Though every kitchen in the village has water tap, yet Naun and Naaru, the two oldest natural sweet drinking water springs situated mid way down the Jabbar Khad, continue to be the sources of healthy and pure drinking water. Between Naun and Naaru, there are two bawaries under a huge peepal tree where people used to take bath and wash clothes.
At Naaru, water is first stored in a covered tank and then distributed through a tap while at Naun, water is collected through a steel pipe coming out directly from inside the source. Since water flows freely all the time, it is collected in a big tank below, which is used for purposes other than drinking. There used to be a number of fish in this water tank biggest being weighing over twenty kilos who had been provided with a golden nose ring (Balu) and named Rani Machhi (Fish). The writer had the privilege to see and touch the rani machhi once when the water tank was in the process of cleaning some five decades ago.
Naun and Naaru can be approached from the village by three downhill winding stony tracks (Kualies). In the hot summer day afternoon, there used to be a great rush of women, children and also elderly people converging and queuing up at the Naun for fetching cool, fresh and pure drinking water. Many a times, there used to be a lot of haggling, cock fighting or Tu-Tu, Mein-Mein among the women to decide who came first or whose turn would come next and sometimes such skirmishes resulted in breakages of pitchers. But such trivial matters were easily sorted out by any volunteer mediator within no time.
There were definitely two main benefits of Naun and Naaru to the residents. The first and the obvious being the benefit of getting pure drinking water and the second one was the physical exercise that the people were led to while carrying head-loads of vessels of water and climbing up and down the valley everyday. Sometimes this physical exertion came more than twice a day and thereby keeping a strong and stout state of general health.
As drinking water availability is now at kitchen point, people have nearly abandoned these springs which were once used to be the important source of potable water and of course the meeting points that helped villagers to have greater interaction among them and to keep social bonds of love and friendship for long. Still, the springs with its gaiety and glamour flows uninterruptedly and waiting for none. No one fights here for a turn any longer!
At Naaru, water is first stored in a covered tank and then distributed through a tap while at Naun, water is collected through a steel pipe coming out directly from inside the source. Since water flows freely all the time, it is collected in a big tank below, which is used for purposes other than drinking. There used to be a number of fish in this water tank biggest being weighing over twenty kilos who had been provided with a golden nose ring (Balu) and named Rani Machhi (Fish). The writer had the privilege to see and touch the rani machhi once when the water tank was in the process of cleaning some five decades ago.
Naun and Naaru can be approached from the village by three downhill winding stony tracks (Kualies). In the hot summer day afternoon, there used to be a great rush of women, children and also elderly people converging and queuing up at the Naun for fetching cool, fresh and pure drinking water. Many a times, there used to be a lot of haggling, cock fighting or Tu-Tu, Mein-Mein among the women to decide who came first or whose turn would come next and sometimes such skirmishes resulted in breakages of pitchers. But such trivial matters were easily sorted out by any volunteer mediator within no time.
There were definitely two main benefits of Naun and Naaru to the residents. The first and the obvious being the benefit of getting pure drinking water and the second one was the physical exercise that the people were led to while carrying head-loads of vessels of water and climbing up and down the valley everyday. Sometimes this physical exertion came more than twice a day and thereby keeping a strong and stout state of general health.
As drinking water availability is now at kitchen point, people have nearly abandoned these springs which were once used to be the important source of potable water and of course the meeting points that helped villagers to have greater interaction among them and to keep social bonds of love and friendship for long. Still, the springs with its gaiety and glamour flows uninterruptedly and waiting for none. No one fights here for a turn any longer!
No comments:
Post a Comment