1,400-year-old vav wows heritage lovers

VADODARA: One of the prominent stepwells or vav on the ancient trade route between present day Vasad and Bharuch was reopened for a special heritage event on Sunday morning. The glory of Navlakhi ki Vav, which is believed to be over 1,400 years old, is still intact.
The vav is a part of the private property of the Lakshmi Vilas Palace and is off limits for the general public.Over 100 heritage enthusiasts from the city participated in the special event.
According to historians, water from this step well was used during the construction of the Lakshmi Vilas Palace. "The history of this vav dates back even before the Gaekwadi rule. It is among the few remnants of the Gurjar rule in the region. It is said that vav was built during the rule of Sultan Muzaffar Shah in 15th century," said one of the organizers Krishna Shah.
Shah along with Jigar Tewar, took up the cause of re-introducing the city's heritage to the citizens. "Every few years there is a fresh group of people, who have only heard about the heritage structures in the city, but never seen them. Places like these are not only important because of their historical significance but relevant in present times also," said Tewar.
"The vav gets its name from the fact that as much as nine lakhs gold coins were spent to build it. Except for being refurbished once, over 800 years ago, the vav has never ran dry," said city-based heritage enthusiast and expert Arun Majmudar.
Majmudar added, "The trade route between Vasad and Bharuch was highly frequented and had close to 500 small and big stepwells. Navlakhi ki Vav was one of the biggest and most beautiful stepwells."