Queen’s Stepwell at Patan

Speaker: Kirit Mankodi

April 28, 1999
Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai

In the arid region of Western India a highly original architectural form developed, that of the stepped well: a well with a long flight of steps leading down to the water’s edge. The structural necessity to hold back the loose earth transformed the flight of steps into many pillared ornate pavilions.

The Queen’s Stepwell at Patan was built by Udayamati in memory of her husband in the late eleventh century. In the number and quality of its sculptures, it remains the best example of its kind.