Adalaj Perspective, a photo from Gujarat, West

Photographer's Note

Adalaj ni Vav or Adalaj Vav is a five-storied beautifully chiseled step well located in a small sleepy village named Adalaj, about 18 km from Gujarat’s main city. Ahmedabad. Adalaj Vav was built in 1499 by Queen Rudabai & is counted amongst the finest architectural structures of Gujarat.

In Gujrati language, step well is called Vav. Adalaj Vav is a classic example of Indo-Islamic style of architecture. The designs on its walls and pillars include, leaves, flowers, birds, fish and other breathtaking ornamental designs. The Vav consists of three sandstone-built entrances, which consist of octagonal landings with huge carved colonnades and intricately carved niches. Some of the pillars and walls show the influence of Buddhists, Jains and Solanki rulers of Gujarat. The carvings on the panels include that of a king sitting on a stool with two bearers, a scene depicting women churning buttermilk, musicians accompanying dancing women, and representations of various Hindu gods and goddesses. Sunlight cannot reach directly into the well, but openings in the ceiling enable light and air to enter inside. This keeps the water inside the well cool even in summer. Visitors can also see Ami Khumbor (a pot that contains the water of life) and Kalp Vriksha (a tree of life) made out of a single stone slab.

In the past, these step wells were frequented by travellers and caravans as stopovers along trade routes.

Legend behind Adalaj Vav

With time, the well has become a memorial of the love of the queen for her husband. One can still see water in the well which is a living example of spirit of the queen. In A D 1499, Dandai Desh (earlier name of Adalaj) was ruled by Rana Veer Singh of the Vaghela Dynasty. Mohammed Begda, a Muslim ruler of a neighboring state, invaded Adalaj and killed Rana Veer Singh. Greatly attracted by the beauty of Rana Veer Singh's widow Rani Rudabai, he put forward a marriage proposal. She agreed under a condition that he should complete a five-storeyed step-well for her. King Begda finished the step-well within record time. The next day, after finishing the step-well, Rani Rudabai said her final prayer and jumped into the well and died.

Another view of this marvelous step well in the Workshop

jhm, pierrefonds, brech, jaywalker, bukitgolfb301, subhendu_bagchi, dip, Graal, papagolf21, abmdsudi, josepmarin, Longroute, vasilpro, danos, holmertz, Atousa, daddo, krzychu30 has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jhm (211736) 2011-03-25 3:42

Hello Angshu,

You took a very nice angle, this gives a lot depth and perspective.
The ladies in foreground up-wards of the stair are the real eye catcher.
Sharpness and clarity are perfect.
Excellent composition, nice presentation too.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

prasun984 (5590) 2011-03-25 4:21

khub bhalo laglo chabita...nice composition with the girls in the fore ground...nice colour contrast,sharpness & ex[posoure value...I also like the chosen POV...k kathay darun laglo...

Prasun

pierrefonds (114536) 2011-03-25 5:20

Hi Angshuman,

The presence of the people has an effect of scale. the point of view is showing the details and colors of the architecture of this area of the step well. the morning light has a good effect on the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Bluejeans (64251) 2011-03-25 6:22

Ola Angshuman ,
Beleza esta tua foto com estas mulheres a subirem escadas neste templo , ficou fantбstica a profundidade de foto com estes tъneis , gostei muito dos detalhes de arquitectura nas paredes, parabйns!!!
Um abraзo Gonзalo

wolf38 (30) 2011-03-25 9:08

Hello Angshuman. A beautiful, lively and worth seeing photo. It shows your typical photographic signature. Excellent text. and very nice picture frame. Well done. Rgds, Wolfgang.

jaywalker (16105) 2011-03-26 0:39

Hi Angshuman, A really nice photo of this wonderfully detailed architecture, the light quality is excellent & I like the capture of the people walking through as their colourful clothing offers extra interest, what a great construction, TFS, kind regards Wilson.

bukitgolfb301 (54014) 2011-03-26 1:10

Hi NAMASTE my dear Angshuman

Another attractive and remarakable shot indeed!
So calm presentation by a thick color tone. You always remind me that your country has a great diversity and proficinet culture through your posting.
Thanks for your sharing fine work and giving sincere encouragement, have a good Saturday!

Best regards,
Takero from still cold Tokyo

pablominto (53746) 2011-03-27 0:41

Hello Angshu,

The ladies in this ancient staircase is an original motif, and well handled!
Interesting play of light and the capture has a great feeling of depth...
A well balanced composition with good details, with some fine dots of colours in the clothes!

Greetings,
Pablo -

subhendu_bagchi (26091) 2011-03-27 1:30

Dear Dada,
a nice perspective no doubt and you composed it very well. Light is harsh and the managed the details of the shadowed portion very well, though some portion of the architecture lost its details due to a bit OE, and I think the problem is unavoidable. I like the composition so much with those girls colourful dress. They added life to it. Overall it is a nice shot. Tfs.
Best wishes.
Subhendu

dip (21408) 2011-03-27 4:54

Hi Angshu,
beautiful and interesting architectural details of the walls and columns,the perspective is also great,and also the inclusion of the ladies in the foreground,
thanks for sharing,
Dimitris.

Graal (103040) 2011-03-27 23:35

Hi Angshuman,
an interesting place in village and informations in note. Unusual elements of Indo-Islamic style. Goodpresentation. Well WS also. I like it.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

papagolf21 (152607) 2011-03-28 1:02

Bonjour, cher ami Angshu,
Je ne connais pas votre secret pour obtenir de telles photographies.
Quoi qu'il en soit, ici, nous avons le droit а une superbe composition dynamisйe par les personnages en mouvement.
Quelle merveille architecturale !
Amitiйs.
Philippe

abmdsudi (95869) 2011-03-28 7:20

Namaste Angshuman
This is a beautifully composed and captured scene, with the edge of a delicate column on the fg and the ascending colorful visitors carrying the eye around and into the scene and to the far ends. Not an easy subject to get right as the side lighting above from ceiling is quite harsh catching on the upper/lower floors in the middle distance. It is very obvious a lot of thought has gone into this. The people give a good idea of the size of the place. I see this shot did not come lightly but you waited for the right conditions, so I say well-done for your patience and it is a very well worked out shot. The perspective and depth are great with strong repetitive columns, excellent detail in the crafted stones and textures. I'm quite envious of this photo as it encompasses all those elements which for me make a wonderful balance and stupendous shot. Congrats. Best regards

josepmarin (59385) 2011-03-29 2:51

Namaste, my friend Angshuman,
the architecture of this step well is impressive, because of its functionality and its rich ornamentation on the beautifully carved stone.
People ascending along the stairs provides a nice dynamism to the scene.
I like the deep perspective reached with this good framing, and the fine balance between light and shades on these historical stones.
It's a beautiful work, with an excellent informative note, as usual.
Best wishes,
Josep

Longroute (19600) 2011-03-29 7:40

You were twice lucky here: for the fine light which you found and for those beautiful girls rising the stairs!
Very pleasant composition, so dynamic, so deep and so rich in details. The fine contrast and colours make the image very alive and expressive, one can almost feel to be present on the spot.
So interesting and with a strong visual impact.
Well done,
Donato

vasilpro (41801) 2011-03-29 10:50

Hello Angshu,
Wonderful composition, lovely colors, excellent light management, very nice POV, beautiful scene, interesting place.
Have a nice evening, Vasilis.

pajaran (115989) 2011-03-29 12:27

Pozdrav.
Lepo mesto i trenutak ...
Dobar snimak i prikaz stare arhitekture, lepa fotografija.
Dobar rad i perspektiva, lepo je.
Sve najbolje.
Paja.

Google.

Hello.
Nice place and a moment ...
Good clip and view the old architecture, beautiful photos.
Good work and perspective, it is nice.
All the best.
Paja.

Fis2 (170861) 2011-03-29 12:54

Witaj Angshu!
A very interesting place.
Fantastic old architecture.
Good colors and light.
Photo has climate.
Best regards
Krzysztof

danos (110407) 2011-03-30 2:10

Hello Angshu,
nice the creating perspective from the stairs with the visitors to adds life in the scene.Excellent the decoration elements of the construction as the WS complete our knowledge about this.

Regards,Danos

npecanhuk (79329) 2011-03-30 2:47

Hello Angshuman!
That's another very attractive and truly interesting picture!
The architectural details of that building are impressive!
Sharpness, exposure, chosen pov, colors, horizontal format and composition are all very good features here!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

kordinator (8738) 2011-03-31 5:16

Hello Angshuman
Nice composition captured from high point of view.
Lovely architectural details under fantastic light.
Nice texture and colors.
Peoples on the stairs make the image liveliness.
Elegamt frame as usual.
Nice presentation of this place with excellent informative note.
Great job.
Best regards my friend.
Saљa

holmertz (102774) 2011-04-01 10:52

Hello Angshuman,
You give us another view of some great Indian architecture, this time from a fine perspective showing a number of women climbing the stairs on an imaginable diagonal. The lines created by the architecture nicely frame the central motif.
Kind regards,
Gert

Waylim (25436) 2011-04-01 11:18

Hi Angshu,
First I think the WS is wonderful and worth its own post.

I like this one for the POV of the ladies as they coming up the stair, it give the essense of the local flavor and well as a more interesting compositioin. the light is difficult with the sun and shadow, but you did a really nice jost balancing both. good colors and good details of the intricate carving of the temple. Have a good day.
Way

Atousa (7131) 2011-04-10 7:02

Salam Angshu,

A fantastic place!.. the details are great n I like the inclusion of the girls.. the light is harsh but you managed it well.. very good presentation n thanks for the WS photo as well.
Best regards, Atousa

daddo (28748) 2011-05-05 19:18

Namaste Angshu. What a sad legend and how tragic if true since Rani died for the love of her husband and Mohammed obviously loved her. Another photo from you that shows great control of light in both the preservation of detail and in the creation of a subtle and poetic mood. Th elovely ladies in their bright attire are like jewels in this setting. Best wishes. Klaudio.

batalay (41261) 2011-06-13 19:13

Hello Mr. B,

It's remarkable how much time and ingenuity was expended in creating this step well. the precision is so very impressive. I was astonishing when I first saw your photo of "The Queen Step Well" several months ago, and then that weekend in the Travel Section of the Washington Post they had the same view as yours. By including the young people you've added scale and the human element.

Warm regards,

Bulent

krzychu30 (15512) 2011-06-20 0:46

Hello Angshu,
I am really impressed by beauty of this old architecture.The picture is well captured with many details to be seen.I like the perspective and the moment youґve chosen to present us this scene.Really well done and thank you for informative Note and legend standing behind it.
Have a nice day
Krzysztof