Taj Mahal is said to be a symbol of love and India Gate a symbol of sacrifice but Adalaj Stepwell portrays the story of both love and sacrifice.

 

Adalaj stepwell, or Rudabai stepwell, is a beautiful stepwell located in the small town of Adalaj. The construction of the stepwell started in the late 16th century by King Rana Veer Singh, who came from the Vaghela dynasty. The region under the rule of Rana Veer Singh was suffering from a water crisis; therefore, his people had to walk miles in order to get water for survival. Being the king, he had to do something to get his people out of this suffering. To solve the water crisis,Rana Veer Singh started the construction of the Adalaj Stepwell. But unfortunately, before he could complete the construction of the stepwell, Mahmud Begada, the Sultan of the Gujarat Sultanate and the one who destroyed Dwarkadhish Mandir, killed him.

After killing Rana Veer Singh, when he first met his widow, Rani Rudabai, he fell in love with her and decided to marry her, but Rani Rudabai declined his order straight away. But later, she agreed to marry him, but under one condition. Rani Rudabai very cunningly put forward the condition that she would marry Mahmud Begada if he would first complete the unfinished work of Adalaj Stepwell started by her late husband, Rana Veer Singh. Mehmud Begada accepted the condition and very efficiently completed the work of the stepwell. As the construction of the stepwell was complete, Mehmud Begada was delighted as he was going to marry Ranj Rudabai, but his dream of marrying her broke into 72 pieces as Rani Rudabai jumped into the same stepwell and committed suicide.

 

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