Hyderabad architects' team race to save ancient stepwells

Hyderabad: Forgotten, age-old stepwells in Telangana are now being tracked down and their many facets investigated and studied by a group of architects.
Exploration trips to document ancient stepwells have begun and 36 of them have been shortlisted out of more than 70 step wells in the state — including three of them located at Kolanpaka, Raigiri and Rachakonda in Nalgonda.

The Hyderabad Design Forum, an academic and research organisation based in Secunderabad and headed by architect A.R. Yeshwant Ramamurthy, is undertaking the project.

“More than just research, our aim is to truly understand and document the stepwells of Telangana, which are being ignored. There has been no documentation of these ancient step wells, until now,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

Ramamurthy says he came across a beautiful stepwells by accident at Kichenapalli in Medak district. “I was astounded by its scale and brilliance of its architecture. There are pavilions and the construction is very robust,” he said.

Stepwells in Telangana are found at old forts, temple complexes and on agricultural lands. They have also been political power centres.

There are several step wells, many unprotected, within forts in Warangal and other places, which were constructed to supply water to the inhabitants and for agricultural purposes. They were also the sole sources of relief when forts would be under siege – for months.  “Over the next two months, we will identify 100 stepwells and document the period in which they were constructed,” Mr  Ramamurthy added.

While Telangana State Department of Archaeology and Museums has given this group a list of existing step wells, students from the Jawaharlal Nehru Archite-cture and Fine Arts University are helping the project with the documentation.

Stepwells, continued Ramamurthy, are excavated storage systems in which, people reached the water by descending steps. Some made it easy for women to fetch water.  

“The purpose is to collect and store large volumes of ground water from natural springs. They were also used as sites for meetings and cultural events,” Mr Ramamurthy added. “This is particularly true of Telangana. Jamindars, Samasthans, Rajahs and other bigwigs constructed these step wells,” he said.