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Adalaj is a village 18 kms to the north of
Ahmedabad .
The 'Vav' (step-well) at Adalaj derives its name from the lady patron,
Ruda, wife of the Vaghela chief, Virsinh; who built it in the 15th or 16th
century AD.
The 'Vav', laid out in the north-south direction, the step well with the
well in the north and the entrance in the south, has a total length of
75.3 metres. It is the only major monument of its kind, having three
entrance stairs leading to the stepped corridor. These three entrances
meet in the first storey, underground, in a huge square platform. The
platform has an octagonal opening on the top.
THE
STRUCTURE
The platform rests on 16 pillars, eight on the corners, and two in front
of each main side. Four built-in shrines, with doors, windows and
balconies, mark the four corners of the platform. The stepped corridor
begins from this square platform.
The corridor is entirely surrounded by a one-metre high parapet wall with
a rounded topping. It descends with four pavilion towers for five storeys.
The walls of the 'Vav' are veritable showcases of sculptures and
ornamentation. The sculptures range from a king sitting on a stool under a
parasol, to erotic scenes; and from ladies churning buttermilk to dancing
girls.
The frames of the doors around the entrances of the spiral staircases to
the octagonal shaft are surrounded by a 'parikrama', which is an enlarged
version of the frames around the niches. Stringcourses running along the
sidewalls embellish all parts of the structure, sometimes dividing the
wall into horizontal sections. They also appear on the walls of the
octagonal shaft, depicting floral or leaf patterns, or rows of animals.
HOW TO GET THERE
Road: Adalaj is a village north of
Ahmedabad ,
18km by road.