<ref name=Jain/> On each floor there are ornate pillared passages. Over the centuries the step well got silted up and recently ASI imitated action to do desilting.<ref name=Das/><ref name=Mehr/> the desilting operations carried out by ASI in 2004–05 has resulted in recuperation of the water in the well to a depth of {{Convert|40|ft}}.<ref name= Three/>

===Rajon ki Baoli===
[[File:Rajon_ki_Baoli's_baoli.jpg|right|thumb|Rajon ki Baoli]]
The [[Rajon Ki Baoli|Rajon ki Baoli]] ({{coord|28.52028|77.18346|format=dms|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline|name=Rajon ki Baoli}}), rectangular in plan, is the largest and most ornamented of all the three baolis in Mehrauli. It has a series of steps forming four stages, each in descending size, with floors at each stage, leading to the water level from the surrounding ground level. Its appearance is like a courtyard of the medieval period with passages marked by stylized carved symmetrical arches spanning the columns in North Indian architectural style, which form the three sides of the baoli. There are rooms at each floor which once provided a cool resting place for people. With its incised plaster work, the baoli is an elegant architectural edifice. When built the water used to reach up to the third stage.<ref name=Das/><ref name=Mehr/> Over the centuries the well got silted up. It has since been desilted. The Archaeological Survey of India has carried out desilting operations of the well which was silted to a depth of {{Convert|20|ft}}, during 2004–05. As a result, the water level has risen by 20 ft and 60 steps in the well lead to the surface of water.<ref name= Three/>

=== Baoli of Emperor Aurangzeb ===
Situated to the west of [[Zafar Mahal (Mehrauli)|Zafar Mahal]], near the [[Dargah]] of [[Khwaja Qutub-uddin Bakhtiyar Kaki]] in [[Mehrauli]] it was built by Emperor [[Aurangzeb]] in imitation of Gandhak ki Baoli and [[Rajon Ki Baoli]]. It measured 130 feet by 36 feet while the well was 30 feet in diameter, it contained 74 steps and was built in three stage. The [[Baoli]] was destroyed to make residential houses. The area of the [[Baoli]] is now an uphill road with rows of homes, shops and warehouses on each side.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Aneja|first=Supreet|date=2018-06-23|title=Delhi: Aurangzeb ki Baoli lost in the sands of time|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-delhi-aurangzeb-ki-baoli-lost-in-the-sands-of-time-2628211|access-date=2021-05-14|website=DNA India|language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last= Sinha |first=Chandan |title=Haunted India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnn2AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA33|date=7 July 2014|publisher=Chandan Kumar Sinha|pages=33–|id=GGKEY:UN4C82SCF77}}

[[Category:Mehrauli]]
[[Category:Stepwells in Delhi]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in the 11th century]]

Baolis of Mehrauli - Revision history

>Tamjeed Ahmed at 14:38, 14 May 2021