From garbage dump to cultural stage: Mah Laqa Bai stepwell revived in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Tucked away within the Osmania University College of Education, a forgotten 18th-century stepwell, once a centre of intellectual and cultural exchange, had become a repository of garbage and wild vegetation. Last week, that same space came alive with music and an audience of over 800, marking its rebirth as the Mah laqa Bai Stepwell. The event was the culmination of a nine-month restoration led by conservationist Kalpana Ramesh and funded by the Infosys Foundation, their fifth such collaboration.
But the evening of performance and celebration belied the complex, often frustrating journey of revival. For Ramesh, founder of the Rain Water Project and NGO SAHE, the biggest challenge wasn’t the physical restoration, but the slow process of aligning.
“The first thing is to align with the university, align with builders, and others, and get permissions,” Ramesh explained in an interview with HyderabadMail, detailing the project’s shaky start. Initial interest from a private builder fizzled out after nearly a year of promises. At the same time, proposals were sent to Infosys Foundation, a process that requires patience. Meanwhile, the stepwell continued to decay.
The breakthrough came when Infosys Foundation agreed to fund the project. But before any repairs began, Ramesh’s team started with a crucial soft launch, building awareness. “We did multiple cleanups,” she said, involving university students to build a sense of ownership and connection to the derelict site.
Once permissions, funding, and community buy-in were secured, the technical work began, handled by heritage conservation specialists. The process was precise. It started with condition mapping and photogrammetry, using photographs to document every crack and fissure. This was followed by the careful removal of invasive vegetation whose roots threatened the ancient brick-and-stone masonry.
A surprising discovery awaited the team. The original plinth and ground level were buried under nearly two feet of silt and soil. “We got another ground level,” Ramesh noted. The well was desilted, dewatered, and disinfected. Structural engineers assessed the damage, and conservation architects prepared traditional lime mortar, matching the original composition, to repair the walls. Where large sections of the parapet were lost, a discreet MS railing was installed, preserving a part-ruin aesthetic rather than a false reconstruction.
A significant puzzle emerged during the work, a constant trickle of water into the well, feared to be sewage. “The biggest challenge here? They said some sewage water is coming inside,” Ramesh recalled. Her team turned detective. They conducted water-quality tests, dug test pits, and collaborated with startups using satellite imagery to map underground water flow. The verdict was a relief, it was clean groundwater, not sewage, naturally seeping into the well.
The solution was to work with this hydrological gift. A series of rainwater harvesting pits were constructed around the precinct. These pits capture surface runoff, allow sediment to settle, and then recharge the groundwater that feeds the well, creating a sustainable water cycle.
For Ramesh, restoration is never just about the monument. “We are not only restoring, but we also see all around how it works,” she emphasised. Her design background came into play as her team reimagined the precinct. They built an amphitheater and a stage on the sunken ground, transforming the space into an open-air classroom and performance venue.
The recent inauguration event, featuring a lecture on the stepwell’s patron, the legendary courtesan and poet Mah laqa Bai Chanda, was a proof-of-concept. It demonstrated the space’s potential as a living cultural hub, exactly what it was centuries ago.
The Mah laqa Bai Stepwell is the fifth in a growing portfolio for the Rain Water Project-Infosys Foundation partnership, which includes stepwells at Rashtrapati Nilayam and Kamareddy. Ramesh’s model is clear, integrating heritage, water conservation, and community culture. She is now formalising a maintenance MoU with Osmania University to ensure the stepwell does not fall into disrepair again.
“We put a lot of thought into not just cleaning up the well and walking away,” Ramesh stated. “We are trying to connect heritage, water, and cultural narratives, protecting heritage in a big way.” In a city racing toward the future, her work offers a vital lesson, sometimes, the way forward begins by carefully unearthing and honouring the past.
