The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c30.s1.16.4

v3.c30.s1.16.4

It is the same also with the exquisitely carved sluice heads that emptied their waters into the lakes at Sarkhej and Kankariyā, insignificant structures in themselves but finished with that perfection of taste which can make the commonest things beautiful; and it is the same also with the impressive step-wells or *wāvs* such as that built in 1499–1500 by Bāī Harīr, the Superintendent of the royal haram, or the still more magnificent example in the village of Adālaj. Though larger and more elaborate, these step-wells are designed on essentially the same lines as the older step-wells of the Hindus, of which the finest extant specimen is that of Mātā Bhavanī, dating from about the eleventh century. They consist, that is to say, of a circular or octagonal well-shaft approached on one side by a broad stairway which descends flight upon flight to the water's edge; on the landings between the flights are pillared galleries, whose tiers are multiplied as the depth increases and which serve at once as supports to counteract the inward thrust of the long side walls and as cool resting-places in the heat of summer. There are no other wells in the world that, structurally and decoratively, can compare with these step-wells of Western India, and it was because their builders were content to keep to the established traditions of the country that they were able to attain such perfection. So long as the Muslims could do this, the ground was safe and their success assured.