RAS question
'Bavdi' in Rajasthan refers to:
Correct answer: (C) Stepwell.
In Rajasthan, a bavdi, also written as baori or baoli, is a stepwell used as a traditional water-storage structure.
Explanation
A bavdi is not a dam, lake or canal; it is a stepwell, a traditional stepped well built to store and access water. Bavdi is identified with baoli or stepwell, and such structures are found across Rajasthan, with Chand Baori at Abhaneri as the best-known example. Rajasthan Tourism describes Bundi as renowned for its baoris, or stepwells, and explains that baoris were commissioned to meet water needs during drought months. That functional link between steps, wells and water storage is why option C fits the term precisely.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) A dam is a bandh, a barrier built to hold back water, whereas a bavdi is a stepped well structure for storing and accessing water.
- (B) A lake is a talab, an open water body, while a bavdi is specifically a baori or stepwell with steps leading down to the stored water.
- (D) A canal is a nahar, a channel for carrying water, not a stepped well built as a local water-storage structure.
Concept
This tests Rajasthan's traditional water-conservation vocabulary, especially terms for local water structures. It recurs in RAS because arid-zone settlement, drought adaptation and regional terminology are central to Rajasthan geography.