Carnelian Day 3 - Rani ki Wow it was

 23rd Feb 2025 - Patan

Continued from here.

 

Once again, we needed to check out by 8am and head for breakfast.  We were ready early and decided to explore the neighbourhood.  Sandhya was down and briskly walking up and down.  Hotel Raveta seems to be away from town, off the NH10 - and the area is called Tirupati township!

Nothing much to write about the environs - an open sewer ran the length of the road - or was it a stormwater drain?  There were these bird stands - the one with the peacock on it - where pigeons cooed and fed, as also the Jungle Babblers.  One Grey Wagtail hurried and bobbed along the banks, very busy with his/her morning feeding.

The white-breasted waterhens rooted around in the canal.  We strolled in the streets behind the hotel - dusty and dry, and once again many pigeon feeding stands, and we saw Sparrows go in and out of one of these.  

There were Laughing Doves calling, from the wires, cows wandering and of course the street dogs looking at us with hope for a biscuit or morsel.

We got back to the hotel, to see the Buddha fountain also filled with pigeons!  Ebird list here.  

Breakfast was in the ground floor cafe - and there were very nice dhoklas and also khandvi - I quite enjoyed those, though I think my Selvi's poha is better.😆

Our bus arrived - the driver was amazing - never late, kept the bus shiny and clean, and drove steadily.  

We settled into our seats - already habits were forming - Sekar and me sat on the right hand side - all through the trip I think!  We had to pick up the splinter group who were at the other hotel just down the road.

Suddenly we were in the greener and cleaner part of down town Patan it seemed.  I remembered from my Sarkhej ki Roza Ahmedabad story about Patan being the capital of the Gujarat Sultanate before his time.  There were some old fort walls, a couple of large fancy schools, lots of tree lined roads, and then we were there.

Our first glimpse of the ASI complex - standard with lawns and trees.  As with all ASI monuments we were greeted by large lawns and neem trees. I wonder why they do this though - it’s so not part of our old gardens and it’s so water intensive. 

We strolled across the lawns, there was a flash of brilliant blue - an Indian Roller darted across the lawn and settled on this Neem tree.  Do you see it?  Photo by Devaroon

And then just like that - we were at the well!  I just stood there stunned.  Stunned at the sheer size of it, the stark beauty and the wonder, and even more stunned as to how something like this could have been buried and forgotten.

Bhimadeva I - of the Modhera sun temple - had a wife, Udaymati, who is the Rani who is believed to have built this Vav or well in the 11th century, after his demise.  We know nothing about her, it seems?  So she did not rule upon her husband's death, but she was important enough (and wealthy enough) to commission this monument to water.

While one version says that the step well caved in during a flood, it could be that it just silted over.  The well part has always been visible - only no one seemed to remember the step well bit.  The whole ASI restoration makes for fascinating reading.  The fact that it was silted over is seen by many as a blessing in disguise - it saved the step well from vandalism and possibly erosion by wind and the elements.

Supposedly in the 19th century, those pillars that were seen poking out, were vandalised and carted off to build another step well Trikam Barot-ni-Vav  in Patan.  Talk about repurposing.

The whole step well is 64m long, 20m wide and 27m deep with tier upon tier of carvings.  Were these pillars - seen in the foreground in this picture -  the base of an entry arch? 

Clearing The Debris

It was in 1958 that ASI undertook the clearance and restoration work for the Vav, which was filled with silt and water. As the process of desilting and debris clearance started, the water also started receding. The silt had to be cleared bit by bit by hand and carefully checked before disposal for antiquities that could be mixed with the mud.

“It was the most risky project of my career,” says Bhopal-based retired ASI archaeologist Narayan Vyas, who did the documentation work at the site for seven years between 1981 and 1988 and also holds a PhD degree on the stepwell. “For days, I would sit on the narrow ledges that run along the walls on a chair working. If I looked down I felt dizzy, it was so deep,” he remembers.

Work was slow – the process took more than three decades to complete. Bisht recalls that when he had taken charge of the Indore circle (which includes Patan) in 1989, only three levels had been exposed. The rest was completed under him. The top two levels of the stepwell had been destroyed – ASI rebuilt them, but without any of the sculptural adornments that must have been there originally. After the desilting, the sculptures had to be cleaned with distilled water. “Chemical cleaning and treatment was done to protect the structure and sculptures,” says Vilas Jadhav, another retired ASI archaeologist who had also worked at the Vav.

(Source:  https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/pride-of-patan-the-journey-of-rani-ki-vav-from-a-being-buried-art-treasure-to-the-reverse-of-the-new-rs-100-note/story-2vFSa1l6JZtGLhUx6pC7NI.html)

We climbed down the steps, and I for one did not know where to look - row upon rows of beautiful sculptures, intricate designs, amazing "engineering" must have gone in to get this sandstone step well in place.  Who were the builders, the architects?  who were the sculptors?

Kalki - the one we await.  Riding Devadutta the horse, and with maidens pouring water?  Enemies are underfoot and crushed.

Mahishasuramardhii was one of my favourites - so beautifully sculpted, though I felt she did not have a "fierce" look.

Do you see the 3 owls?  Meera had set Sheila and me the task of finding them, we failed miserably, so distracted were we, and she had to point them out, eventually! 

The most wondrous feat of engineering cum ingenuity for me was the reclining Vishnu - seen at the far end, through the various layers of pillars - carved so when the well was full of water he would appear reclining in the ocean!  How cool  is that I thought. 

There was Balarama, Buddha, Rama, Parvathi and so many more - dancing women everywhere.  ASI estimates that there must have been at least 800 sculptures in al!

Varaha once again with a maiden pouring water?

Some one remarked very wryly, isn't this all a bit much, what is one supposed to see?  Then we discussed and imagined how Patan residents would have visited the well ever so often, and then each day they could sit in a different spot, admire a different sculpture, or maybe have a favourite spot, have rendezvous with secret lovers under specific figures, the possibilities were endless!

What was interesting was along with the innumerable gorgeous apsaras, there were female sculptures like this - with khatvanga  in hand.  Rani Udaymati - I wish we could know more about her, and the brief she gave the "design team". 

You had to admire the scale of it...

and the intricate details of each panel.

A vertical panoramic shot from where we stood to the top.

Here's a video of the well, and also zooming in on the Vishnu at the rear.

A couple of hours later, we reluctantly  moved out of the step well, came around to the actual well at the rear.  There are guards ensuring that people do not try any stunts like trying to look into the well. But there should be a way for us tourists to see the well face as well = I have since seen pictures, and even the well wall has beautiful work on it.

From the well, looking back at the step well , where we had just come from.

Even these walls were sculpted!

A pair of rose ringed parakeets seem to have made a nest in the wall - and were busy feeding their young ones - I think.

I could have quite happily lingered longer. We then went to the Patola museum and I learnt about the Patola style of double ikat weaving. No photos allowed but it was a pretty cool place. The family said they were involved in the this for 28 generations and claimed to trace their lineage back to the Solankis. 

And then we drove and drove (some 5 hours) and drove all the way to the island of Khadir where Dholavira is located. Along the way I saw 2 flamingos, a roller and one wild ass as well besides the longest every cattle procession ever!

We entered the Rann salt areas halfway through - and then travelled on the old Road to heaven - to reach Khadir Bet island.

Lunch was so so. And we reached the rather nice Evoke hotel in the evening. Checked in and then went off to see the sunset at the rann - what a lovely experience it was.   Sekar's
 photos below

Carnelian Day 2 evening - Sun Temple at Modhera

22nd February

Continued from here.

The route from Lothal to Modhera goes so close to Nal Sarovar - I think it was just 12 kms away - and given what I read about the Nal corridor and the shipping routes of the Harappans, it would have been worthwhile to include that in the tour.  Of course the birder in me would have been most thrilled.  This may be the reason we saw so many water birds in flight and in the fields.  Black-headed ibis were like cattle egrets and we even spotted Sarus cranes.  Cormorants flew across the road, intermittently, and Sekar saw a Black Shouldered Kite as well.

The countryside was the usual sad Indian scenario - plastic garbage everywhere.  And the invasive Prosopsis in every field and along every road.  

If I am not mistaken, we stopped for lunch at one of those Honest cafe places and I made the mistake of a Gujarati thali which had oh so sweet kadhi, and that tomato sev curry which was swimming in oil.  Anyways the loos were clean and we had some food in our stomachs, so nothing to complain.  

The bus was soon silent as everyone had a good post prandial snooze!  Around 6 in the evening, we reached the Sun Temple at Modhera.  We had moved from history of 4,000 years ago to a 1,000 years ago!

It's strange to imagine that we were coming to this remote 11th century temple, again, after a gap of some 14 months.  

Last time we had visited on our way from Mt Abu to Ahmedabad - 8th December 2023, it was in the midday, the sun was bright and the temple was bathed in bright light.  This time we saw the temple in the evening light as also, under spot lights!  So in a way, we had two different experiences.

The temple is located on the banks of the Pushpavati river and was built  by the Solanki ruler Bhimadeva I in whose time the Rani Ki Val step well was also made.  You come upon it, and it makes you gasp, inch upon inch of sculptures, motifs, panels, in such profusion, it confuses - should you look at it in total, at every panel, inside, outside, overhead, inside the tank?  Oh goodness - and what to photograph?  

In the midst of this shock, awe and confusion, you also learn that the temple was probably torn down by Ghazni, and then rebuilt by later Solanki kings, and then probably ruined again by Khilji's forces, or maybe not?  The main deity is not to be seen anymore, and there are bits of broken carvings strewn all over, as the ASI put back the pieces in a systematic manner.  Strangely, I was unable to find any historical pictures of how the ruined temple looked before ASI put it together.

First views - midday Dec 2023

The temple bathed in the western setting sun, Feb 2025 evening.  The sandstone seemed to light up!

 

This is a screenshot from the ASI website.  From the outside, you first see the pillared hall, and the complex at the back - that is the temple.  This aerial view also shows that there must have been an outer gopuram. 

The hall of pillars

This is the view from across the tank, into the pillared hall.  It must have been a glorious feeling to walk down the steps to the temple tank!

That's us listening to Pankaj tell us about the toran archway and the pillars.

This "torana" - adorning the front entrance to the hall - it is quite exquisite I thought.  

Every inch of this mandapa is quite jaw dropping in its intricate beautiful carvings.  I wonder if anyone can reproduce this if they tried now?  Or is this "maru-gurjara" style and skill lost?

In front of the torana arch and pillars, are another two bare pillars, probably they had another decorative arch atop them?  If you see, there are two more pillars in the distance - which you will see in the next picture.

Probably another entry arch into the temple complex?  Now its a popular photo and self point - framed by these two magnificent pillars.

From in, looking out.  A 1000 years has taken its toll on the beautiful carvings- various carved elements at the base have all got rubbed off, the details of the women's faces are gone, but still it is quite a sight. There are 52 such pillars. 

The four pillars seen in the previous picture come in from all the directions, create an octagonal framework.  Every inch of each pillar seems carved, all the way up to the roof and the supporting beams as well!  Supposedly, up there near the roof, there are some erotic carvings as well!  A 1000 years ago, there was no Censor Board it seems.

This is the dome, rising from the pillars and the decorated arches.  It was fabulous and made my neck ache!

Another view - this is definitely a photographer's paradise.  The complex was filled with busloads of school children, which was really nice.  

There was some discussion on what these holes in the pillars meant - which I now forget.

The gargoyles seemingly supporting the arches and roof.  Each one different from the other.

Some historians feel that this hall was a later addition to the original temple.

The temple

In Dec 2023, after staring up and open mouthed for what seemed like an eternity, we emerged from the pillared hall and went in to the temple itself.  This time, because the light was fading, Pankaj urged us to go in to the temple first so that we could "see" the inside before dark.  

To me, the temple complex is more impressive outside than in - the inside seems dank and unfinished, with some Aditya/Surya images on unadorned walls.  Without a central deity which was supposed to be large and imposing, the hall looked bereft.  The central room was also caged off, and is supposed to be at two levels.  One will read how "The position of the temple on an elevated mound facing due east is such that the rising sun at the equinoxes would shine straight through the Sabhamandapa doors into the shrine. " (From the UNESCO website). However, I have not come across any picture of this light shining through - it would make for a terrific sight - I wonder why no one has captured that moment?

And then my internet search threw up the History TV18 documentary on Modhera, Aryabhata and Bramhagupta.  The screen grab from that shows how the suns streams in supposedly on March 21st - the Spring Equinox. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMrX3WFyVSw&t=526s

There are 12 sculptures of Surya - as you can see on plain walls inside the temple.

The pillars here were incomplete, and the roof dome less ornate?  Was this then from an earlier period?   The main sanctum supposedly had an upper cell on which the main Surya deity was placed, but this has collapsed and is now locked and so one cannot see the main sanctum while the deity itself is of course missing.   

What we did see on both our visits were the mouse-tailed bats!

Dec 2023

Feb 2025

Devaroon's picture of the bats - greater mouse tailed bats (Rhinopoma microphyllum)

One of the Surya carvings on the outside - much more intricate - with the seven horses, Persian boots

As the sun went down and the sandstone cooled, the squirrels were all over the carvings!  It was very amusing to see them peeping out of all the various carvings and scurry up and down chasing each other.

There were dvarapalas, and empty niches as well.

A line of elephants reminded me of one of the Siem Reap temples.

The step well

Some 108 little shrines dot the steps of this step well.  You are not allowed onto the steps now, but I think I would be dizzy going down this zigzag arrangement.  

108 - it seems like one of those esoteric magical numbers that work as a constant to achieve many calculations.  Then the 52 pillars - 52 weeks in a year, 12 Suryas, one per month, his 7 horses - one per day, and then the main temple has 24 pillars - for 24 hours!  is this retro-fitting or is this for real? Sun and time, they should be related.

The shrines in the tank all face the tank, so you cannot see in to them from outside.  So intricately carved and beautiful!

These were at the other side of the kund - so where was there something else here as well?

Imagine going to each of the 108 and praying... hmmm.

So many pieces of the jigsaw still not fitted, lying around.  Won't they get stolen or vandalised ?

The temple under lights

At about 630pm the lights were turned on, and the temple looked beautiful and mysterious.  The Sun temple complex - very appropriately is solar powered!)

I really liked these pictures from Devaroon.

Photo by Devaroon

There was a Sound and Light show.  Some of us watched, while some of us went off for chai and a bio break.  The schoolchildren enjoyed it.  I overheard one of them declaring to her friend - no need to go back to school, let's roam like this every day! Indeed!

From here, it was a 40 minute ride to our night halt at Grand Raveta Patan.  We were all quite tired having traversed across time from 4000 years ago in the morning to 1000 years ago in the evening and now to dusty, nondescript modern India.  😅. We had travelled close to 300kms across the day.  Some had to stay in another hotel - so we were split up.

The hotel was quite efficient in moving our bags up and to our rooms.  The lay out was strange - the reception and restaurant were on the first floor and the rooms were on the second floor.  The rooms were perfectly adequate, and actually I must confess I was quite pleasantly surprised and relieved - clean sheets, running water and enough space for our luggage.  

I ordered cautiously - khichdi and papad for dinner - which was very nice, hot and comforting, while Sekar had rotis I think.  Anupama ordered some dish (I forget what now), that took forever to come, though her flask of ice came quickly enough! Sanjukta and Ishaan were more adventurous and ordered  some paneer dish which was not bad either.  We chatted about the day over our dinner, and Aravind briefed us that we had to check out by 8am tomorrow, breakfast and leave by 830!  

Rani Ki Vav was on the cards for tomorrow morning!