Cumulonimbus in a well

                        The flickering flashes of light and the gentle grumbling in the sky woke me up today. A nice contrast to the boisterous rhythmic croaking of frogs that put me to sleep. The air was suffused with coolness , the soft sound of rain tempting me to linger more in bed. The monsoons are almost upon us and it's the  time of the year that I love to be in Kerala. The dust and heat no more,all around is intense green and a certain stillness which is not hard to come upon even in a city like Trivandrum. Just go down a side road and soon you will lose the sound of traffic and be surrounded by trees and bird calls. Maybe the blessing of slow 'development' and a militant workforce that puts off the big industries.

                       The first thing I do when I come home is to head for the shower. The water is not brackish like in so many parts of India  but sweet, more so if its from the well. Any house worth it's name in Kerala will have this concentric circular contraption that all children and a few demented adults like me love to gaze down into.There's something quite exciting and forbidden in  leaning over the parapet to peer down into a well, to see the depth , width, the shape and structure of the rings and the inexplicable pull I feel to jump and be submerged in water.






                         Traditionally there is an aluminium pail and a pulley to pull the water up. If the well is not too deep, people, mostly women do it freestyle, without using the pulley but just the rope which is an excellent exercise ! It's a sight I have seen countless times, the woman drawing water from the well and one which still fascinates me. If she's a seasoned hand , there's a sinewy flow to her movements making the whole process look effortless. She releases the rope  first and the pulley rolls fast ,the pail in a free fall motion to the water surface making a characteristic sound loud enough to  let the neighbours know that water is being drawn ! Then the pail hits the water and she tilts the rope slightly in a subtle movement for the water to enter the pail. And now with both hands she pulls the rope down in a rhythmic flow and the pail jerks upward in a see saw motion. The well in the house has a baby well near it as well. It was originally intended to store water from the main well for people not so keen on the exercise benefits of drawing water from such depths. I look down in the deep mother well in the courtyard and glimpse the static dark grey monsoon clouds in its depths...

20 comments:

  1. I love how you can write about the simplest seemingly mundane things with such perception. I want to be able to look at my environment, like you, as if for the first time. There would be so much to write about..!
    Also, I join you in the ranks of people who like to look down into a well from above. No matter what age we are the water in the well unfailingly reflects the hidden child in us, don't you think? :)

    Well written, Pan!

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  2. I imagine drawing water from a well is not as effortless as you make it sound, although someone who does it every day would be used to it.

    I loved the images you drew of Kerala and the coming monsoon. I felt like I was there with you!

    Jai

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  3. i just love kerala, want to visit sometime...! and the well thing is so simple and yet to manage to make it special...!

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  4. You are wonderful with words :)
    Loved the beautiful co-relation of the sweet water well to the ever refreshing Monsoon showers :)
    Thank you for sharing this refreshing post :D

    Keep up the good work :)

    Cheers!!

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  5. Nice write-up, and thanks for bringing back some fond memories I have from my village. I remember drwaing water from the well- the vessel would be so heavy, I would fear i would drag me down along with it :)

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  6. now isn't kerala real special? :D

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  7. elmo, glad you got some inspiration here. it would indeed be a blessing if you can look at the world afresh everyday.hmmm maybe we should start a facebook group about people who like to stare down wells ! ;)

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  8. Jai , if you haven't done the drawing the water from the well thingie I suggest you do it on your next trip to Kerala. The wells in Kerala are something special and it ain't that hard ! :)

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  9. Sneha, If you haven't visited Kerala you should definitely come here. It's so different from the rest of India and of course at the other end of the country from where you live !

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  10. CB welcome to my space. Thank you for the kind words. valued and appreciated, coming from a writer. :)

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  11. gal , never could have guessed you would be a 'well drawer'. well well well ! ;) ah that's something i forgot to touch upon , the slight fear of going under the water a syou lean over that parapet...

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  12. Blunt edges, you bear a striking resemblance to my fav cartoon character :p

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  13. That's so beautiful Pan. I remember old days when we had wells at our home back in Kerala and a few pet cats too. Miss them both, place and my pets :)

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  14. You reminded me of the well-drawing in my grandparents huge wada in rural Maharashtra.

    And this is what I missed in Kerala. The Kerala of the deep wells and that of the hamlets.

    A suggestion: Don't make the entire post in bold font. Feels a little odd to read it.

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  15. a well crafted 'well' story!! n olso liked the 'depth' of the post!!:)

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  16. Manna, i seem to be inadvertently following a lot of mallus in blogworld these days. Hell we should be proud. there are plenty of good writers in the mallu community. somehow every house in Kerala have the cats in addition to the well !:)

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  17. hmmm Julia, whats a wada? i know the one which starts with V which we eat but not wada! Sorry about the font, i was fooling around with the settings ! not very computer savvy !
    Thansk for pointing it out though, very much appreciated. :)

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  18. Vishwa, not really a story is it? glad u liked it and the depth factor...lol

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  19. nice description...
    n i like d name o ur blog... 'a vagabond tale..'

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  20. Hello Pan, I just stole your picture of a well and part of the text for my own blogpost ("Oinari's Mesh") - I hope you will not mind; please tell me if you do, I'll remove it.


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Thanks for taking the time to write :)