Monday, January 9, 2017

Rudabai Stepwell, Adalaj

Rudabai Stepwell in Adalaj is one of the magnificent Step-well that is truly a architectural marvel. King Mahmud Begada had built this step-well in 1499 for his queen Rudabai. Once upon a time it provided water for drinking, washing and bathing. 



It is an fine masterpiece of Indo-Islamic fusion. It was dug deep to access ground water at that level and it is five stories deep. The sandstone structure built on intricately carved large number of pillars is octagonal in plan at the top. 



The air and light vents in the roofs at various floors and at the landing level are in the form of large openings.  Built along a North-South axis, entrance is from the South, the three staircases are from the South, West and East directions leading to the landing, which is on the northern side of the well. 



Four small rooms with oriel windows decorated with minutely carved brackets are provided at the landing level, at the four corners. 



The motifs of flowers and graphics of Islamic architecture blend very well with the symbols of Hindu and Jain gods carved at various levels of the well. 



25 comments:

rupam sarma said...

Wonderful pics.

Vineeta Yashsavi said...

Lovely pictures... Happy New year Rajesh...

Fun60 said...

The building is so large. I never imagined there would be such ornate wells. The fusion of the different religious decorations perhaps shows a more tolerant society than we have today.

Maggie said...

Beautiful carvings and intricate details cover every surface, a true work of art. Thanks for sharing with us at Mosaic Monday.

Forest Dream Weaver said...

A beautiful and fascinating building. I'm always interested to see what was going in different countries at the same time. Probably because of the climate ,Indian stonework has stood the test of time better than in Europe.

krishna said...

So much fine works.. beautiful photographs..

magiceye said...

Superbly captured!

Lady Fi said...

Wow - that is really beautiful!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

What a magnificent place! The carvings are so intricate and beautiful!

Tony McGurk said...

I really like the carvings in the last group of photos Rajesh. They are so intricate.

Jeevan said...

Incredible indeed! Excellent capture on the fascinating details of the well

Gattina said...

Amazing architecture and artwork !

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

So beautifully carved. I have read the word 'oriel' before and knew it was a kind of window, but never really knew what one looked like before. Thank you for showing me.

bj said...

O what beautiful carvings...such a magnificent structure..happy Ruby

Leslie: said...

Admirable!

Leslie
abcw team

Murthy K v v s said...

Great architecture..

carol l mckenna said...

Wonderful images of beautiful ornate architecture ~

Wishing you a Happy Week ahead ~ ^_^

Photo Cache said...

I love these architectural marvels.

Worth a Thousand Words

Al said...

This is amazing - even a well has so much intricate workmanship.

Roger Owen Green said...

astonishing architecture

ROG, ABCW

Deepa said...

looks magnificient
what lovely carvings

Light and Voices said...

Amazing architecture. Always look forward to viewing your photos on your blog.

katie eggeman said...

I am always amazed when I see pictures of these beautiful wells.
KatieBankerchick

MelodyK said...

Gorgeous indeed... those intricate carvings, amazing, and what a lot of work is put into it.

Have a nice ABC-Wednesday / _ Week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc=w=team)
http://melodymusic.nl/abc-wednesday-20a/

NatureFootstep said...

I like the slightly pink color in this place :)