No Words...

... just tears.

Adalaj Stepwell (vaav)

Adalaj ni vaav (step-well) is a must-see place if you're in Ahmedabad area. I was fortunate to have visited the place during my last trip there. And whatever amount of time you will have there will not be enough. I know for sure that I'm going back there again. It's less than an hour worth of drive from Ahmedabad and if you leave early in the day, it might be half an hour or so. The place has nice market like thing to hangout at and spend the afternoon or even make a picnic like trip.

It was so much fun to shoot the photos as it was a clear bright day. In India, it's not so hard to find such a time but when you don't get to see that during winter season, it just makes you appreciate it so much.

At the step-well, they don't allow videography or flash photography. There's personnel there to enforce this. They might look like normal visitors but they're actually employees (of Archeological Survey of India? I'm guessing). They allow visitors to take pictures without the flash though so I was really thankful for that. I didn't have more time otherwise I'd have checked out the graves of the workers who created this vaav back in the day (A. D. 1498).

Here's a glimpse to the vaav and the history of it:


Details on the stairs




Details and damaged walls




Jharukho (balcony)




Multiple levels of the well



View from the bottom




Details on the walls



Pillar stacks and walls



Banyan tree (vadvaai & vad)


More photos of Adalaj Step-well.

Bollywood songs now at a new level!

This incident reminds me of those reader's digest jokes. This one happened last month while I was in India. My niece, nephew and younger cousins were all going crazy screaming and singing songs in the room next door. Overhearing them, I sat there wondering what food and what person they were talking about while singing "chhee laagi javaani..." (છી લાગી જવાની/will have to go poo/toilet). I chuckled and thought how kids sing craziest things as songs these days. I walk into the room only to find out that it actually is a Bollywood song and a super-hit one at that and goes like this: "my name is sheela, sheela ki jawaani". We laughed and laughed for the coming days singing this new song... "sheela ki jawaani" was never this famous before!