Travel Rahee

Sevasi stepwell

It is rightly said that travelling gives you more knowledge and new insights. If you will never go you will never know.”
Here I am going to talk about a small touristy place called the Sevasi Vav, Vav is a stepwell. You might think about what’s there to visit a stepwell. But I would like to say that one must travel to whichever place you get an opportunity to. Step wells are wells or ponds with underground flights of stairs leading down to the level of water. They may be multi-storied, and often ornamented with intricate carvings on their pillars and walls. Step wells are known as Vav in Gujarati and Baori in Hindi.

In ancient times, step-wells were a source of water mainly to balance out the water availability during seasonal fluctuations. During the old times, step-wells could be found in any and every part of India. Their water storage effectiveness helped residents survive for years, in the semi-arid climate and seasonal fluctuations. They were mostly constructed by the wealthy families and the Royals of those times. Step wells are very deep and have steep steps to the structure. Step wells were also used mostly as a place for gatherings and social functions. It was like a getaway place for the women as they danced and sang together shared their grief and could be themselves for that short period. 

The architecture of step wells includes steep steps that extend down to the water table which provides water for drinking, washing, bathing, and farming. The construction of most step-wells had an inspiration or story behind it. The step wells are much more complicated and represent stunning examples of both Hindu and Islamic architecture.

There were thousands of step wells present in India but modernization and a general lack of apathy towards these traditional structures have led most of them to ruins. Most of them are now nothing but a filthy place of garbage with the structures demolished on their own with no one to care for them. The surviving step-wells can be found in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Delhi, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. 

Situated on the outskirts of the city this Vav is located in Sevasi which falls on the way to sindhrot and is close to New Alkapuri. It is a 500-year-old vav that is said to be built in memory of the legendary spiritual leader, Shri Vidyadhar, in 1543 CE. 

About this vav, it is said that young girls decked in gold were sacrificed on full moon nights for prosperity. The Vav is built with a combination of brickwork and a system of stone columns that goes seven levels below the ground. This vav just like any other is situated in the east-west direction. There are a few carvings of animals like elephants and tigers, still very much visible there. The structure starts through a gate-like structure with a dome in the centre. This gate is decorated with patterns of elephants and tigers in relief work on the right and left sides respectively.

Because of a lack of security, the vav got trespassed by a person who damaged the frescoes by painting them orange to make a living out of it. Despite the complaints being made no one is looking into the matter and therefore the Vav is no longer the same as it used to be even 3,4 years back.

Sevasi Vav is becoming extremely popular for photography enthusiasts because the ruins do look beautiful. No wonder why a lot of pre-wedding photoshoots and fashion photo shoots have started taking place here.

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