Ayyana Baavi

Sept 17, 2024. Sridhar and I were traveling from Bhogasandra to Arasikere. Our plan for the day was to visit ancient temples in and around Arasikere. A few kilometers from Tiptur towards Arasikere I noticed a stepped tank to my right. The place had a historic feel and I felt this would be a good spot for a short break. The place had a nice ambiance marred by noise of traffic passing by.

I was trying to imagine this place before the highway widening project commenced, the well was a good 20 meters away from the 2-lane highway. The present highway is barely 6 meters from the edge of the well. I have vague memory of one of my uncles mentioning this well during a journey in the 1980s.

If not for the small board here, seemingly planted recently, we wouldn't have known this pond was called as Ayyana Baavi. Here's a transcription & translation.

ಅಯ್ಯನ ಬಾವಿ
ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಮತ್ತು ಶಕ್ತಿ ಬಾವಿಯಾಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ ರಂಗಾಪುರ ಮಠದ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಇದೇ ತಾಲೂಕಿನ ಶ್ರೀಸುಕ್ಷೇತ್ರ ಕೆರೆಗೋಡಿ ಕಾಲದ ಶ್ರೀ ಗುರುಪರದೇಶಿ ಕೇಂದ್ರ ಸ್ವಾಮೀಜಿಯವರಿಂದ ನಿರ್ಮೊಣವಾದ ಬಾವಿ. ಈ ಬಾವಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಎಂತಹ ಬರಗಾಲದಲ್ಲೂ ನೀರು ಬತ್ತಿರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಈ ಬಾವಿಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಪೂರ್ವ-ಪಶ್ಚಿಮವಾಗಿ ಕಲ್ಲನ್ನು ಎಸೆಯುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಆಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.
ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಈಜಾಡುವುದು, ಕಲ್ಲುಎಸೆಯುವುದು, ಗಣಪತಿ/ಇತರೆ ಮೂರ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ವಿಸರ್ಜನೆ ಮೊಡುವುದು ನಿಷೇಧಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ತಿಂಡಿ/ತಿನಿಸು ತಿನ್ನುವುದು ನಿಷೇಧಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಸ್ವಚ್ಛತೆಯನ್ನು ಕಾಪಾಡುವುದು.
ಪ್ರಕಟಣೆ: ಮತ್ತಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ಗ್ರಾಮ ಪಂಚಾಯಿತಿ

As per the above text, this is a historic well. This was constructed by a Veerashiva monk. It is said that this well has water even in drought conditions.

A search on Google lead me to a couple of videos on YouTube. One of them is posted in Kannada fraternity channel called Chitraloka. The video is basically an interview of Tiptur Ramaswamy by KM Veeresh editor of Chitraloka. The video starts with a request to the highway project team to ensure care while carrying out construction work around this historic well. In the interview, Tiptur Ramaswamy narrates his visits to this place with Kannada superstar Dr. Rajkumar and colleagues. They would ride bicycles from Tiptur to Ayyana Baavi carrying food and cooking vessels. They would spend entire mornings swimming, after noon they would cook lunch and have in the small Mantapa, and rest before returning to Tiptur. It seems Dr. Raj told Tiptur Ramaswamy the history of this place which goes like this. A wandering Veerashaiva monk in the XVI or XVII Century came to this place in search of water. Local people offered him water and told him about water scarcity since there was no well or pond close by. The monk collected money from surrounding villages and used it to have this well constructed. Monks were addressed as Ayya hence this stepped well came to be known as Ayyana Baavi.

Then there's saying about this well that one cannot throw a stone across the length of this pond. We didn't try throwing one. This pond's measures approximately 65m in the east-west direction and 35 meters in the north-south direction. Definitely I cannot throw a stone that far. 

Here's a closer look at the shelter used for cooking and resting. I'm sure many travelers would've stopped here for a good bath and rest here.

Finally, here's the video I mentioned earlier. Do watch it to hear Tiptur Ramaswamy narrate his memories of this place.

I hope this historic stepped well survives the forces of modernity or development or whatever one chooses to call it. Local people must take appropriate steps to protect and preserve it.

.........