A Step Back by Simon de Trey-White

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  29th October, 2012, Mehrauli, New Delhi, India. Local painter 22 year old Sheikh Nazir Udin dives into the water to rinse himself while bathing at the Gandhak Ki Baoli in Mehrauli At the turn of the last century, Delhi had more than 100 baolis, today, many of them have caved in or dried up owing to the declining water table. The number has shrunk to about 15, according to the ASI. Stepwells (Baolis) are examples of the many types of storage and irrigation tanks that were developed in India, mainly to cope with seasonal fluctuations in water availability. PHOTOGRAPH BY AND COPYRIGHT OF SIMON DE TREY-WHITE + 91 98103 99809 + 91 11 435 06980 [phone] [phone] email: [e-mail]

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  A local painter, Sheikh Nazir Udin descends the steps of the Gandhak Ki Baoli in Mehrauli to bathe.

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  Salim, a local Nizamuddin resident, enjoys the water at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Baoli.

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  The Red Fort's 14th century baoli features unusual octagonal, double-story design.

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  A man is bathed by a woman as another looks on, at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Baoli, the only one of Delhi's baolis to be fed by springs.

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  A group of girls pose for pictures at the Agrasen ki Baoli in New Delhi.

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  Pigeons fly through a sunbeam in the well-shaft of the Agrasen ki Baoli in New Delhi as bats roost above them on the underside of the domed roof.

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  View of the beautiful and unusual circular baoli at Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi, which was built inside a fortress by Sultan Feroz ShahTughlaq.

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  A man swims in the Hazrat Nizamuddin Baoli, the only one of Delhi's baoli's fed by springs.

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  Men from a small group of caretakers, of the tombs of Muslim saints, sit by a fire in the morning by Gandhak Ki Baoli in Mehrauli.

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  Girls chat as joggers run along the edge of the man-made Hauz Khas lake at Hauz Khas village at duck in New Delhi.

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  A man relaxes at dusk beside the man-made Hauz Khas lake at Hauz Khas village in New Delhi.

A triumph of both form and function, stepwells (or baolis in Hindi) used to be a common sight on Delhi's landscape, each one supplying water reserves and a shaded communal space for the many people it served.? More than 100 such stepwells were in existence in the city a century ago – with their secluded chambers and passageways, baolis were often also used for informal social gatherings and formal religious ceremonies – but recent Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) estimates suggest only 15 sites remain today.

Those that do survive are either crumbling into disrepair, shuttered from public use or doomed to dry up as their water supply struggles to cope with modern demands.? The story of the lost baolis, and the few that remain, is the tale of any society that has, or is, experiencing rapid development.

Simon de Trey-White, a British photographer who lives in India, began to wonder about the fate of Delhi’s stepwells after signing up for a guided walk around some of the city’s remaining examples. He was “blown away” by what he saw.

“I’d been living in the city for five years and though I knew of one, I had no idea there were so many and that they were so beautiful, “They are fantastic places to go to escape the noise and rush of Delhi.” ?He says the few that remain are magical, replete with cool passageways and dramatic architecture, where every class of society used to intersect, each one seeking sanctuary from the noisy streets and incessant heat outside its sculpted walls.

Today, these hidden treasures are mainly the preserve of an unlikely congregation of miscreant schoolchildren, star-crossed lovers and contemplative pilgrims.

*Nick March, editor of The Review