The Forgotten Stepwells of Telangana: A Research and Publication Agreement between HMDA and HDF
Hyderabad: On Tuesday, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the investigation and publishing of “The Forgotten Stepwells of Telangana” was signed by the Hyderabad Design Forum (HDF) and the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA).
In order to make step wells a permanent and reliable record of reference, the Hyderabad Design Forum (HDF), a guild of working designers, volunteered to take on the duty of documenting and publishing step wells.
In rural Telangana and the walled city of Hyderabad, more than 110 wells in five primary typologies with ages ranging from 1,000 to 200 years have so far been found by HDF field surveys.
The HDF is undertaking physical site assessments, photographic documentation, and oral interviewing to document these water features.
The importance of these wells in the socio-religious and agricultural life of medieval Telangana are being examined by a group of ten architects, each of whom is willingly conducting independent study on a different issue.
With reference to this intriguing inverted design, researchers are looking at hydrology, geology, Vastu and Agama construction rules, gender behavior, history, folklore, and iconography.
The study’s conclusion will appear in an illustrated scientific book titled “The Forgotten Step Wells of Telangana,” which is scheduled for release in May 2023. Arvind Kumar and HDF president Yeshwant Ramamurthy signed the MoU in the presence of top architects from the Forum.
