Probashi- City
Probashi- City
Baolis of Delhi- Wells welll dug
Baolis of Delhi- Wells Well Dug
B
Baoli at Hazrat Nizamuddin, under renovation. This Baoli constructed in 1321 by the Sufi saint Nizamuddin Auliya is said to have been the cause of the downfall of the Delhi Emperor Giyas‐ud‐din Tuglaq. Photo courtesy: The Agha Khan Foundation
Baoli or Bavadi also referred to as in Bengal.
He made another Baori or Bauri, is a Hindi word ominous reference to the sultan ' s which means a large well with flight fort when he remarked " Ya rahe of stairs to descend up to the usar, ya basé
Gujjar "( Either it water. The step well would have a remains deserted or be peopled by tank attached where the water men of the Gujjar tribe). Both from the well would flow into. these prophecies proved true. Ghiyas‐ud‐din was killed at a place
Legend has it that a Baoli caused at near Delhi when a shamiana least one emperor in Delhi to loose( canopy, marquee) collapsed over his kingdom and his life. The him during a reception arranged by abandonment of Tughlaqabad was his son. The sultan could not reach not brought about by any foreign
Delhi alive. His successor invasion, but to the curse of the
Mohammad Bin Tuglaq chose to Sufi Saint Nizam‐ud‐din. The build his own fort and deserted legendary quarrel between the two Tughlaqabad. It soon became a started when Ghiyas‐ud‐din haunt for the Gujjars tending their Tughlaq the then emperor of Delhi cattle within the abandonedd fort of did not allow his people to work for
Ghiyas‐ud‐din. the saint on the construction of a baoli( step well). A protracted tiff Incidentally the Baoli whose followed, which offended the saint construction became the cause for and led to his famous prophecy Ghiyas‐ud‐din
Tuglaq’ s misfortune
" Hunuz Dilli dur ast "( Delhi is yet far got completed in 1321 and is away), for the sultan was then out amongst the few surviving Baolis in
the city. It can be seen at the Hazrat
Nizamuddin Dargah complex in the
Capital. The Baoli still bears water fed by an underground stream. This 7000 year old Baoli was recently renovated in a concerted and well coordinated effort of ASI, MCD, and Aga
Khan Foundation.
At the turn of the century about 1000 Baolis dotted different parts of Delhi, however since then many of them have either caved in or have been filled up to accommodate real estate. Now only about 30 survive some in precarious state of neglect. Records speak of many Baolis being built e. g. that built by Udhara the trader from Gujarat who came to Delhi at the time of Balban and built a imposing Baoli) for public use in Palam. However these step wells are not traceablee.
The credit of the oldest surviving Baoli in Delhi goes to the Baoli at