Think of me as A-leash in Wonderland.
Hey! We went to our old step well today. Ok, ok its not ours, let me put in the disclaimer before the Archaeological Survey of India(ASI) sends me a notice. But, its fairly nearby for me to consider it so. This happens to be the latest endeavour in my continuing efforts to visit all the places of interest around Ahmedabad before I leave this place forever.
So anyway...the place is next to the village of Adalaj, 15 minutes from Gandhinagar. Isnt it, for all its glory, just a well? That was my attitude when my friends decided to make a trip to this one. But this ones subterranean, they told me. I laughed out loud... are not all wells subterranean? "But its famous!" they said. For god's sake! "Its just a well, I do not want to waste a sunday morning on a well!"
I stand corrected :|
What a well! It was, as they told me, subterranean!! We needed to go down three or four levels of stony stairs to reach it. And it was famous... there were three bus loads of caucasian tourists... crawling like ants over the construction, clicking pictures, chattering happily. Sadly, I could not recognise the language they were speaking, something I profess to be good at. My best guess was that it was a slavic language.
Back to the well. Galleries and galleries at each floor, full of beautiful carvings in stone. The well itself, by the time got to it, was pretty ordinary... green water, which seems to be an Indian standard :P. But it was well worth it for the constuction was well planned :)
I took loads of pictures, and as usual here is a snippet of some of them. Click to enlarge. All of us could not be in all of them, for as faithful as the timer function is, the place was teeming with langoors. I did not want a brand new camera smashed to bits if a monkey decides to have some fun. Though I did risk one with the timer. The camera was precariously balanced on the edge of a wall, and I hooked up my rather heavy purse to it. Not really to avert the monkey-menace, for any monkey worth its name could still have made off with it... but to prevent it from drowning in the well, should an excited monkey brush by it. Thankfully nothing happened. Jai Bajrang Bali!
Im back in the hostel, and bored again ;P
So anyway...the place is next to the village of Adalaj, 15 minutes from Gandhinagar. Isnt it, for all its glory, just a well? That was my attitude when my friends decided to make a trip to this one. But this ones subterranean, they told me. I laughed out loud... are not all wells subterranean? "But its famous!" they said. For god's sake! "Its just a well, I do not want to waste a sunday morning on a well!"
I stand corrected :|
What a well! It was, as they told me, subterranean!! We needed to go down three or four levels of stony stairs to reach it. And it was famous... there were three bus loads of caucasian tourists... crawling like ants over the construction, clicking pictures, chattering happily. Sadly, I could not recognise the language they were speaking, something I profess to be good at. My best guess was that it was a slavic language.
Back to the well. Galleries and galleries at each floor, full of beautiful carvings in stone. The well itself, by the time got to it, was pretty ordinary... green water, which seems to be an Indian standard :P. But it was well worth it
I took loads of pictures, and as usual here is a snippet of some of them. Click to enlarge. All of us could not be in all of them, for as faithful as the timer function is, the place was teeming with langoors. I did not want a brand new camera smashed to bits if a monkey decides to have some fun. Though I did risk one with the timer. The camera was precariously balanced on the edge of a wall, and I hooked up my rather heavy purse to it. Not really to avert the monkey-menace, for any monkey worth its name could still have made off with it... but to prevent it from drowning in the well, should an excited monkey brush by it. Thankfully nothing happened. Jai Bajrang Bali!
Im back in the hostel, and bored again ;P
15 Responses to “The stepped up well”
Would you like to say something?
Please note that comments on this weblog are moderated. Therefore they will not show up on the blog till I say so. DONT PANIC. I will not discriminate on content. Just, make sure it has a U rating :). Anonymous or near-anonymous comments are unacceptable.
About me
- I'm K
- From Delhi/Mumbai, India
- My profile
Previous posts
Monthly Archives
People & Links
- Prasoon and his clicks!
- Rahul aka Boblichki (IIIT, H)
- Rahul and his rhymes
- Sriram aka VK (NC State U)
- Stevie Wonder
- Simply Bhavesh (IIMC)
- Cynical Amod
- Enterprising Vivek (IIMB)
- Quintessentially Ankush (FMS)
- Mikey van Basten
- Martian Mikey
- Harish (IIML)
- MS on the future
- MS on MS(mindsport!)
- Indian Economy and more
- Issues you should know
- JPEG Mag
- Engadget
Good ol' ATOM
Oh! that reminds me, I ought to make some trips too, lest I must be ashamed in front of people back home who ask what have you seen in your four years? :P
tchah. A'bad langoors are not so intelligent as Matheran monkeys!! Matheran monkeys make up contingency plans even before they start execution. And all for a piece of walnut! [:D]
hmmm....step well eh..
remember vistin it wid my parents..
hafta plan one wid da gang
next time try gettin a li'l farther :P
@pariah
well, maybe ill get further than this sooner than u might think ;) shhhh....
what's all the secrecy for!?
homosapiens playing trick with our ancestors.. hehehe.. nice way of bamboozlement.... :) btw "all's wELl that ends wELl", so keep visiting wells for being well.
Well I'm absolutely crazy about that well! My friends aren't much interested in visiting historical monuments so I don't get much opportunity to go on such excursions. I particularly like that small,steep,dark and very narrow stairs!
Do you think I'm cynical? I'm just hardened by the oddities of life.
Forgot to say, do visit Indroda Nature Park sometime! It's worth a visit atleast once in four years!
Yeah.. I love that place, for obvious reasons... :D (was asked abt it in 'DA GDPI')
Can you please mail me these pics?
You've been Tagged!!!
tee hee.. i know, childish of me, but cudn't resist :P
Hey,
you call this place well?
Its really cool. I travel all the year round but never get opportunity to go around Archealogical(I know spelling is wrong) Places.
You r quite lucky.
Good Post.
hi..
came to ur blog through orkut. nice post about the well. it has always been a hobby of mine to visit archaeologically interesting places but could never manage to during college time(except for temples) and after that landed up here so that kind of put a dampener on other plans.
Some parts of ur post brought back memories and so this comment mite be a bit long (hope u dont mind). There was well near my grandfather's place (nothing of archaeological importance though it did look ancient) and I remember one summer, when we were visiting him, I dropped something into it(cant for the life of me remember what it was). And then I started crying and brought the place down till some worked there decided to go down and get it back for me. There were steps to enter the well. I know that was normal well compared to this one but couldn't resist talking about it.
And I have had a couple of very 'nice' experiences with monkeys including losing a whole bundle of camera roll to them..so can totally identify with that part.
Sorry a very long comment. hopefully u dont mind. Nice pictures too..u interested in photography or is it just a casual pasttime?
I must say this is the best blog of all the facchas coming to hell. Grt work. U really write really well.
rohit
Sr @ Hell
I really liked ur slideshow funda..
Nice photographs there...might actually think of a wet visit to the dry state...naah...whatever. Nice blog too I must say...and having seens a number of pretenders, it is a joy to finally see one that I do like.
Oh and yes, congrats on the IIML admit...
Cheers!
- Darth Midnightmare