Birkha Bawri - A 21st century active India Stepwell

Birkha Bawri – A 21st century active India Stepwell

The third stepwell sites which I visited in Jodhpur Rajasthan, after Toor Ji Ka Jhalra and Mahila Bagh Ka Jhalra, was Birkha Bawri.

Now Birkha Bawri isn’t a 6th or 16th century Ancient India Stepwell, built by a royal family. Birkha Bawri is a 21st-century Stepwell developed by real estate firm, Umaid Heritage.

Moreover, this isn’t any tourist site, and I had to contact its architect A Mridul for permission to take photographs, which I got.

Location of Birkha Bawri

Birkha Bawri is in a housing society which is just opposite The Umaid Bhawan Palace which is the eastern most side of Jodhpur.

View of Umaid Bahwan Palace from Birkha Bawri

So first I had to confirm the guard & then the local management inside the society that I have permission from Mridul & after that they sent a bouncer type guy, just to assist me to reach this 21st-century stepwell.

Why was Birkha Bawri built?

Well in Birkha Bawri

I learnt after visiting Toor Ji Ka Jhalra that till 1996, Jodhpur relied on more than 50 stepwells in the city to improve the ground water of the city.

Now the story behind Birkha Bawri is that Umaid Heritage group had built this amazing society, but they were facing issues of proper water supply from local municipal authorities. So to provide adequate water supply, A Mridul idea to conserve water in a Bawri was accepted by Umaid Heritage and today Birkha Bawri can store over 17.5 million liters of rainwater. More than four major awards have been given to this unique idea.

So here are some pictures for you and my collection of Indian Stepwell Sites.

Entrance of Birkha Bawri

Structure of Birkha Bawri

Birkha Bawri

Birkha Bawri Stepwell

Stairs of Birkha Bawri

Birkha Bawri

About the Author: Jatin Chhabra

Hi all, I am Jatin Chhabra, born and raised in Delhi India, For me traveling isn't just a hobby, its more than that. More like a way of living my life and I do it every last week of every month. Attraction which attracts me are Off-beat ones and I always try to visit them before me or they, get perish.

8 Comments

Neena Sharma at

Beautifully captured!
Ritu Raj at

extraordinary feeling of presence there
Shreya Majumder at

Is this the right time to bidit Rajasthan??how is the whether there??
- Jatin Chhabra at
  
  Quite nice. Max is 20-25 and min is 10-15
  Extra chill in Sand dune area like Jaisalmer
Vaishnavi at

Is this site open to all? What are the timings? :)
- Jatin Chhabra at
  
  Hi Vaishnavi, Birkha Bawri isn’t a tourist attraction so its not open for common public. But if you want to visit this site then you need to ask permission from Umaid Heritage Group in Jodhpur. They might allow.
ER.KIRIT B Trivedi at

Very nice, congratulations.
I am thankful to you for sharing such a wonderful article, because I am also very fond of reading water resources management schemes for the benefit of our society.
Once again congratulations. Can you please send me the more information regarding birkha stepwell if you can.
Waiting for your favorable reply.
- Jatin Chhabra at
  
  Hi, well I can share the contact details of the designer. He is Mr A Mridul & his website is amridul-architect.com

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Birkha Bawri – A 21st century active India Stepwell