Manchar Stepwell: Manchar Stepwell Village: Manchar Taluka: Ambegaon District: Pune

MANCHAR STEPWELL
Manchar Stepwell
Village : Manchar
Taluka : Ambegaon
District : Pune
One of the areas of knowledge India excelled in the past was building efficient water
management systems. The historical water conservation and supply systems in the
arid regions of India are testimony to this fact. However, thanks to the changed
notion of development, many of the structures which served the need of people for
centuries suddenly became redundant and are lying in the state of misery today. At
a time when several parts of the country are facing severe water shortage, the need
to revive these invaluable water sources cannot be emphasised more.
Stepwell is undoubtably one of such system which served the water requirement of
people for drinking, bathing, washing and even irrigation occasionally. The State of
Maharashtra has thousands of Stepwells. If revived, they could become an excellent
source of water for drinking and domestic use for people in rural areas. And the
first step to do this is to map and document all the stepwells in the state.
With this goal in mind, we have set out on a journey to explore the historic
stepwells in Maharashtra and have mapped 1800+ Stepwells so far.
INTRODUCTION TYPES OF BARAV
• The name ‘barav’ comes from a traditional unit of measurement
called ‘bav’, equivalent to 1.5 metres. There are few types of
barav by the names kund, jalmandavi, and pushkarini , jaya,
bhadra, nanda.
• Baravas are modified versions of kuṇḍas or ponds that are built
with steps resembling a funnel, with their size decreasing from
top to bottom.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
• They can be of any shape from square, oblong to octagonal and
can be of variable depths depending on the level of groundwater.
• One of the areas of knowledge india excelled in the past was
building efficient water management systems. The historical water
conservation and supply systems in the arid regions of india are
testimony to this fact.
• Stepwell is undoubtably one of such system which served the
water requirement of people for drinking, bathing, washing and
even irrigation occasionally.
STATE CONTEXT-MAHARASHTRA
• The state of maharashtra has thousands of stepwells. If revived,
they could become an excellent source of water for drinking and
domestic use for people in rural areas. And the first step to do this
is to map and document all the stepwells in the state.
• With this goal in mind, we have set out on a journey to explore
the historic stepwells in maharashtra and have MANCHAR
mapped 1800+ stepwells so far.
CITY CONTEXT-PUNE-MANCHAR
• Once upon a time, baravs were an inherent part of many
settlements and temple precincts in pune. A barav next to a shade-
giving tree is a common sight in some of villages of pune even
today.
• Elsewhere, although baravs may have been destroyed over a
period, their memory remains intact amongst the older generation
of people.
• Interestingly, in the junnar taluka (a block) a village itself is
named as ‘barav’ after an old barav which once existed there. In
short, baravs were an inseparable part of many settlements.
• This story talks about two baravs which are more than 600 years
old, built somewhere in the early 14th century.
• One of them is found at manchar town in ambegaon taluka and
the other one is found at loni bhapkar village in baramati taluka of
pune district. The barav at manchar is still used by the people for
bathing and swimming
THE BARAV AT MANCHAR
• The town of Manchar was once a small village during medieval times, located on the
trade route connecting the historic towns of Paithan (famous for its sarees) and Junnar.
• The barav found in Manchar is a beautiful one located next to a small water course called
as ‘Khardi Nala’. This barav is fed by a natural spring and contains ample water
throughout the yea.
• In Manichar, there lived an able, just, brave, and handsome person named Ladidev, who
was the son of the village head (mentioned as pattelvarya).
• One night in his dream, Ladidev sees Mother Earth expressing her wish to permanently
reside in his village. Waking up the next day, Ladidev recollects his dream and decides to
build a barav at a suitable spot in the village where Mother Earth would permanently
reside in the form of water.
• He thinks that the bar would also help in relieving the water stress conditions
experienced by the villagers of Manchar due to frequent droughts.
• In Manichar, there lived an able, just, brave, and handsome person named Ladidev, who
was the son of the village head (mentioned as pattelvarya).
• The barav at Manchar is nearly a square which tapers from a width of 22 metres on its
topmost side to nearly half the length (11 m) at the bottom side.
• It has two entrances – one from the south and another from the east. After descending
down from these two entrances, one reaches to an intermediate landing that has a raised
seating platform.
• Steps are a striking feature of this barav. Adjacent steps contain protruding stone blocks
at regular intervals to counterbalance the thrust of the soil from behind.
• They also act as intermediate seating platforms, creating a beautiful rhythmic pattern,
which highlights the aesthetic side of structural elements.
• A stone inscription housed in the western parapet wall, narrates an interesting story about
the construction of this barav. According to the Sanskrit inscription, Manichar (previous
name of Manchar) was a beautiful village stationed in the hills of Amargiri.
• Today, the barav is popular amongst the people of Manchar as ‘angholichi
barav’ (meaning barav used for bathing). Many adults and school-going kids assemble at
the barav during early morning hours for bathing.
• A small channel carries water from the barav into a kund, which is a small stepped pond
located on its eastern side. Women assemble at this kund daily for washing clothes.
• Thus, while the barav becomes a social interaction space for men, the kund becomes an
interactive space for women, who get a break from their daily routine and find a few
leisure moments for chatting with each other while washing their clothes.

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