Water Memory

A personal and collective mapping of India’s stepwells and waterbodies.

This ongoing body of work traces the architecture of stepwells and traditional waterbodies across India, emerging from a convergence of travel, fieldwork, conservation practice, and exhibition-making. Rooted in a personal fascination with subterranean water architecture, the work spans from documenting hidden wells in Rajasthan and urban stepwells in Ahmedabad, to contributing to the "Death of Architecture" and "Stepwells of Ahmedabad" exhibitions, and engaging in conservation efforts under Prof. Minakshi Jain.

Through photography, sketches, maps, and graphic studies, the project explores these structures not just as architectural feats, but as ritual spaces, social condensers, and climate-responsive infrastructure — many of which are now forgotten or at risk.

The narrative is one of discovery and return — a mapping of histories carved in stone and held in silence. It is driven by the belief that these water structures are not remnants, but living archives — holding within them the knowledge of how people once lived with water, not apart from it.