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Adalaj
Step-Well
Adalaj is a village 18 kilometers to the
north of Ahmedabad. The Vav (step-well) at
Adalaj derives its name from the lady
patron, Ruda, wife of the Vadhela chief,
Virsinh; who built it in the 15th
or 16th century A.D.
The Vav, laid out in the
north-south direction, the well in the north
and the entrance in the south, have a total
length of 75.3 meters. It is the only major
monument of its kind, which has three
entrance stairs leading to the stepped
corridor. The three entrances meet in the
first story, underground, in a huge square
platform, which has, to the top, an
octagonal opening. The platform rests on
16 pillars, eight on the corners, and
two in front of each main side. The four
corners of the platform are marked by four
built-in shrines with doors, windows and
balconies. The stepped corridor begins from
this platform. The corridor is entirely
surrounded by a one-meter high parapet wall
with a rounded topping. It descends with
four pavilion towers for five stories.
The walls of the Vav are veritable showcases
of sculptures and ornamentation. The
sculptures range from a king sitting on a
stool under a parasol to erotic scenes, and
buttermilk churning to dancing girls. The
doorframes around the entrances of the
spiritual staircases to the octagonal shaft
are surrounded by a parikrama, which
is an enlarged version of the frames around
the niches. Stringcourses running along the
sidewalls embellish all parts of the
structure sometimes. They also appear on the
walls of the octagonal shaft, depicting
floral or leaf patterns, or rows of animals.
Adalaj is a village north of Ahmedabad, 18
kilometers by road.
Sarkhej Monuments,
Ahmedabad
The famous saint, Makhadum Shaik
Ahmed Khattu, a discipline of
Baba Ishq Maghribi of Khattu, settled and
died at Srkhej, about 10 kilometers
south-west of Ahmedabad. Construction on a
dirge and mosque were begun in 1446, under
Mohammad Shah II, and completed the reign of
sultan Qutab-ud-din Ahmed shah. The
Dargah, the largest of its kind in Gujarat,
has a plinth area of 31.70m, and is roofed
by a large dome. It also has surrounding
rows of 13 pillars on each side, and
performed stone-work of a great variety
fills up the spaces above and below the
dividing stones. The inner central square,
too, is partitioned by screen walls,
perforated in steel and metal, with a door
in similar workmanship.
A porch leads from the Dargah into the
Mosque, which is to the west. The Mosque has
a roof of uniform height. Five large domes
in a row, and 40 smaller ones, symmetrically
disposed, correspond to the pillared squares
within. The roof is supported by 120 pillars
of the same pattern. The Mosque has been
elegant simplicity; the columnar style
adopted here appears to be on purpose, and
compares favorably with the arched facade of
other mosques in and around Ahmedabad. The
ablution tank is situated in an enclosed
alley, at half the height of the roof.
Access to the roof is through a porch, in
the thickness of the wall.
The tomb of sultan Mohmud Bedada is
also part of the Sarkhej complex. Stonework
covers the pillars on three sides of the
tomb, except for the east. A balcony window
projects into the tank.
The tomb has a dome of 6.4 meters diameter,
carried to 12 inner pillars and containing
tombs on raised platforms. This is
successively surrounded by a second and
third square of 20 and 28 pillars,
respectively. The roof has, besides the main
dome, 16 outer, smaller domes. Sarkhej has
an artificial lake, too.
How to get there
Sarkhej, which lies on the outskirts of
Ahmedabad, is easily accessible by road.
City bus services are available as well.
The Sun Temple
(Modhera)
The Sun Temple at Modhera is one of the two
sun Temples in the world - the other being
at Konark. Modhera, in northwestern Gujarat,
119 kilometers from Ahmedabad, is located on
a high mound, on the left bank of the river
Pushpawati. There is no data available about
the dating of the Temple. The only reference
comes from an upside down, carelessly placed
inscription on one of the walls, which reads
- Vikram Samvat 1083-, i.e., 1025 or 1026
A.D. A substantial part of the Temple is
still in its original shape and material.
The temple site at Modhera consists of three
distinct units; the Sun Temple, the Nrityamandapa,
and the Suryakunda. Sculptures of
noteworthy iconography are found all over
the Temple almost life-sized figures in the Adityas,
the Lokpalas and the Devis. The twelve
Adityas are arranged around the western part
of the cellar. They stand in Samabhanga
position, upon a pedestal of seven horses,
denoting the seven colors that emanate from
the sun. Between the boot-tips of the
deities is the charioteer Aruha. An
interesting figure is an iconography with
three heads, three arms and three legs.
In other niches and corners are figures of Shiva
and Vishnu, in various forms. The
outer walls of both the columnar hall and
the inner shrine, are exquisitely carved
with bands of sculptures; depicting
iconographic forms of various deities,
celestial beauties, dancing figures, rows of
elephants, processions of people in
different attitudes, etc. The assembly hall
has exquisitely carved pillars.
The sun temple of Modhera is an exemplary
model of art and architecture of the 11th
century - a style that was to influence the
development of temple architecture in
neighboring regions.
One can get there by road from Ahmedabad and
Mehsana. The nearest railhead is at Mehsana.
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