Gujarat’s step wells or “baolis” are strange and unique and the Dada Hari Well built in 1499 is a magnificent masterpiece representing the typical Gujarati style of architecture Entirely underground, they were built to overcome heat and dust. Behind the well is the tomb of Dada Hari. Northern Gujarat abounds in remarkable step-wells, with elaborately carved walls and broad flights of covered steps leading to the shaft. Dada Harini Vav, in the northwest of the city, is one of the finest. While it is a Muslim construction, built in 1500 for Bai Harir Sultani, superintendent of the royal harem, the craftsmen were Hindu and their influence is clear in the lavish and sensuous carvings on the walls and pillars. A lady of Sultan Mahmud Begara’s court built one such step well in 1501. It is a fascinating place, though has signs of neglect today. It has a series of steps leading down to lower platforms terminating at a small, octagonal well. The depths of the well are cool, even on the hottest day, and it must once have been quite beautiful.

Necessity is the mother of invention. This is perhaps best illustrated in the step wells of Gujarat, an extraordinary form of underground water conservation, advanced with elaborate stone carvings. Art and utility go hand - in - hand in these magnificent specimens by master craftsmen. The sidewalls of the well shaft have spiral staircases and the whole step well is richly decorated. The best time to visit and photograph the well is between 10 and 11 am. when the sculpted floral patterns and shapely figurines are bathed in the light of the sun.