Exploring the D of Delhi - Maharaja Agrasen ki Bowli

I want to travel the whole world one day. And one day I will. But before that I must travel my India and to start this I must tour my neighboring city, APNI DILLI. There are numerous monuments and hundreds of beautiful places hidden amidst the concrete jungle.

Few months back while doing casual net surfing, the picture of Maharaja Agrasen ki Bowli caught my attention. And I decided to visit the place, but it took me few months to act on my decision.

So, one fine Sunday afternoon I picked up my camera and decided to explore this unexplored place. Plenty of times I visited the Connaught place and still not visited the Jantar Mantar and this Bowli which are just adjacent to the Heart of Delhi, C.P. I decided to go to Bowli first and then to Jantar Mantar.

As told by Google baba, we reached Barakhamba, nearest metro station to the Bowli. Weather was getting prettier with a little drizzle, and after satisfying my taste buds at the CCD adjacent to the metro station, I started my hunt for the Bowli. I asked the CCD staff about the directions but they knew nothing about the Bowli. I headed out at Tolstoy road and then KG Marg and then looked for the Hailey road. I traveled from one corner of the Hailey road to the other but couldn’t find the spot. Again after coming out at the KG Marg I asked from a city patrol police about the location of the Bowli and to my surprise even they didn’t know the place, but only the vague directions at narrow Hailey road. At the second attempt I looked closely and entered a narrow lane which I left during my first effort and that lead directly to the silent monument.

As you enter the monument a huge banyan tree on the left of the entrance with entwined branches and hanging roots welcomes you with open arms. On the other corner a big stone board with the Bowli history marked on it, attracts your attention. The Bowli was built during the Mahabharat era and is one of its kinds in Delhi.

Enter through a small door and you will notice a beautiful mosque structure on the right and fifteen meter wide and sixty meter long Bowli on the left. As you move down the stairs, as the skyline moves afar and the view of gigantic city buildings disappear; the gurgling of pigeons and fluttering bats seems like they are eagerly trying to tell you the magnificent history of this historical structure. The silence deepens as one moves to the bottom of the stairs. Some parts of the well, with 103 steps, are permanently immersed in water, which we can’t see now. And the visible parts of this historical well consist of three levels. Each level is lined with arched niches on both sides It’s an unique blend of architecture with an impressive design known to have existed centuries ago The popularity of this Bowli, has seems to be evaporated with its water. That’s why despite just being a twenty minutes-walk from C.P. and ticketless entry it hardly sees any visitors. May be because of that, it’s quite clean and well maintained or may be because it is a protected monument by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) under the Ancient Monuments.

P.S. The Agrasen Ki Bowli in Delhi is considered haunted and is placed at 10th position in the list of ten most haunted places in India.