Well-being...

Well-being...
Sunday morning, waking up early, am going to the kitchen, still with eyes half closed, to prepare tea. I can hear the sound of water outside and I know it’s not a nice sound. Stepping outside, I can see that from our water tank on top of the roof water is flowing quite forcefully, splashing onto the ground. What a mess! A pipe is broken and after closing the main water connection to our house, within minutes the tank has emptied its content onto the ground. No running water in the house any more!

From a state of well-being, enjoying the amenities of running tap water in the house, I am in no time and without prior warning turned into a well being, having to draw water from our well to fill bucket after bucket to meet our basic water needs for some time till the plumber would come. I guess my arm muscles and body as a whole got a good exercise till I had filled and taken inside the house enough buckets to be able to take bath, to flush the toilet, to wash our hands and dishes. When the plumber came in the evening, he was welcomed with open arms. And we were glad when he could fix the problem and we could once again enjoy water coming out of the tap when turning it on.

Experiences like that give food for thought.
You suddenly realize how much water is actually needed in a house for basic needs. The most striking realization though is, if I may say frankly, how much water you need to keep your toilet working. When we pull the flush, do we ever think how many liters of water are running through the pipe in that second?
The value of a well as permanent source of drinking water suddenly comes to your mind. For many (middle-class) houses in Kerala still a common appearance, too often their existence is taken for granted. But sinking ground water levels, water pollution etc. are posing a serious threat and make one think for how long these will remain assured sources of drinking water? Those houses without a well have to depend on the reliability and mercy of the public water supply. At least in Kerala, connections don’t provide water 24/7. If you know fixed timings for your area, at least you can fill your tanks. But if taps remain dry without warning for days or weeks, the situation turns grim.
You start thinking about people who not only for a limited time, but permanently have no own water connection in their houses at all. Our well is right next to our house, but people who depend on public water connections or wells have to carry their water distances, often kilometers, liter by liter, bucket by bucket.