Title: Water Woes +919845070595

Water Woes

'Vidya, Vidya! Vidyaaaa!' The call got louder. It was 5 am. Bleary eyed, irritated Vidya sleep-walked to put the water pump on. Suma, the downstairstenant, went silent.

Vidya knew she could not sleep any longer. She needed to hear the water spill from the overhead tank and shut off the pump. She went into the kitchen to make her morning cup of tea.

From the roof came Mahesh's voice, 'Yes, yes, filing.' He was standing on the ledge next to the water tank, peering in and dutifully shouting out to Suma. There was no room on the ledge for more than one foot. He was holding onto the rim of the tank, one leg hanging in air.

'How is the flow?'

'Very slow. Will take half an hour.'

'And Vidya's?'

'Her’s is filling fast.'

'Told you to replace our pump,' Suma growled.

'Next month.With salary. Shall I come down?'

'No, no. Stay.Watch the water.'

Vidya retired to the bedroom with her tea and got busy with her day's lesson plan for the government school where she was volunteering.

Suma's voice rose again, 'Vidya avre, Vidyaaaa. Motor close maadi.'

Vidya again rushed to the switch. In this small dying mining town, their colony - Puliendra Layout - was built flouting every rule in the book. It did not have a regular supply of water or a well laid outsewerage system. The water, pumped by the local water mafia, against a hefty payment, came early in the mornings. Neither its timing, nor its quantity was consistent. Some days it came at 5 am and on other days at 4.30 am or even 8 am. Some days it came for 5 minutes and on other days for more than an hour. Some days it came in a trickle and on other days it gushed in as if a dam had broken.

That is why this rush to gather water would make Vidya wonder about her decision to relocate here, albeit temporarily. She was taking a break from the big cities where life was set in a hard- wired monotony: wake up early, rush through ablutions, breakfast, negotiate traffic, reach office and slump into a dead-end job. A few months back,in early 2013, she had asked herself: what is it that I like doing? The answer was: teaching kids. So she quit her settled corporate job and took to working with government schools. She broke the shackle of a city life and decided to work in this small town, not too far from where her parents lived, but not too close either so they didn’t interfere in her life.

She was making a mid-career shift, but waking up early to collect water in her overhead tank was not her idea of a transition. The water collected in the underground tank from where it needed to be raised to the overhead tank.It was a quirk of house design that the underground tank was small and she shared it with Suma. Hence, all the trouble even before the sun came out.

Yet, Vidyahad converted this irritation into something which she liked doing: waking up early gave her a chance to go for a morning walk. When Vidya opened her door to step out she noticed the sump lid was off, Suma was monitoring the water level. The downstairs clothesline was piled with her washed sarees, her husband Mahesh's shirts and trousers, even towels. That is why she needed all the water, mused Vidya.

Upon noticing her, Suma said, 'What to do? Water comes rarely.' It wasn't an apology for rousing Vidya up early. It was an explanation but Vidya well knew what it hinted at: since Vidya lived by herself, she did not know the problems of a married woman.

'That is okay Suma; my alarm was set for later.'

On her walks Vidya went past the abandoned shafts of the now closed gold mine. Turning rusty, these scarecrows, and the elaborate crumbling bungalowsand the numerous churches alongside the roads were a reminder of Little England. The town was among the first to get electric power in the whole of Asia. The mines went up to seven kilometers into the earth with British officers and Indian labour prospecting for the shiny metal. The gold mines had funded the British Empire and England back home. By the time India got her independence, the mines came under the government but had worn out; the shine of the metal had receded into overnighters for the miners. By the beginning of this century the cost of mining exceeded the price of gold being extracted. The mine shut down.The people agitated for pensions and started migrating away to other cities.The town stared closing down.

Vidya went closer to a shaft. It was filled up with water. The town now sat on a huge underground lake which would burst into geysers at odd places. Yet, in her home, there was this struggle for water.

***

As Vidya was getting ready to leave for school, Suma came to her door. 'Vidya avre, my tests proved negative.'

'Does that mean you are fine?'

'Yes. Mahesh needs to do something. I am fine.'

'So talk to him.'

'He does not listen.'

Vidya was tempted to say that the way Suma dealt with him in the mornings while collecting water, he seemed quite hen-pecked. Why would he not listen? But she did not say that. She knew hen-pecked does not make for great vitality.

'When was the last time?' she asked instead.

'Many weeks back.' Suma got the question.

'Then how will it happen?' Vidya was amused.

'Well, it is not like filling water. I can't order him.' Even Suma knew.

Since Vidya was getting late, she excused herself and promised to come back and meet Suma after lunch.

***

At the door to Suma’s house for evening tea, under a small aquarium with two gold fish, Vidya could see the wide carefree smile of a happy child in a garishly coloured poster. The pink and blue was really too loud. ‘Banni, banni Vidya,’ welcomed Suma. Vidya entered and sank into the thick cushioned sofas, too big for the tiny drawing room. 'I went to the Amma temple today.'

Vidya loved that temple, she perked up. 'Isn't it beautiful? Did you know it is from the third century? The Shiva temple nearby is so elaborate. Such gorgeous bas-reliefs. Did you notice the monks? They look Chinese. Chola dynasty, fourteenth century. It seems there must have been links from India’s east coast to China from where they travelled up to here. Have you heard of Bali Yatra?'

'I prayed. Amma will grant my wish.' Suma's eyes shone with fresh hope. Then she asked, 'Why don't you marryVidya avre? I mean, what are you doing in this town?'

'Marriage is not all what one seeks in life,' answered Vidya knowing full well how her words won't make any sense to Suma. 'You did your graduation. Why not look for a job in a school or some small office here?'

'I wanted to. I even applied when I was in final year. Then I got married even before my BA was over. Who will give me a job now?'

'Should I check?' There were a number of ‘international’ schools coming up on the Banagalore-Chennai highway. They would certainly need teachers and administrators.

'No akka. Not now. Mahesha does not want me to work. He says he can earn, what is the need? Plus, after our family grows I will be needed at home.'

'That is when the family grows Suma. You have been married five years now.'

'What do you mean?' Vidya sensed the hurt. She tried to change the topic. 'How are your parents?'

'They are fine. They also have this one hope from me. I try everything. Take medicines, English and Ayurvedic. I even got all tests done. I am fine. I told you about it in the morning.'

'Has Mahesha been tested?'

'I am very lucky, you know. He did not ask for any dowry. Of course, we gave. Everything in our home is from my dowry. But he does not drink;he takes care of me. These steroids and vitamins often knock me out. In those days he even cooks for me and does the vessels. He can’t wash clothes though.' Suma giggled. 'Once he tried and they came out looking worse after the wash.'

'But if you are fine, why do you take medicines?'

'Doctors say I must take supplements. They help.'

'You must also do something.' Vidya said it bluntly.

Suma blushed. Then whispered, 'We do. When Mahesha wants.'

'Often, I hope?'

'No, not often. All those medicines have made me put on weight. Come I will show you my early pictures. People said I could be a TV actress.'

Suma brought out a tacky beige plastic album and Vidya flipped through it as she sipped her tea. All the pictures were studio portraits.As if Suma was a cardboard mannequin. In them the oval faced, wide eyed Sumawas quite different from how she looked now. That Suma seemed ready to soar into the skies. Thepresent Sumawas sluggish, burdened with what our society wants. Vidya smiled and told her, 'I agree. Yes, maybe you should have tried TV.’

A blushing Suma replied, 'No akka. What was is now over.’

Vidya had reached a dead-end with the conversation. She stood up and went near the aquarium whole glass planes were laminated green. On a closer inspection its water looked muddy, the orange toys looked rusty. 'How often do you change the water?’

'We just add water. We have never replaced it. Should we? Mahesha brought this saying he wanted some life in the house. As if I am a wooden doll.'

'Now don’t take offence. Mahesha loves you.'

'That he does. But …'

***

Mahesha came back from his job and climbed the steps thrice through the evening to check on their water tank. The couple was constantly engagedwith the how much water came, if it was enough, how to conserve it, it kept them busy through the day, as if this was the one thing the two of them really shared. Perhaps, the only thing they really shared, mused Vidya. That night, Vidya sat at her window, smoking hernight cigarette.She overheard Suma serving dinner to Mahesh. 'You know, I think.'

'Please, don't ask me to do the tests.'

'No, I am not asking that.'

'Then?'

'Just, can we watch TV together tonight?'

'It is late. We have to wake up morning. The water will come.'

'It is okay, the water can wait.'

'No, I saw, you emptied the sump. I tell you to conserve it. What if it does not come for two-three days? How will we even bathe?'

'It will come. Why do you worry all the time?'

'No. Tell me, how will we manage?'

'I will manage. Can we, at least,listen to radio together? In bed?'

'They will be playing some classical music. You know I hate it. Just sleep and tell me if there is something to be done in the kitchen. I will do it morning before you wake up.'

'Nothing.'

The conversation stopped. Their light went off. There was no more sound. Vidyastubbed her cigarette.

***

The next morning again Suma woke Vidya up. Vidya, Vidya Avre! Vidyaaaaa! The routine switching on and switching off the pump started. Mahesha was clinging on to the water tank. On his way down, he knocked at Vidya's door. When she opened the door he told her, 'I’ve fixed a pipe from the mouth of our water tank to yours. We hate waking you up. Once water fills in our tank, it will flowto your tank too.'

Vidya was thankful. As she packed glucose biscuits to give to children of her school along with the mid-day meals she looked at the newspaper and wondered about the cyanide content in the underground water. The process of extraction of gold from the metal rich mud involves cyanide.The mini mountains of slag dumps over a century and a halfall contained cyanide. When it rained, the cyanide mixed with the underground water.Upon complaints from local people a commission had carried out a study and ruled out the possibility of any poison. Yet, Vidya knew the evidence was somewhere else: in children. An increasing level of deformity and mental retardation among her school kids. One tenth of each class she visited. The local newspaper said: after a popular movie song was shot on the slag dumps, the local politician plans to make a jogging track on top.

As Vidya was getting out for her morning walk, she noticed Suma was changing the water in her aquarium. Vidya smiled at Suma. Suma’s eyes filled up, she looked away, into the aquarium.

Amandeep Sandhu

20/08/2014