Baoli, Water Tanks, Rain Harvesting
Nagarjuna
In India, an irrigation tank or tank, is an artificial lake or
reservoir of any size. (The word sagar refers to a large lake, usually
man-made).[1] It can also be a natural or spring included as part of a
structure. Tanks are part of an ancient tradition of harvesting and
preserving the local rainfall and water from streams and rivers for
later use, primarily for agriculture and drinking water, but also for
sacred bathing and ritual. Often a tank was constructed across a slope
so to collect and store water by taking advantage of local mounds and
depressions.[2] Tank use is especially critical in parts of South
India without perennial rainfall where water supply replenishment is
dependent on a cycle of dry seasons alternating with monsoon seasons.
In Sanskrit a holding pond or reservoir is called a tadaka. In
Gujarati it was called talao referring to a man-made lake.[1] There
are other speculations on the origin of the word "tank".
Tank design :
Temple stepped tank of the Vijayanagara EmpireWater is considered a
purifying and regenerative element in India, and is an essential
element of prayer and ritual. Water is also revered because of its
scarcity in western India where dry and monsoon seasons alternate and
failure of the monsoon season means famine and death while plentiful
water replacing irrigations sources is a time of rejoicing. This
resulted in building water storage tanks that combined the practical
and sacred.[3] Since ancient times, the design of water storage has
been important in India'a architecture As early as 3000 BC
sophisticated systems of drains, wells and tanks were built to
conserve and utilise water. Tank building as an art form began with
the Hindus and developed under Muslim rule.[4]
An example of the art of tank design is the large, geometically
spectacular Stepped Tank at the Royal Center at the ruins of
Vijayanagara, the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, surrounding the
modern town of Hampi. It is lined with green diorite and has no drain.
The tank was filled by aqueduct.[5]
Village tanks :
Ralegaon Siddhi is an example of a village that revitalised its
ancient tank system. In 1975 the village was drought-strickened. The
village tank could not hold water as the earthen embankment dam wall
leaked. Work began with the percolation tank construction by the
villagers who donated their labor to repair the embankment. Once this
was fixed, the village's seven wells below the tank filled with water
in the summer for the first time in memory. Now the village has a
supply of water throughout the year.[6]
Kunds :
Buddhist temple tank at AjantaTanks known as kunds are resevoirs with
steps, generally found in South India, and sometimes constructed
within the walls of a temple complex.[7]
Bathing in the sacred waters of a temple kund or tank was believed to
cure worshippers of afflictions such as leprosy and blindness.[8] Many
temple tanks are decaying and drying up today.[9]
Well :
Well in India - In India, a stepwell is a deep masonry well with steps
going down to the water level. It is called a vav in west India and a
baoli in north India. Some were built by kings and were richly
ornamented.[10] They often were built by nobility and were secular
constructions from which anyone could obtain water.[11]
Local wells offer water.
Modern tank management :
The development of large-scale water management methods and
hydroelectric generation have replaced much of the local efforts and
community management of water. For example, the state of Karnataka has
about 44,000 artificial wetlands locally constructed over many
centuries. At least 328 are threatened today.[12]
However, recently a tank regeneration movement initiated by
communities and non-governmental organisations (NGO) has arisen.[13]
Today, there are approximately 120,000 small-scale tanks, irrigating
about 41,200 km² in semi-arid areas of India.[14] This constitutes
about one third of the total irrigated land in South India.[15]
Stepped temple tank, Belur
Tank at Badami
Bawdi in Shekhawati
Johad at Thathawata
Well at Trikuteshwara temple
Temple pond and waterfall
Kashmir irrigation
Adalaj Stepwell, 10 Kilometer north of Ahmedabad
See also :
Noyyal River - Tanks System
Irrigation
Johad
bawdi or stepwell
Temple tank
Notes :
^ a b Architecture on the Indian Subcontinent - glossary. Retrieved on
2006-12-18.
^ Tank management. rainwaterharvesting.org. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
^ Thapar, Binda (2004). Introduction to Indian Architecture.
Singapore: Periplus Editions, p 24. ISBN 0794600115.
^ Architecture - Stepwells. Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
^ Great Tank. art-and-archaeology. Retrieved on 2007-01-13.
^ Ralegan Siddhi : A village Transformed. Retrieved on 2006-10-30.
^ Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent - glossary. Indian
Architecture. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
^ Sun Temples in India. TempleNet. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
^ Ponds, tanks relics of a bygone era. AmritsarPlus Online Edition.
Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
^ Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent - glossary. Retrieved on
2006-12-18.
^ Vav / vavdi / Baoli / Bavadi - Traditional stepwells. Retrieved on
2006-12-19.
^ Bird monitoring at Rampura and Kalkere tanks. aroche.org. Retrieved
on 2006-10-17.
^ Tank management. rainwaterharvesting.org. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
^ Towards improved performance of irrigation tanks in semi-arid
regions of India. cat.inist.fr. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
^ Sustainable development and management of tank irrigation systems in
south India. cat.inist.fr. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
References :
Palanisami, K, and Easer, E.W. (2000). Tank Irrigation in the 21st
Century--What Next? Discovery, Delhi, Discovery. ISBN 81-7141-558-X.
External links :
Photo of Rampura temple tank
Photo of Kalkere temple tamk
Photo of temple Stepped Tank at Vijayanagara
Photo of temple tank at Ekambareshvara Temple
Photo of Great Tank at Royal Center Temple, Vijayanagara
Tank, east of Mukteshvara
Tank Rehabilitation Program
Indus River Valley Civilization
Hindu Temples: tanks - tirtta (artificial sacred ponds)
Channeling Nature: Hydraulics, Traditional Knowledge Systems, And
Water Resource Management in India - A Historical Perspective
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irrigation_tank"
Categories: Irrigation in India | Water supply