The story of the vanishing wells

The story of the vanishing wells

The Hindu

Mechanisation and lack of space have made the well obsolete

# With the water-table falling, wells are not quite rich reserves of water
# Maintenance and cleaning of wells is difficult

BANGALORE: The quiet, rustic well has been an inherent part of traditional houses in India. Has been though, not anymore. Today, it is more of a rarity.

Over the years, mechanisation and the easy availability of other options have left the humble well behind. First, it was just the regular well from which every single pail of water had to be laboriously drawn. Then came the tubewell, when a pump and pipes were connected to the same old well. Then there was the borewell, which was and still is quite popular due to its comparatively smaller size and easier mechanism. Earlier, this progression from the well was quite slow to pick up. Now it is that very basic well that has gone missing. One look around the city shows that wells are hardly to be found here. Not that anybody is complaining.

As Usha Rao, a senior citizen, puts it: "The entire act of fetching water from the well was very tiresome. When wells were the only option, housework was very hard to do." Her contemporaries echo her sentiments. "Especially for a lot of women who would have to walk miles just to reach the nearest village well, water came at the price of a lot of hard work. The times were tough. Now everything is so much easier," feels Lalitha Sharma.

Her daughter-in-law, Geeta, agrees: "So why opt for a well in today's times when there are easier options available? Using a well is very tedious indeed and hardly anybody has that kind of time now-a-days."

So where are the wells? "Good question," smiles Harsh from Jayanagar 4th Block.

"I haven't really seen any around here. I'm sure they are still used in villages but they have no place in a bustling and bursting city like ours."

With the water-table falling, wells are not quite rich reserves of water anymore. More importantly, wells take up a lot of space.

Clearly then, they are unwelcome, for space is at such a premium with everybody struggling to shell out exorbitant sums for their space under the sun.

Youngsters are unanimous in their rejection of wells. Sharanya, a student of BMS College of Engineering, says: "Wells are not practical in houses at all. Maintenance and cleaning would also be a pain."

Like S. Sreedhar says: "Wells are obsolete. Who even thinks about having a well in the house in cities? With water directly available within the house, the whole day, why would anyone want to take a few steps backwards and burden themselves with a well?"

Some, however, feel the customary well in the courtyard or in the centre of the house is a part of our cultural lifestyle. Like Mrs. and Mr. Ramanna of Banashankari who are glad wells aren't disappearing completely from the rural landscape at least. But they are also aware of the practical difficulties that maintaining a well in the city poses and hence choose not to have one.