Conservation of historic water systems in Champaner-Pavagadh, Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT

Champaner-Pavagadh, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Gujarat, is an interesting and unusual case study in how religion, culture, terrain, and climate interact in creating water systems that sustained large communities for 800 years between the eighth and sixteenth centuries. Water is central to Hindu worship rituals and at Pavagadh Hill, embodiment of the goddess Kalika, is symbolic of her nurturing aspects. The ornate water architecture of Champaner city at the foothill, inhabited by Muslims, celebrated water not for its symbolic value but for its sensual and utilitarian aspects. In ‘water-intelligent’ settlement planning at Champaner-Pavagadh, historic water catchment and conveyance systems ensured availability of water throughout the year. The article concludes with outlining the landscape approach to sustainable heritage landscape conservation within which water systems are restored and made functional, to serve the needs of local residents and pilgrims, and to enhance the legibility of this complex and layered site.

KEYWORDS:

• Water-intelligence
• sustainable heritage conservation
• cultural landscape
• pilgrimage

Acknowledgements

I thank Karan Grover for the opportunity to do fieldwork, and Agus Soeriaatmadja, Sumesh Modi and James Wescoat for their insightful observations and interpretation of water systems in Champaner-Pavagadh.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. ‘Pavagadh runs out of water’, The Times of India, 2 April 2016, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vadodara/Pavagadh-runs-out-of-water/articleshow/51655328.cms, retrieved 17 November 2017.

2. For site mapping details, see the following reports of co-operative projects by Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA and Heritage Trust, Baroda, India; Amita Sinha and Gary Kesler. ‘Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park, Gujarat, India’, 2002 (https://issuu.com/amitasinha/docs/chamapner-pavagadh_8e1776e4517f31); Amita Sinha, Gary Kesler, D. Fairchild Ruggles, and James Wescoat, Jr. ‘Champaner-Pavagadh Cultural Sanctuary, Gujarat, India’, 2003 (https://issuu.com/amitasinha/docs/champaner-pavagah); Amita Sinha, D. Fairchild Ruggles, and James Wescoat, Jr. ‘Panch Yatras in the Cultural Heritage Landscape of Champaner-Pavagadh, Gujarat, India’, 2005, (https://issuu.com/amitasinha/docs/champaner-report).

3. Bhatnagar, M. ‘Revival of Hauz Khas Lake, A Historic Lake in Urban Delhi’. In M. Sengupta and R. Dalwani (eds.) Proceedings of Taal2007: The 12^th World Lake Conference, 1477–1487, http://www.moef.nic.in/sites/default/files/nlcp/P%20-%20World%20Case%20Studies/P-21.pdf, retrieved on 18 November 2017.