Dr A S Bhatia
It is now nearly six months that I was kept in the dark godown, waiting for the summers to come. I was not all alone, there were nearly five hundered of other water coolers waiting for the day when we will be taken out of this dampened and suffocating basement. Yes I am a water cooler waiting for the temperature to rise, when we will be taken out and able to stand in fresh air! I know these creatures so called humans are very opportunistic. First of all, they have destroyed all the jungles and then the sources of fresh and cool drinking water has been polluted up to the extent that now they cannot even drink water from rivers which have sustained their race since time immemorial! Construction of concrete jungles has been all around. To make their life comfortable, which was also there, since centuries till the industrialization and uncontrolled urbanization took place, these humans created air conditioners, refrigerators and many more to further damage the ozone layer of the environment, thereby setting on a vicious cycle . We all know that with the coming of summer seasons, we will be taken out of this basement , ten to fifteen workers will start removing dust from us and will be given a new fresh look. Finally, the day came for which we were waiting for last so many months, the door of the basement was opened with a creaking sound and I could see the rays of sun falling inside and amidst the light there were few human beings coming down the stairs. We understood that the scorching summers must have set in!
We all were given a new look and loaded in different trucks and were dispatched to different parts of the city. It was a touching moment to get separated from the other water coolers with whom I have spent all winters in that basement. After a day long journey I along with ten others was unloaded in a shop which was already having different fans, refrigerators on display on the footpath of the road. We were also kept there and a proper dusting was again done by a small boy whom the owner of the shop was shouting again and again to do the dusting properly! I felt like a VIP at that moment. The sun was at its peak and the shopkeeper was very happy. I heard him saying, “All these water coolers will be sold in next few days , place an order for ten more”. I could see the glow on his face expecting a big profit this season. The shop was visited by many customers daily to purchase different items to beat the summer. In front of the shop, there was a rehari wala selling neembupaani, throughout the day he was standing in the sun, but I never saw him even drinking a single glass of neembupaani himself, he was sweating profusely but repeatedly was clearing his sweat with a piece of cloth around his neck and kept shouting , “Neembu paani….pe lo Bhaiya Neembu paani”..and himself was taking once in a while few sips of water from a plastic bottle, used mineral water bottle, kept under his rehari! Then I looked towards my shop keeper who was sitting in air-conditioned shop and selling water coolers, what was the irony! Both doing the business with the same motive, to help people beat the heat and one was himself getting beaten by the heat and the other enjoying all comfortable stuff!
Finally, the day came when six to eight young boys came and selected me for buying. They were arguing with the shopkeeper to bring down the price as I was being purchased for the purpose of donating for public use! Ultimately the price was settled and I was loaded in a load career. While going away I again had a last look at the neembu paani wala , who as usual was shouting to attract people to his rehari for a glass of lemon water ! Soon I was taken to a big bungalow with a lush green lawn and was kept on one side. After few minutes, a tall well built man, wearing white kurta and pajama with a basket came out. All youngsters who brought me there stood with folded hands and some one more smart went ahead to touch his feet. I understood the man in front of me must be some local leader. ‘Sir this is the water cooler, which tomorrow will be installed outside the cremation ground” The man came close to me, had a look and said, have you prepared the name plate for tomorrow?” Suddenly one more person came forward with a big plate in his hands which read, ” This water cooler is donated by Mr XXXX for the use of general public” and below it there were four or five more names which read, “In the presence of…!”
The next day was a memorable day for me , I was fully decorated with fresh flowers, was taken in an open jeep by about hundred people following me ,there were about five cars and in one luxurious car, was sitting the same strong man in white kurta pajama. Some overenthusiastic workers were shouting slogans, “Hamara neta kaisa ho …aisa ho aisa ho.” I felt so proud and important the way I was being taken in a procession till we reached the designated site. Some crowd had already gathered there and they also started shouting slogans on seeing the conclave. And within next hour I was installed on an already prepared cemented platform. Water tank was placed above me at a height with water connection from municipality water pipe. The name plate depicting, “Donated by…” was carefully and firmly fixed in front of me. Sweets were distributed, media persons started taking bytes of the strong man and slowly the crowd dispersed. Now I was standing there alone with the water tank to quench the thirst of passersby. Indeed I was very happy the way I was treated and the purpose for which I was installed there.
But my happiness did not last longer, as of now two months after, I have started hating myself. All my polished body is now full of dust; even algae and fungus have grown up in the area which was always wet. The inside of steel glass which is tied with a small chain to drink water has turned jet black from inside. No one from the crowd who installed me visited here to take care of my whereabouts! I never saw the face of that strong man in white kurta anywhere near this area. Worst is when people are spitting on my sides, the tabocoo they are chewing. And the world changes for me when it is little dark. Poor labourer will come close to me, will take a small bottle containing some red coloured liquid and hurriedly putting it in the dirty glass, filling it with water from me and drinking it at an astonishing speed with eyes revolving here and there as they were afraid of being watched by someone. But truly speaking I am left for only such people who come in darkness and need me and dare to drink water in that glass and in the surrounding I am forced to stay.
I will have to live the life which I initially took very exciting and thrilling to serve the thirsty people, but now the people have stopped coming even close to me because of the bad smell, the algae and fungi. My whole body has turned blackish, with sides having red shine of saliva mixed with tobacco. The name plate of the donor is still there. “Is it not the moral duty of the person whose name has been engraved on the plate to come once in a while to take care of me?” I am now an orphaned water cooler with no master to look after me! No one to clean the water tank from which the water kept over flowing. It is the time for the authorities to frame strict rules, while granting permission, when ever any of my brother is donated at public place, the responsibility for up keeping the donated water cooler should be held on the person whose name plate is installed there, otherwise I was better in the basement godown of the businessmen although there I was suffocating but I was not in this pity condition as I am in.
(The author is Principal, Government Medical College Rajouri)
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