Across the arid west of the subcontinent, stepwells (baoli, vav) provided year-round water through long descending flights of steps reaching deep into the aquifer. Structures such as the Rani-ki-Vav at Patan combined hydraulic engineering with richly carved galleries, serving as reservoirs, cool retreats and social and ritual gathering places. They were endowed by rulers and merchants as civic and pious works.
Stepwells are a distinctive Indian solution to seasonal water scarcity that doubled as significant pieces of public urban architecture.
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