Bawli of Dixitpura and Ujar Purva,Agha khan Chowk,Jabalpur

Heritage are dying due to corruption in public as well as in administration

Save Heritage-It needs joint venture of public with concerned Govt.Bawlis

Another tragedy of the death of Bawdi which may be seen at Near Gopal Sadan, Dixit Pura, Jabalpur. The Bawdi is almost filled by the new construction of a House (owner is known as VAKIL Saheb) adjacent to it, so the period of the Bawdi is now difficult to detect.

The Bawdi at Ujar Purwa, near Agha Khan Chowk might have been a beautiful and luxurious Bawdi but now due to encroachments in its campus and in its surroundings spoiled the look of the Bawdi and it is being used as a dustbin.

 If the Department of Archeology and/or Department of tourism take over and renovate it, it may get its original beauty. The whole thing is that the sincerity is most important in giving the life to such heritage i.e. just repairing is not enough but the provision of maintenance should also be attached simultaneously.Otherwise there is no need of useless public investment as normally is being done in repair work of the Bawdis in MP.

vijaynathsondhi@gmail.com

Bawdis in Gadha, Jabalpur

Another area in Jabalpur flooded by Talabs and Bawdis is Gadha(this is the place from where Gond ruler form the base of their empire in MP). The Raja Piya Ki Bawdi is in Labour Chowk . Interestingly a Notice Board is placed on the gate of the Bawdi with an instruction that no body will make the Bawdi dirty and inspite of it the Bawdi is full of( KAIE )water fungus,garbage, disposable polythene bags etc..and surrounded by encroachments.

The second Bawdi is in the Gadha market adjacent to the Radhakrishna temple. This Bawdi of the period of Gond Rular Rani Durgawati. This Bawdi is full of water and unfortunately full of fungus and disposable items and garbage. I asked the local people to take care of the Bawdi and do not make it dirty .. …..

After that I moved towards the Tilwara Road and reached KalBhairon temple where is a Zim also. The bawdi adjacent to this temple is marvelous and beautifully built of hard stone but there is no water.

The fourth Bawdi is out side of the Subhash MedicalCollege, Bedha Ghat Road which fuly dry and filled bygarbage and hardly people know about this bawdi.

The fifth Bawdi was on the opposite side of the road at Pisanhari ki Madaiya which I came to know form the localpeople that that Bawdi was filled by the Jain Trust of Pisan Hari and made some buildings, perhaps guest house..A jain Trust have made huge religious complex at Vellari adjacent to Raja Karan Ki Bawdi and affecting and destroying the beauty of the heritage .Such activities should not be encouraged in the name of cast/religion.

The question is whether these Bawdis should be renovated or leave these to die and so history.Or we should take care of it and make them as our picnic/tourist spots and/or source of water at the  time of crisis in summer. The solution is that our civil administration should take care of it and the resident Associations should have watchdog eyes in keeping its maintenance and so keep our historical city beautiful.

Gadha is not flooded by Bawdis,this region is full of Talabs (viz.Supa Talab maintained by stateDepartment of Tourism)

 and few have pictorial view surrounded by hills (viz. Dev Tal.and others.>)
                             Dev Tal

 

Tal above the Dev Tal on the hills

                                    Temples at the entrance of Dev Tal, Gadha

On the right side  hill of the Dev Tal , there are few temples on it and at the centre a Neem tree where number of old idols mostly broken are kept here.

From here,when we go down from the other side , there is a Chashma (Kund) which is being used by the encrochers for taking bath and washing cloths.The encrochers have spoiled the beauty of this place.

In Dev Tal near Osho Ashram there is one more Talab adjacent to the Ashram.

Like Supa Tal, the State Department of Tourism may take initiative to develop other Talabs of Jabalpur viz Rani Tal ( where the JMC has connected drainage outlet)etc, and do publicity and start a tourist bus for the trip to Talabs of Jabalpur and earn revenue. This will also generate employments.The maintenance of Dev Tal by removing Jal Kumbhi/Kaie, will enhance the the beauty of  its pictorial view and so the beauty of the city.And next step for Bawdis with the collaboration of the State Department of Archaeology.

vijaynathsondhi@gmail.com
30.05.2014

Bawdis near Ramnagar, Gwari Ghat Road, Jabalpur, MP

Ramnagar, Gwari Ghat Road, Jabalpur:
There is a Purani Basti in Ranpur known as Ramnagar,Gwari Ghat Road, in Jabalpur. On its opposite side there is a Mazar of Pir Baba and a lovely Bawdi is in this campus. Comparatively this Bawdi is much cleaner than other three more Bawdis in the surroundings of this place . However the water needs to be clean to make it useful.

The other Bawdi is in front of an old Shive temple (which appears of Kulturi period, on a hill). 

This Bawdi is closed by the net of the iron rods for precautionary measure as the boundary of the Bawdi has disappeared by the time and the level of the Bawdi is at the level of the road.

We should think over that how we can utilize these Bawdis and protect as our heritage. At least the  poor traveler who can not buy bottle of mineral water may use it. The fashion of taps of Corporation in the colonies and on side of the road has become outdated and the hidden reason appears the commercialization of water by the private entrepreneurs.

The Murtis in the Shiva temple and architecture of the pillars are marvelous. The most attractive Murtis are of Shiva Parvati (which appears of 11^th century AD), Ganesha and Panchmukhi Mahadev and Narsinghroop of Vishnu. There are numbers of Murtis sculptured on the pillars and walls of the temple. 

came to know from the Pujari of the temple that theMP state Department of archeology as well as of Centre(ASI) had visited the temple but none of them are taking care of the temple. It is a matter of surprise that how the Murtis of this temple had been escaped from the terror of the Mughals and so could save the beauty of the temple.

The third Bawdi is just one hundred meters ahead from this place on the right side of the road where a temple is which appears of late eighteenth century AD. The well of the Bawdi is closed by the net of the iron rods; however the stare case is open to go inside of it. The condition is very bad and has no maintenance. It appears a private property as a person sitting near it making alarm when I was taking photographs.

The fourth Bawdi is also about one hundred meters ahead to the above on the right side of the road of Gwari Ghat. On front side of the Bawdi a narrow temple has been made, so, it is not visible easily.

As per my observation, on one side the the Jabalpur city was flooded by the Talabs and on theother side the suburbs of it were flooded by Bawdis and the condition of both have been very poor day by day. Who will take initiative to protect and maintain these to bring in its original glory and how could it be done are the questions for us.

vijaynathsondhi@gmail.com
29.05.2014

Bawdis sorrounding Kuan Gaon, Siohara Tahaseel.Jabalpur

I have visited KUAN GAON, Bahuriband Taheseet, District Katni, about 10 km from Seohara Taheseel. Dist. Jabalpur, MP with a prime objective to study Bawdis of this village. There are three Bawdis in this village within the radius of 100 mts. The oldest Bawdis among these three appears which is near a small temple closer to Naik’s Temple (where is the Murti of Baikunth Roop of Bishnu of 10^th centuryAD) which looks now as well. But the senior local people say that there  were stair case in it, so it was not simply a well it was Bawdi. (Picture No.-1) Now there is only remains of only one

                                                                   
                                                                   (Picture No.-1)

 lovely Murti on the wall of the dilapidated Bawdi. They also metion that numbers of Murtis could be found on digging the Bawdi. The Bawdi is now full of dust, no water. No one claims the ownership of this Bawdi.

The second Bawdi  is  on the opposite side of the road in the Shesh Nag Temple. This bawdi was originally built of stones but it appears in the nineteenth century it might had been renovated because the material used in repairing was not same. (picture No.-2-8)

             
             (Picture No.-2)                                                         (Picture No.-3)

(Picture No.-4)

                           
                             (Picture No.-5)                                           (Picture No.-6)

                                                            (Picture No.-7)

(Picture No.-8)

 Secondly the old Murtis of the Bawdi were repasted on  the walls of the Bawdi unsystematically.

This Bawdi is in the possesstion of a Tiwari family of the Kuan Gaon.However they are ready to get it renovated by the Department of Archeology.

The Third Bawdi in the village is at a distance of 100 mt. from the  Shesh nag temple towards Bahuriban. This is a dry and filling place of garbage and body is claiming for this Bawdi, i.e. the bawdis which does not have water, no one is claiming the ownership. (Picture No.-9 to 11)

(PIcture No.-9)

(PIcture No.-10)

                                                  (Picture No.11)
 In such Bawdis if the Department of Archeology do some extra efforts to give the life to these Bawdis, the department will not face the problem of arranging Ekrarnama.

The fourth Bawdi is in Kharada which is about a half km. from Kuan Gaon toward Sehora. The condition of this Bawdi is very poor mainly the weeds and mud have covered the stair case and the well.

                                                             
                                                           (Picture No.-12)

                                                                      (Picture No.-13)
Here is no claimer of this Bawdi also. Nothing is difficult if the Department of Archeology take a decision to revive these heritages.



vijaynathsondhi@gmail.com

24.05.2014