REFLECTIONS:
WATER WELL (Udkachi Bhaim)
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There is a saying in Konkani: Koblem bhaint poddlem ani Soblem nitoll zalem (to have something done without ones knowledge,) - literally it means Soblem [Sabina] fell in a well and in order to save her, a koblem [in this case one that is used to pluck mangoes which is attached to a long bamboo stick] was lowered in a well. The koblem had been lying in a corner without being used for a long time and it was full of cobwebs and dust, but the moment it was lowered in the well it was cleaned!
In the olden days, and till today, in some parts of Goa, arranged marriages were in fashion. Girls parents would invite and interview eligible grooms. In the meantime, they would ask relatives and friends to find out as much information as possible on their to-be son-in-law. If a boy was known to be a flirt, the moment his name was mentioned, they would remark: To gho? To sath bhainchem udok pielolo!) Are you talking about that guy? He is a womanizer!
Wells are meant to provide water and quench our thirst but for the military personnel they are torture chambers. Here is how the military personnel torture a spy or an enemy in a well: They tie him with a coir or plastic rope and lower him into a well upside-down and leave him hanging close to the water level until he confesses. Water is supposed to quench our thirst but a poor spy can see the water below but cannot drink it - so close yet so far! Sometimes if a well is deep, the victim has difficulty in breathing and he succumbs to the torture before he can be brought up.
In the past, a common man did not have a wash basin in his house. As soon as he woke up, he headed straight to the well, lowered a kovsuli and pulled it up filled with water. He either transferred water from kovsuli to a tambieo (a small copper container) or used the kovsuli itself to wash his mouth/face. A tambieo full of water was enough to wash ones mouth/face. Today, we make use of the tap at a wash basin and end up wasting several liters of water just to wash our mouth/face and to shave! I am not saying we should not use water. We can save water by controlling the tap rather than leaving it on continuously while we wash our face or shave!
There were no kitchen sinks in the past. As soon as people woke up, they picked up the tost (a large, round, basin-like copper container) containing previous nights used vattleo (brass plates,) kotteche dovle (coconut shell spoons,) kuleram (spoons,) and utensils like xitacho buddkulo (rice cooking pot,) kullnnem (curry pot,) marnon, etc. and proceeded to the well. They used a couple of kollxe water to clean the utensils. Now, kitchen sink tap is left on until all the washing is done thus wasting several liters of water just to wash a few utensils! Here again, we could exercise control on the tap.
People in the olden days were always in a happy mood. Obviously, they did not have as much on their minds as we have today. So, they hummed tunes and sang songs as they drew water from a well and cleaned their utensils.
There were no toilets with flush tanks in those days. People went to toilet with a tambieo or an empty bottle filled with water. Nobody was allowed to take the kovsuli meant to draw water from the well to a toilet. If discovered, the person was scolded and children were punished. Nowadays, we waste several liters of water by repeatedly flushing toilets every time we use them! What a waste, especially considering the prevailing shortage of water!
Since there were no bathrooms, men and women bathed at wells. A well-water bath is the best bath; it gives one a totally different feeling, as the water is freshly drawn from a well. Hindu men and women performed their morning pooja at wells, rang the little bell in their hands, strew flowers around, drew water from wells and bathed in the open. (I never saw Christian girls/women bathe in the open at wells during day time.) While bathing, men wore a kaxtti or a cheddi (short pant) and women clad themselves in a thin, knee deep white sari - a la Zeenat Aman style from Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram movie. The pallu (top end of sari) was drawn from behind over the left shoulder, spread across the chest and its end tucked at the waist on the right side. It was interesting to watch Hindu girls/women bathe at wells. Nowadays, Hindi movie directors drench heroines in rain or make them bathe in a river in order to stick clothes to their
bodies and present their figure/curves to the public. In the olden days, we saw these scenes every morning, free of charge!
Here I remember another well-related story. We have a Porobo family in Gaumvaddy who have been dealing in spices since many years. The late Dharma Porobo was a common face at weekly bazaars in Siolim, Calangute and Mapusa.
One of his sons, Arun Porobo, is carrying on his fathers business now. In addition, he supplies spices to the Taj Hotel at Fort Aguada. They also sell spices at home. As a child, my mother would send me to buy spices from Dharmas house. As soon as I arrived at their place, either Dharmas mother (everyone called her Ayii,) or his wife or daughter would attend to me.
They would ask me: Kitem zai assillem? (What did you want?) My answer would be: Eka anneanchem jirem, eka anneanchi haldi, eka anneanchi confir ani eka anneanchi losunn. (One anna cumin, one anna turmeric, one anna coriander and one anna garlic.) They would go inside the house, prepare the spices and pack them into daktuleo kagdacheo puddieo (small paper-wrapped parcels.) They would either place the parcels on the sopo (a bench made of stones) or they would drop the packets into my folded palms so as to avoid body contact the reason? Cristao ate dukrachem mas (pork!) Whenever Ayii served me, I would purposely let the packet(s) slip off my hands and manage to touch her hand or feet. The moment she was touched, she would repeatedly touch both her cheeks with finger tips of the right hand and say: Deva re Deva, Deva re Deva, hea poran mhaka afuddlem Deva; hea poran mhaka bhoxttilem Deva; hanvaim, hanvaim,
mhaka boxttilem, mhaka boxttilem; padd podillo khuimcho; rav, tuje avoik sangun ditam. Atam portun navun nitoll zanvchem poddlem! (Oh God, oh God, this child touched me; he polluted me God; I have now become impure, I have now become impure; you cursed one; wait, I am going to tell your mother. Now I have to bathe again and cleanse myself.) She would then proceed to the well behind their house, draw water by hand and bathe. While she bathed, she would keep on murmuring: Deva re Deva - Rama, Rama; Deva re Deva Rama, Rama! Not only that, once she had bathed, she would prepare patoll xennancho lep (a thin mixture of cow dung and water) and apply it on the floor in front of the house and on the sopo with a sarnincho funtto (worn out broom.) The present generation does not follow those customs. Ayii died in the 1970s at the ripe of 101!
We know that water in Bombay was not and probably is still not abundantly available. Bomboikars had to wake up at 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. in order to collect tap water and fill the pots/containers, but when they arrived in Goa, they were a happier lot, as water from wells was abundantly available.
What they enjoyed the most was sipping a glass of urrak or fenni and then neutralizing the effect by pouring cool, freshly drawn water from a well on their heads! They helped each other by taking turns in drawing water. They kept glasses and a bottle full of urrak or fenni on the curbing of a well and kept refilling their glasses every now and then. They mostly sang English songs as they pulled water and bathed at wells and continued to have bath until they were tired of drawing water. Obviously, since they were not used to drawing water, copper pots would receive several dents and had to be repaired while they were still there, which meant another repair would be required after their departure for Bombay! If they were allowed to use earthen pots, it was a sure disaster!
During the cold season, people, especially children, are hesitant to go for a bath and many prefer a hot water bath rather than a cold water bath.
Well-water is quite warm in the mornings; so, once you draw a kollso from a well and pour it on your body, the cold disappears. A good bath at a well takes around 8-10 kollxe as compared to several liters of water that we waste under a hot/cold water shower! People in the olden days did not study economics, yet they economized! Surely, we can do much better than them!
Today, the whole world is running short of water. Let us put in a concerted effort and save as much water as we can before it runs out and leaves us high and dry!!!
Thats all for now from Doms antique shelf!
Moi-mogan,
Domnic Fernandes
Anjuna/Dhahran, KSA
------------ End - This is a three part article by Domnic Fernandes -------------
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