No,i dont live in Rajasthan...And yes,Rajasthan can have plentiful water also,as was evident in my trip to Bikaner in 2005...I live in Cuttack,my home nearing 3 decades in age...Ofcourse,i became a part of it much later,but from what i hear from my brothers,there hadn't been a single day without water here...Even during the cyclone of 99,when the municipal water supply was hugely disrupted,a well in the backyard had provided us with good,clean and ample water...But here i am today,writing my tale of woe,about that one fine day,when we were stranded without water...
Our house comprises of two floors,the lower being occupied by my introvert,reclusive brother,and the upper floor where the rest of us live...As a matter of habit,i clicked on the switch for the pumpset in the garage,and casually turned to leave,expecting the hum of the engine to reach my ear as i walked to the middle of the stairway...Somehow,the reassuring hum never came...Rather,a loud choke,a couple of splutters and a small bang was all i got when i reached the garage to check...It was dead...
I hadn't much concern regarding the pump and matter-of-factly knew it would be repaired the next day...However,in as dramatic a fashion as i could,i walked into the living room and announced,"Its Dead...!" There wasn't the gasp i'd expected,but a few furtive glances from Mother and my sister in law,in fear of an added burden to their already brimming list of household duties...Well,resignedly i said the pump had gone dead...It was then that the chaos issued...
Both my brothers hurriedly walked down to the garage to take a look at the lifeless engine..."It'll be fine tomorrow,wont it Nana?",i enquired...The frowns were all i got...It was already 8 in the evening,so i settled in for an early dinner and slept off...
Awakening at 8.30 in the morning,and casually walking over to the basin with my toothbrush,all i got was the sorry face of my otherwise cheerful Mum..."There's no water",she said,and the epiphany rang in my not so awakened ears..."What do u mean,there's no water?",i asked,incredulously,as if she'd drunk it all by herself..."Well,there's no water...U can brush with a bottle of drinking water,but that's all u can do...If u'd have gotten up earlier,u could've had a wash as well,but there's no water left now...",she explained,as if it was my getting up late that finished the water...Anyways,i brushed my teeth,as best as i could,and walked down to the crime scene,where both my brothers were already bent down over the pumpset,with a mechanic in tow...It was a serious matter,i concluded,as i saw both my brothers nodding heads in unision and working together without a single tiff...I set a mental reminder to jot down the date,as it was a rare scene indeed...Well,seeing the three determinedly trying to fix the machine,i sat and surfed,and read the morning headlines...
Its called the calm before the storm...The morning passed by without much event,there seemed to be no need for water anyways...It was after lunch that the need arose...A desperate need at that...I had to clean my bowels,i just had to...Well,i controlled the urge as best as i could,but it left me uneasy and irritable...How i needed water...! I asked my brother about the well in the backyard,and he said that it had been long abandoned,nothing but moss and frogs...! The irony of it was the drizzle outside...My brother,caring,and affectionate as ever,told me to stand out in the rain...It would serve as a good bath,he teased...And as for the other need,there were several old newspapers which couldn't have a better use,he said...I felt like tearing out his hair,as i always do,but i had neither the energy,nor the interest...However,i did engage in keeping a bucket of water outside in the rain,hoping it would fill up...God has a sense of humour too,but it isn't humorous when the jokes on me...The rain stopped as if it was awaiting the bucket,and the 5 o clock sunlight streamed in...My urge was dire now...I saw the others,everyone uneasy,and tired,but for the fatigue of working endlessly...And here i was,hadn't lifted a finger all day,and ready to burst...! I begged my brother to fetch a bucket from the neighbours...He pointed out,they were out on a holiday,and once again asked me consider his other advice...
7pm...The storm was at its might,raging with fury inside me...! I stuck on,not an option in sight...Mother gave me a Lopamide tablet,but to no avail...The storm raged...
8pm,brother gave us the news that the problem had been fixed,and it would take another hour for the tank to fill up...It set my spirits up,but the one hour wait still proved to be a battle for me...
9.03pm...Water...! Precious water...! Well,as the story goes,all's well that end's well...The only aftermath of the storm was me pouring an entire jug of water on my brother who'd tormented me the whole day...!
I plan to join the "Save Water" campaign soon.....
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