ADALAJ OR ROODABAI STEPWELL #Ahmedabad is ornamented with step wells and the most prominent among them is the #AdalajStepWell which is also popular as Adalaj ni Vav. Visitors would feel history as they step down the step well with its cool ambiance and colossal architecture.A striking sandstone structure with a square stepped platform leads to a deep well below.Water festival held at Adalaj attracted several visitors to witness the excellent performances by eminent musicians. History of Adalaj Step Well - Making up an essential part of Ahmedabad’s history, Adalaj Step Well was commissioned by famous queen Rudabai the wife of Vaghela dynasty’s Rana Veer Singh in 1498.He was the ruler of a small kingdom denoted as Dandai Desh. According to legends,the kingdom faced acute shortage of water and to resolve the same,the king Rana Veer Singh decided to build a big stepwell.Though the king started the construction work but could not complete it,as he died in a battle with the Sultan of Gujarat,Mahmud Begada. Mahmud Begada fell in love with queen Rudabai and wanted to marry her.However the queen agreed to the proposal provided Mahmud completed the construction of the stepwell.After the completion of the vav, queen Rudabai asked few saints to take bath in the water making it a holy well. She then marched down the well and immersed herself in the deep water and died. As Mahmud Begada did not want any replica of the stepwell ordered the killing of the six masons involved in its construction whose tombs can be found near the stepwell.An inscription written in Sanskrit on a marble slab on the first floor indicates the history of this amazing architectural site.It states that the cost of construction was around 5,00,111 tanks or five lakhs. https://www.instagram.com/p/CaqhI0pvW-H/?utm_medium=tumblr
