The Baolis of Mehrauli

Tue, Jul 1 02:05 AM

Once upon a time the builders of ancient Delhi would anticipate the looming water crisis - water being a scarce commodity in Delhi from times immemorial - and harvest the monsoon rains and run-off water. They built baolis (tanks and step wells) to store this water, thus ensuring not just adequate water supply but also a topped up water table.

There are said to be 26 such water storage facilities scattered around Delhi. Unfortunately, not a single one of them is in use.

Like the many other old monuments in various stages of disrepair and disuse, no one ever thinks of re-charging or re-using them. While many baolis still have traces of water, the foul-smelling liquid is clearly unfit for human consumption.

They need to be de-silted, the acquifers and wells that once fed them cleaned up, their surroundings spruced up so that once again they may serve the vital functions they once did. In the hot summer months, the wells provided not just potable water but a common meeting place.

The profusely carved and decorated arched galleries and chambers - that ran on all four sides and often went several levels underground - offered a cool, reflective retreat from the searing loo winds that blew across the plains of Delhi. Firoz Tughlaq is credited with building several step-wells and water reservoirs, as well as repairing existing ones.

These he built not just to meet the need for drinking water but also for the many gardens and orchards he laid out. Most baolis that we find today were once located either in densely inhabited areas where water requirements were most acute or amidst what were once gardens and pleasure resorts.

Several prime specimens are found in the Mehrauli area. Of these the most significant, and the most easily accessible ones are: Rajon ki Baoli (the Mason's Stepwell), the Gandak ki Baoli (so called because of the smell of gandak or sulphur that came from its waters); Qutub Sahib ki Baoli (close to the Dargah of Bakhtiyar Kaki).

There is something about subterranean passages and arched columns that inspires awe and breeds legends about djinns and strange creatures from unknown worlds. The baolis of Delhi have their share of folklore.

They speak of a common past when their abundant waters were freely available for all. There is an urgent need to revive these water harvesting sites not merely to meet our burgeoning water needs but also to re-visit a way of life that was less taxing for this land and its people.

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