Chand Baori (coordinates 27.0072, 76.6068) is perhaps the most famous stepped well in India. It is located in the small town of Abhaneri, 95 km from Jaipur, Rajasthan. Chand Baori is not just one of the most significant architectural monuments in the country. It is considered both the oldest step well in India and one of the largest in the world.
Its shape resembles an inverted classic pyramid with a truncated top. From the outside, it looks as if some fantastic creature took a huge pyramid, turned it upside down and pressed it into the ground. Leaving behind this imprint in the form of stone steps on the side faces.
The well is surrounded by compound terraces with an entrance on the north side. From the southern, eastern and western sides - on each of the 13 tiers, double rows of steps are laid. 3,500 steps, arranged in perfect symmetry, descend to the bottom of a 30-meter well to a muddy green puddle of water. On the north side, steps lead to multi-story pavilions at the rear of the structure.
To get down to the water, you need to walk along these giant steps. The walk is far from entertaining and even unsafe, given that most of the steps of the well have no fences.
As exotic as the well has inside, it looks so inconspicuous from the outside. After all, if you look at the outer facade of the well, you might get the impression that there is a small fort in front of you, which was built by the British during their colonial rule in India.
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Legend has it that Chand Baori was built by demons overnight. Official science, of course, does not agree with this and claims that the well was built from the 8th to the 9th century by the king of Chanda from the Nikumba dynasty.
In the imagination of many people, a well is a small reservoir into which a container for water intake is lowered on a chain. The same applies to Chand Baori: official science does not accept any other functional purpose of this well, except as a place to collect water. It is believed that the arid climate prevailing in many parts of the country, since ancient times, forced the inhabitants of these places to go to different tricks - to build dams and artificial lakes, reservoirs and underground reservoirs that helped to preserve rainwater, which was in abundance only during the monsoon season. And, they say, at the same time, these enormous reservoirs began to be built, capable of providing water to a human community or even a small city.
It must be said that Rajasthan is an arid region, where therefore every drop of precious water is important. The large mouth of the well functioned as a funnel to collect rainwater, which flowed freely down the steps. The Chand Baori well was also mostly filled with rainwater. It is believed that due to the great depth, the life-giving moisture evaporated only slightly, in addition, the water in the well did not overheat and was suitable for drinking for a long time.
Nowadays, the water from the Chand Baori well is not drunk, here only pilgrims wash only their hands and feet. And local caretakers keep order and do not allow swimming in dangerous water, which, according to bacteriologists and parasitologists, can “kill a person in 2-3 days”. Not without reason, in the 19th century, the British even issued a decree prohibiting the use of water from Chand Baori. Despite this, quite often in the Indian press there are reports of deaths in this sacred place. Mostly local children fall into the muddy waters, wishing to refresh themselves during the hot dry season. In addition, isolated cases of the death of tourists were recorded here. For this reason, it was decided to fence off the 30-meter tank. Naturally, no fences will save a person who decides to walk the 3,500 steps and get to the niches,where are the sculptures of the deities Ganesha and Durga. You need to be especially careful during the monsoon season: at this time all the steps become slippery, when keeping balance on them becomes a rather difficult task.
Continuation: The area of step wells