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Witnessing the degradation of these   Vav,’ involving children from our   out to clean and restore Ramkund
          water bodies and in our effort to   school, renowned artists, and    Vav with the help of our school
          preserve our cultural heritage, we   dancers from Vadodara. The show   and the local Nagarpalika. It was a
          made it our mission to revive these   depicted the history of Kutch, the   challenging task, but with everyone’s
          ancient sites and reintegrate them   significance of water bodies, and the   dedication and hard work, we
          into our community. We aimed to   importance of water conservation.   managed to bring back the grandeur
          undertake a special initiative that   It was choreographed by the    of this ancient stepwell. As we
          would not only restore the historical   renowned artist Ms. Kakoli Sen.   worked on the restoration, we also
          significance of these locations but   However, obtaining the necessary   took the opportunity to educate our
          also raise awareness among the    permissions for such an event      children and the community about
          younger generation about rainwater   was no easy task. Determination   the historical significance of these
          harvesting, heritage preservation,   and passion paid off, and finally,   water bodies and the importance of
          and water conservation.           permission was granted after several   water conservation.
                                            months.
          We organized a musical light and                                     Our initiative was far-reaching. The
          sound show, ‘Soul of the Ramkund   The real work began as we set     citizens of Bhuj were inspired to






                                                                                                                                 take an active role in caring for the   and pride in our heritage    Today, Ramkund Vav and Hamirsar
                                                                                                                                 ancient water bodies, ensuring their   among the people of Bhuj. Our   lake stand as a symbol of hope and a
                                                                                                                                 continued preservation. One heart-  students continue educating the   testament to the power of collective
                                                                                                                                 warming outcome was an author      neighbourhood and the community   action and love for our heritage.
                                                                                                                                 who was moved by our efforts and   about the environment.
                                                                                                                                 decided to write a book about the
                                                                                                                                 ancient stepwells of Kutch, further
                                                                                                                                 highlighting their historical and                        Rani Saheb Aarti Kumari Jadeja, the Founder
                                                                                                                                 cultural significance.                                   Principal and Director of Little Steps Montessori
                                                                                                                                                                                          School, belongs to the esteemed Tera-Kutch royal
                                                                                                                                 Moreover, our focus on recharging                        family. She is a pioneering figure in innovative
                                                                                                                                 stepwells in the region has                              education and social work, with commendable
                                                                                                                                 sparked a movement towards                               contributions and ongoing efforts in the realms
                                                                                                                                 sustainable water management and                         of education, women’s rights, and environmental
                                                                                                                                 conservation in Kutch. The event                         conservation. Her school stands as a prototype
                                                                                                                                 awakened a sense of responsibility   aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.


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