In a contrast to the skyscrapers of Connaught Place, Ugrasen Ki Baoli measures the depth of the city. Youngsters tell Darpan Mago how the ‘cool’ hideout scores over cafes
Ugrasen Ki Baoli on Hailey Road in Connaught Place is an architectural delight still struggling to make its mark amongst many of Delhi’s heritage sites. Offering a peaceful retreat in the crammed city, this step-well is located in the middle of many tall buildings and has somehow managed to survive the modern onslaught. As you go down the steps, there is a drop in temperature and the scorching heat fades away slowly. Rejoicing a relaxation time from his industrious work life, Anirudh Narang, a visitor at the baoli fondly recalls the memories of his grandmother, a regular at the baoli. “During my breaks, I often come here to dive into the serenity of this place. When I was 10, we didn’t have ACs. During the summer breaks, my grandmother used to cut sweet mangoes and read me short stories of Premchand. We used to shut doors and lie on the cool marble floor of the house. It is the same coolness and peace that I feel when I come to this place. Unfortunately, my grandmother is no more and a new air conditioner keeps my apartment chilled all day long,” says Anirudh.
The baoli is 60 m long and 15 m wide. Satya Bhushan Jain, the president of an NGO serving the Vaish community, takes care of the whole place in his luxuriant office at the site. “Our forefathers belonged to the community who had built this baoli. It was built by Raja Ugrasen, the forefather of the Agrawal community during the Mahabharata epic era and it was also later rebuilt by the same community around 14th century AD. There is also a small mosque located here with three openings on the west. During earlier times baolis had a great significance. When people suffered from heat, many civilisations and dynasties came up with a solution to construct stepwells to store water and cope with seasonal fluctuations in monsoon. To keep it cool and prevent rapid evaporation of water, baolis were usually dug deep with many steps. These places became a common juncture fostering social interactions and prominent festivals were also celebrated here,” says Satya Bhushan.
A flight of about 104 steps leads one towards the small passages alongside the walls, which nests many pigeons. The archs have become permanent homes to bats and pigeons. Today, countless young visitors flock the place daily seeking for private moments. “Cafes are over crowded. We find peace here. Thankfully, couples who visit this place, are neither attacked by fundamentalists nor harassed by police officials,” says Karan, a visitor sitting along with his lady love.
There is no fee for entering the complex. Shiv Nath Yadav, a humble guy, sits all day long at the entrance. He lives in a small dingy room in the same complex and has been there from the past four years. “Most of the stepwells in our country are ill-maintained. luckily, this place is only becoming famous and invites many enthusiastic tourists and youngsters. Ugrasen ki Baoli has also been featured in Bollywood films like Chandni Chowk To China and is a part of Aamir Khan and Anushka Sharma’s forthcoming film Peekay,” says Shiv Nath.
Though this baoli has now dried up, a group of environmentalist had recently put up a small model, demonstrating how the place could be revived and used for storing water.