To Reach the Source: The Stepwells of India

A photography book about a unique and magnificent architectural form that remains unknown to most people outside (and even within) India.

With steps leading down to the water’s edge, stepwells are inverted buildings that descend several stories below ground. Often, they are as monumental and ornate as a church, and this is intentional. They are a source of water, a gathering space, and a temple all at once. Stepwells create a visual and spatial experience unlike any other, in which the below-ground remains connected to the sun and sky above. There are thousands of stepwells across the Indian Subcontinent, many of them 500-1,000 years old, each one different from the other. Most lie abandoned and overlooked, in varying states of preservation or, more often, disrepair, but they remain beautiful and compelling.

The 48 photographs in this book were made across India to convey the beauty and diversity of these structures and the striking ambiances they elicit. A brief text accompanies the images to provide history and context, interspersed with several architectural drawings by Tanvi Jain. The images seek to give readers a sense of what it feels like to immerse oneself in such a unique, meditative space, and to be impelled towards the very source of life: water.

Claudio Cambon has worked as a photographer for more than 30 years, and on the Indian Subcontinent for more than 25 of them. He has worked, exhibited, published, taught, and lectured across the world. He is currently residing in France.