baoli

Imagine a country so dry that you have to build a 10-level stepped structure going down into the earth to get water. Such is India, where thousands of ingenious stepwells were built from the 2 nd century AD through the 19 th century, many financed by philanthropists, to whom the parched population were entirely grateful. This was before sophisticated technology allowed people to pump water from deep in the earth. Many stepwells have been abandoned and are in disrepair since the introduction of modern waterworks, plumbing and village taps. Some have been destroyed. Because the water table is even lower in recent years, many are now dry. Victoria Lautman, a freelance journalist in Chicago, has been traveling around India documenting