The historic Indian town, Jodhpur, lies on the eastern edge of the Great Indian Thar Desert. Founded in 1459 A.D. in the rain-shadow of Aravali Mountain range on one of its barren outcropping in the desert. An arid region with no perineal river for sustenance, scanty and erratic rainfall and temperature rising upto 50 degree centigrade.

 

Despite such inclement and hostile conditions, the city flourished and sustained due to its rain-water collection wisdom and its efficient management. An interesting typology of water bodies, from natural to man-made, was built by the erstwhile rulers but mostly by philanthropists and females and spread through the town for holding and fetching water for daily use. This gamut of water-holding systems evolved as a rich heritage of water-architecture deeply interwoven in the life and culture of the people of this ancient city.

 

Abound by stories and histories, a water trail has been curated to give an experience of the old-world charm of the magnificent water heritage of Jodhpur by A. Mridul, an internationally awarded architect who has been deeply engaged with the conservation and contemporising of water architecture of the desert and has been speaking on the subject in UK, Australia and the USA.