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2020

Tamil Heritage Trust presents The Baolis of Delhi, A talk in English by Vikramjit Rooprai
6th June 2020, Saturday 5:30pm
About the Talk
Over the centuries, there have been many Delhis which served as the capital of various empires.  Stepwells or baolis played an important role in meeting the water requirements of the residents of these cities.  
The baolis were built in interesting shapes; many were three or four stories deep. Some were richly decorated.  Some had secret tunnels leading from them.  And all of them carried fascinating stories – about kings and saints and ordinary citizens.
For example, do you know that:
•    The waters of a particular baoli was said to be so miraculous that you could light lamps with it?
•    A baoli served as a jail to the top commanders of Netaji Subhas Bose’ Indian National Army?
•    A popular baoli - featured in Aamir Khan’s movie PK - has an origin legend that dates back to the Mahabharata?
•    At a certain baoli, people even today light lamps to worship djinns?
 
The talk is by the author Vikramjit S Rooprai whose book Delhi Heritage Top 10:  Baolis, was on Amazon Top 10 list in the Travel Illustrated Category. Based on over five years of research, it is  a fascinating account of Delhi’s numerous stepwells.   In his talk, Vikramjit plans to introduce us to the concept of the stepwells and then take us on a grand journey through the centuries as we visit some of the best baolis in the city. We will learn of the architecture, the formal history, the folklore associated with them and the current state of each of these baolis.
 
About the Speaker
Vikramjit S Rooprai is an Author, Educator and Historian and Activist, who has developed creative ways to teach conventional subjects. He started researching Delhi’s Heritage in 2009 while he was still an IT professional and entrepreneur. He founded ‘The Heritage Photography Club’ to promote Indian heritage through travel & photography.  In 2015, he left his digital marketing career and turned into an Educator. He established 'Heritageshaala', where his team sets up Heritage Labs in schools and develops programs for Corporates, Teachers and Students to learn through events from history. He has been instrumental in setting up and managing monumentsofdelhi.com.

 He has been an Auditor for UNESCO and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and Education Quality Foundation of India. He has delivered 5 TEDx talks so far, 3 of which revolve around the education system of India.  He has been invited to speak at events in IIT and IIM and is currently a visiting faculty at the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi.

Vikramjit was listed by India Today Magazine as Changemaker of Delhi.  Hindustan Times & Outlook Traveller ranked his portal on Delhi’s monuments and his Twitter/Instagram handle in top 10 sources of Delhi’s Heritage. Times Now and Economic times titled him as a Good Crusader and featured him in their series of Whistle-blowers.

You can read more about him and his wide range of initiatives and achievements at vikramjits.com.