BAOLI or bavali is a masonry well with steps leading down to water level. This is perhaps the oldest type of well introduced when man had discovered the existence of subsoil water and also the means to reach it, but had not yet invented mechanical devices to draw water out of it. Before masonry art was developed, baolis must have been only shallow pits with a sloping path down to the water, vertical walls and dented steps confined only to rocky regions.
SINGHPURA, a village 5 km south of Baramula (34"13`N, 74"23`E) in Kashmir valley, claims a historical shrine, Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahl Tharha Sahib, dedicated to Guru Hargobind (1595-1644), whose visit it commemorates. According to local tradition, a Muslim Faqir, Bahlol, served the Guru here and received his blessing. A memorial platform (tharha, in Punjabi) established here was later developed into a gurdwara.