CENTER FOR ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Sas-Bahu Temples, Nagda, Rajasthan

Seraulim, Baroque Architecture, Goa

Shah Nimatullah complex, Hansi

This step well (baoli) is well known as 'choron ki baoli' (thiefs' step well). It is located approximately half a kilometer from Meham on the Bhiwani-Meham road in Mohalla Kishangarh. It is one of the finest and the best preserved step-wells in Haryana. According to an inscription on the well, it was built by Saidu Kala, a chobdar to Emperor Shah Jahan in 1658-59 AD. The baoli, an elaborate structure of brick and kankar block, has one hundred one steps in three stages, separated by landings, leading to water level. At the end of flights of steps, is the circular well. The subsidiary staircases built within the thickness of the walls provide access to the landings. The step-well is currently surrounded by local dwellings.

The palace currently aligns the main market of the town like other monuments of the area. Built by Faujdar Khan in 1733, Sheesh Mahal complex consists of the main building and some small structures with a landscaped garden. This complex is approached by a flight of steps within a cusped arched gateway into a garden with interesting water channels and pool set within the garden. Sheesh Mahal is a double storeyed building made in local stone, slate and lime. The building is rectangular in plan with two staircases at both sides to access the first floor level. Flat wooden ceiling resting on beams span the interiors of the Mahal. The facade is adorned with arched openings and continuous peripheral stone brackets. The structures on the side of the palace and floor above the entrance block exhibit 19th century Colonial features and interventions from the British times.