Saturday 1 April 2017

A is for Adalaj step-well #AtoZChallenge

"All, everything that I understand,
I understand only because I love."
Leo Tolstoy

Welcome to my blog. This is my second A to Z challenge and like last year, I am theme-less. Words are my wine; I love them. So I hope I can share 'words' that talk to me. They may come strung in sentences or held in quotation marks to give them the importance they deserve. At times they'll flow freely in poetry or ramble down memory lanes and at times they may refuse to step out at all! We'll deal with their blockades when we come to them.

All's well for 'A' though, who I found impressed upon a well-thumbed menu at the Library Bar (in Split, Croatia) last night. The lighting was dim but the words by Tolstoy shone like diamonds. I start my challenge with them. 

I do hope you'll enjoy your time here. 
*****

An entire month of challenge lies ahead.
Pause for a bit in the shade.
Rest your feet.
The road ahead is unknown.
Walk in
to draw from the well.

Wells, we all have,
wait inside us:
to find our silence.

Stirred up
Churned up
It takes time to become still.

Come,
sit and sip from your well of tranquility.

*****
I saw my first step-well in February this year at Adalaj in Gujarat, India. Wells are called 'vav' in Gujarati.
"Set in the quiet village of Adalaj, this vav has served as a resting place for hundreds of years for many pilgrims and caravans along their trade routes. Built in 1499 by Queen Rudabai, wife of the Vaghela chief, Veersinh, this five-storey stepwell was not just a cultural and utilitarian space, but also a spiritual refuge. It is believed that villagers would come everyday in the morning to fill water, offer prayers to the deities carved into the walls and interact with each other in the cool shade of the vav." 
The information is from Gujarat Tourism website. 
For more details, check out: 







Enjoy the weekend.
Flutter your wings and be free:)
See you with 'B'.

8 comments:

  1. Your site is lovely! Words are your wine...love that thought. I'll be back. Glad you are doing the challenge. My focus is fiber, paper, hand made book structures & other artful pursuits. Hope you will take a look at mine.
    Abstract Art

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    1. Thank you for visiting Linda. Your focus sounds great as I love artful pursuits and stationery. All the best for the challenge.

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  2. Words are your wine....love it!

    You've got a very beautiful site and I like how your first post is both whimsical and educational. :)

    Looking forward to more!

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    1. Thank you for visiting and commenting Arpan:)

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  3. Wish you luck with the challenge, Arti! You did it last year.....you Will do it again, am sure. Get us intoxicated on your wine:-)

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    1. Ha! Ha! You can blame Croatia for the analogy...I wrote the post after a trip to the bar:) BUT, in my defence, it was the Library Bar.

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