Cultural history of gujarat

The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January at rt-commentedText tooltip tooltip-dotted >08:46 am IST.
The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch (Kachchh) District of Gujarat, India.

Stepwells are wells in which the water is reached by steps.
They are most commonly found in western India especially Gujarat where over 120 such wells are reported.
The origin of the stepwell may be traced to reservoirs of the cities of the Indus Valley civilization such as Dholavira and Mohenjo-daro.
The stepwells were constructed in the south western region of Gujarat around 600 AD.
From there they spread north to Rajasthan and subsequently to north and west India.
Construction activities accelerated during the tenth to 13th century during the Chaulukya and Vaghela periods.
The construction of these stepwells hit its peak during the 11th to 16th century.
The Muslim rulers of the 13th to 16th century did not disrupt the culture that was practiced in these stepwells and encouraged the building of stepwells.
The wells lost their significance in the 19th century due to introduction of water pumps and pipe-systems.

The Kaleshwari Group of Monuments, also known as Kaleshwari-Ni Nal, is located near Lavana village, Khanpur Taluka of Mahisagar district, Gujarat, India.
It is near the district headquarters Lunavada and near a stream in Hidimba Van, the forest of Hidimba.
The group includes intricately-carved temple ruins, two stepwells, a reservoir, structures with panels of erotic sculptures and idols scattered all over the site.
The ruins are located at the foothills and on the hillock.
They were built between the 10th and 16th century; some monuments were reconstructed after the 18th century.
These are State Protected Monuments.