Purnima Mehta Bhatt - Her Space, Her Story: Exploring the Stepwells of Gujarat

Her Space, Her Story:
Exploring the Stepwells of Gujarat

A fascinating, multi-disciplinary exploration of water, wells and womens spaces in Gujarat. Centuries ago, in the arid landscape of Gujarat, where water is scarce and rains scanty, stepwells sustained life and enabled crops to flourish. Women played a major role in the construction and patronage of many of these stepwells, which were unique structures that linked three worlds: the subterranean, the earthly and the celestial. Women also frequently served as inspiration for their construction these were often built to honour a virtuous wife or benevolent mother, a local goddess or a beloved mistress. As a gathering place for women, the stepwells also became a favourite subject in folklore. Every stepwell yields tales of love and betrayal, courage and sacrifice. Through a historical analysis and visual documentation of these distinctly female spaces, Purnima Bhatt sheds light on the relationship between women, water, architecture and religion. Examining the artistic and aesthetic aspects of these structures, the author describes the art of the stepwells as looking beyond the patriarchal gods of classical Hinduism and celebrating the feminine principle. She also explores the idea of these wells acting as indicators of womens changing social and economic status and challenging the stereotypes of the passivity of women. Her focus on the woman factor aims to give voice to countless women who are forgotten and neglected by history, thereby making the invisible, visible.

About the Author

Purnima Mehta Bhatt is a Professor of History, Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies at Hood College in the USA. She is the author of Scholars Guide to Washington D.C.: African Studies ; Shardaben Mehta: Una Mujer Exceptionale en al India de su Tiempo ; and Reminiscences: The Memoirs of Shardaben Mehta .

Photograph courtesy: Dilip Thakor

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For Kiran and Daniel

Fortunate, indeed, is he who has but once seen a stepwell;
success in all his works follows him

Anonymous

Contents

List of Photographs

Acknowledgements

Many individuals provided me immense help during the course of my research. I would like to express my appreciation to them for without their support, encouragement and assistance, this book would not have been published. I would especially like to thank Daniel del Solar for his unbounded enthusiasm during our trips to photograph the stepwells and Dr Ramjibhai Savalia, Director of B. J. Institute, Ahmedabad for his continuous support. I also would like to thank Ms Rafikaben Sultana, Curator of the Museum at Gujarat Vidyapith, and Dr Kansara and Ms Sudha Mehta for help in translating the Gujarati folk songs and poems. This project was made possible through a sabbatical leave from Hood College. Most of all, I am indebted to Kiran, Anuradha and my mother, who shared my excitement about this project every step of the way.

Important stepwells in Gujarat which were commissioned by women or built to honour them

Women with water pots on their way to the wells (Photograph courtesy of Kingdom of Grace Ministries)

Introduction

This book examines and documents the role women played in the building and patronage of and as inspiration for the numerous stepwells of Gujarat from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries. It provides a historical analysis and visual documentation of the stepwells, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the relationship between women, water, architecture and religion. My book has a unique perspective: it examines the stepwells primarily as a distinct space for women.

In the past decade, a number of excellent and carefully researched books on stepwells have been published, notably Morna Livingstons Steps to Water: The Ancient Stepwells of India ; Jutta Jain-Neubauers The Stepwells of Gujarat: In ArtHistorical Perspective ; Kirit Mankodis The Queens Stepwell at Patan ; and Jaikishandas Sadanis The Underground Shrine: Queens Stepwell at Patan , along with numerous monographs and articles. These scholarly works have made a major contribution to enhancing our knowledge of the stepwells, and I owe a debt of gratitude to them. However, this book will be the first to focus on the unique perspective of the woman factor. More often than not, women appear as silent spectators in history, not active participants. Recent scholarship points to an urgent need to call into question why womens lives, their contributions and perspectives have been so vastly neglected. There is a compelling urgency, I believe, to correct the historical record to more accurately reflect womens perspectives and achievements, to hear their voices, which have remained silent for so many centuries, and to make the invisible, visible.