Water by C.S Rani

WATER

The poem water by CHALAPALLI Swaroopa Rani presents the struggle, humiliation, anguish and sufferings undergone by the dalits to obtain their rightful share of water. It describes problems faced in the rural areas of Andra Pradesh. Dalits were considered as untouchable by upper caste people. They had to face many difficulties as they were prohibited from the basic necessities of life, the water.

Water acts as a silent spectator for the ‘Generations- old strife.’ 
It knows that untouchability will never disappear like the dampness on the well’s edge. Dalits live outside the village and their colony is called ‘Wada’. They had no right to draw water from the well because water becomes impure. The poet cites biblical incident in which Jesus, the Jew, goes to Samarian woman and asks her for water, who belongs to an inferior race. The speaker says whether one is a cobbler or a weaver, water is essential to all. The speaker presents the instances of panchama who is forced to wait with a pot all day long, until a shudra comes to serve him.

The speaker mentions the humiliation of wada girl, when the water is poured on her instead of pot. Water has lead many quarrels between upper caste and lower caste. When the upper caste boys were washing dirty buckets, which was questioned by a lower caste boy, who was beaten up and this act was opposed by a woman, Suvarthamma, who had come to draw the water, raised her pot in self defense. Thereon there was a communal clash between upper caste and lower caste .The poetess also recalls how the thatched roof in Malapalle were reduced to ashes as there was not a pot pot of water to extinguish it. This led to a wide spread water movement to gain, ‘Right to water’, by dalits.

The poetess reminiscences how her wada was in thirst for a glass of water, and how they eagerly waited to take bath onces a week, as a wonderous festival, whereas the village bathed twice a day. Water is not just H2O, But a mighty movement. She expresses her views how water gave a way to mighty revolution. She cites the Mahad struggle at Chaddar tank led by                  Dr.B.R.Amebedkar. Dalits were denied the access to public tank, inspite of the resolution sent by the municipality that to allow the untouchables to access water, so he led the to the reservoir and drank the water asserting the right of dalits. Even now we can find the fights between people states, Karnataka and Tamil nadu, causing a huge loss on the property and lives too, over the question of sharing water.

Later she remembers how she would walk a long way, balancing heavy pots on their heads. And when the thatched root fire they did not have a drop of water to dampen the fire. The water that failed to fulfill the needs of the lower caste became the heinous murderer as the Tsunami swallowed the whole village after village.

People are the toys in the hands of water. It’s not a simple thing. It can turn a village into a dry desert as well can drown them in flood. The water for which many lives were lost, wars were fought has become an international commodity. It has got a new name, ‘Mineral water, Pepsi and sold in market places. Thus water can sit silently in a bottle and witness the strife, of the life of the lower caste.

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