Raniji-ki-Baori (Queens Stepwell)
Bundi, Rajasthan
Built in 1699 by Rani Nathavati Solanki, queen of Rao Raja Anirudh Singh, and about forty-six metres deep — a multi-storey stepwell with a place of worship on each level, carved brackets running down the sides, and a narrow four-pillared entrance under a high arched gate, with stone elephants facing each other in the corners. Bundi has dozens of stepwells and most are locked, dry or full of rubbish; this is the one kept open and maintained. Go in the morning, while the sun still reaches down the shaft — by afternoon the carving is in shadow and stops reading.
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