Chand Baori - Poetry in Stone

              There is a sleepy little village called Abhaneri, 95 kilometres away from Jaipur on the Jaipur Delhi  Highway. Somewhere around the 8th Century, a Rajput King is said to have built Chand Baori a 100 feet deep step well, in his effort to conserve and store water and replenish the water table in this very arid desert region.                           

                     

Chand Baori stepped on the world stage when Christopher Nolan modelled a few sets of the picture  "The Dark Night Rises" on this monument. Subsequent Indian and international movie makers have also harnessed the intricate  beauty of Chand Baori.

                  

One of the deepest step wells in India, Chand Baori has 3500 steps over 13 stories from the base to the top.As higher stories were added, the Kings thoughtfully set up a pulley system that would draw water from the base.

                     

Corniches and chambers, built along the four sides of the step well, served as resting places for women who came to collect water. Legend has it that on full moon nights, the King would come to Chand Baori with his consorts for a picnic and would spend the night in these chambers.

Central to Chand Baori is the Harshat Mata Temple. Built by one of the Kings as a Thanksgiving Offering to the Goddess of Happiness, Chand Baori, to the villagers, comes only second to the Harshat Mata Temple.

Well, Christopher Nolan may come and go, but Abhaneri remains the village it has always been, give and take a camel or two and the ubiquitous mobile tower!