Agrasen Ki Baoli is a remarkable and intriguing landmark in Delhi. Overshadowed by the city’s tall and present day structures, just a couple of tourists and locals know of the presence of this noteworthy step well in the national capital domain. So it is no big wonder that you have been born and brought up in Delhi, and are still unaware about what exactly is this Agrasen ki Baoli. Don’t fret, this section exclusively talks about this very spot only.
Bumped into an online deal of cheap flights from Chennai to Delhi, and don’t know how to use the offer to its best capacity? Well, here is an idea. Why not take a tour around Delhi’s unsung, quaint monuments and reminiscences of the past? Delhi is brimming with such intriguing spots and landmarks that are still waiting to narrate their stories to avid travellers and tourists like you. Of them all, one is Agrasen ki Baoli. Read ahead to know about this.
So what is Agrasen ki Baoli? It is a 60-meter long and 15-meter wide verifiable step well on Hailey Road, close to Connaught Place, in New Delhi. While there are no authentic records to demonstrate who actually built this well, but it’s trusted that it was built by the then ruler Agrasen amid the epic period of Mahabharat. It was modified in the fourteenth century by the Agrawal community of Hindus which follows its root to Maharaja Agrasen.
This intriguingly designed step well has a flight of around 103 steps, driving towards the base that once used to store water and also comprises of five distinct levels. Not at all like the other conventional step wells that are mostly round in shape, this one is formed diversely with one end of it being a raised stage with rooftop and the flip side without a rooftop being shaded by an enormous neem tree. Today there is no water in the baoli, however, the well is home to numerous pigeons and bats.
Though the water inside the well has dried up by now, but some hair raising spooky stories associated with the baoli still dwell in here. One can actually feel a strange presence there inside the well, as reported by the sightseers. Today the baoli majorly inundated by pigeons and bats, but once it was brimming with dark colored water, which is believed to have had an eerie character. People used to hear voices calling out to them from inside the water, asking them to sacrifice their lives. Many even jumped to death! Maybe this is the reason that till today, one can actually feel something paranormal while at the step well. The water actually mesmerized and drove people insane enough to commit suicide at this well.
Today, the Agrasen ki Baoli is a landmark which is very well protected by the Archeological Survey of India, under its Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958.
So, now at least you know where to invest your time in Delhi when you get tempting cheap flights from Chennai to Delhi? Make the most of your trip to the capital city, and hope you have a lot of fun.
Anjali is a travel enthusiast currently associated with an online travel search engine. Read to know about places to visit in delhi India.