Delhi: Aurangzeb ki Baoli lost in the sands of time

The national Capital is dotted with several monuments reflecting the Mughal grandeur, but with the onset of urbanisation, these sites are slowly but steadily perishing. Aurangzeb ki Baoli is an example of one such legacy that is slowly getting lost in the sands of time.

The sheer ignorance about the Baoli among people depicts the disinterest in preserving history. Maulvi Zafar Hasan's book mentions about the Baoli, which was built during Aurangzeb's time but unfortunately, no other information of this historical place is available.

Situated to the west of Zafar Mahal in Mehrauli, the three-level Baoli measured 130 feet by 36 feet, while the well was 30 feet in diameter.

People of the area seemed more concerned about their business that they did not even know that the land they set up their shops and home on was actually a Baoli, a water reserve built during the infamous Mughal emperor Aurangzeb's reign.

"My mother-in-law used to tell us about a Baoli that once existed here but people broke it and made homes and eventually it disappeared", said a 60-year-old Sangeeta.

Ram Prasad, a cobbler who was reluctant to talk about the Baoli initially, later disclosed that people never cared about history and in greed of land they destroyed the Baoli. "Our ancestors used to tell us about how they used to spend time there in summers but they also never knew about its history," he said.

The area of the Baoli is now an uphill road with rows of homes, shops and warehouses on each side. The residents and owners of these homes and shops, however, were not too keen to speak about the Baoli.

SHEER IGNORANCE AND DISINTEREST

• The sheer ignorance about the Baoli among people depicts the disinterest in preserving history. People of the area seemed more concerned about their business that they did not even know that the land they set up their shops and home on was actually a Baoli, a water reserve built during the infamous Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s reign