
India's Stepwells (2013) - Mz
https://www.archdaily.com/395363/india-s-forgotten-stepwells
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alphakappa
One of those stepwells was used to great effect in Tarsem’s movie The Fall
(which is a glorious visual feast where clever cinematography did things that
you would expect to be CGI)

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/)

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mhd
I'm traveling to India in a few weeks and The Fall is basically my itinerary.
After seeing the movie, this was one of the first place I googled because I
didn't immediately get what this was for. It should have been obvious, but my
preconceptions of deserts/arid places is based on the middle east, where
(AFAIK) there are no step wells.

~~~
puranjay
If you care about the aesthetic alone, then I would suggest skipping the usual
spots and add these to your itinerary:

1\. Udaipur, Rajasthan (everything about this city is beautiful)

2\. Orchha, particularly the "chattris" next to the river.

3\. Khajuraho (the temples are stunning in the right weather)

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piyush_soni
I'm from Udaipur, Rajasthan. @mhd, shoot up if you have any questions about
it. :)

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bloodorange
There is one remarkable picture of a step well from India, taken by the master
photographer Edward Burtynsky. A low res version can be found on this page:
[http://lenscratch.com/2016/04/edward-
burtynsky-2/](http://lenscratch.com/2016/04/edward-burtynsky-2/)

(No affiliation, I just love his work)

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stinos
Wow, that is one magnificent picture. The dark rigid structures in the bottom
left combined with the sheer force of the white water on the right. And then
you look further and see all the interesting details. Well done.

~~~
albertgoeswoof
That's not the stepwell - it's a dam in China. Here's the stepwell photo:

[http://lenscratch.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/02/Burtynsky_W...](http://lenscratch.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/02/Burtynsky_Water_03_Step-Well_India.jpg)

~~~
bloodorange
This photo is listed on that page and is the was talking about.

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dragonsh
These are beautiful been to many of them myself and in the old days could jump
in them as the water was clean, 40 years ago. I don’t think they are important
for current government, who are too busy worrying about mythical characters to
muzzle freedom of expression and speech (want to behead an actresss). They
want a temple at the cost of history and culture, even if that means
destroying Taj Mahal. This step wells are too below the radar to be saved
unless there is a temple or some idol of ram, hanuman or other Hindu deity in
them.

~~~
1024core
I've been to a few too, and the decay has been setting in for a long time.
Today, the water is very dirty, and access has been barred to the bottom.

It is a shame, really, that you chose to use HN to try to score some cheap
shots which anyone would see are wrong.

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helb
HN discussion from 2015:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10179467](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10179467)

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bakul
A more recent (Sep 2017) article on stepwells by the same author:

[https://www.archdaily.com/878527/the-astonishing-
vanishing-s...](https://www.archdaily.com/878527/the-astonishing-vanishing-
stepwells-of-india)

I've been to the Adalaj Vav (stepwell) near Ahmedabad. Its distinctive
architecture is a fusion of Hindu, Jain and Islamic styles. There is an
interesting legend behind this. See [http://jatinchhabra.com/adalaj-vav-
stepwell-gujarat/](http://jatinchhabra.com/adalaj-vav-stepwell-gujarat/)

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mkbkn
Stepwells in India are a rare and forgotten beauty. Just sit there and listen
to the silence, you'll love it.

Most Stepwells are found in Rajasthan and some in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat
too.

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SmellTheGlove
I'm not sure how I got to my mid 30's and had never heard of stepwells until I
played Civ 6, but these things are amazing. I'd love to see one in person some
day.

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mitul_45
Related talk:
[https://www.ted.com/talks/anupam_mishra_the_ancient_ingenuit...](https://www.ted.com/talks/anupam_mishra_the_ancient_ingenuity_of_water_harvesting).

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Angostura
An unexpected treat. Thanks for posting.

