Monday, July 18, 2016

Field Well, Bihar


I took this picture when I was 12, during a class tour which I conducted, around Bihar. I was using a Kodak box camera which a friend lent to me. The man on the right was crouching close to the child in such a way that their figures were not distinct, so I asked them to move until I got a clear silhouette, in which I felt most satisfied with the positioning of each of the elements. My only regret at the time was that the background was completely bland, devoid of anything; a condition which today, from the distance of 68 years, has ceased to matter, and I have fallen in love with this composition.

Another reason for this picture's appeal to me today is the contrast between modern urban life and its relative appearance of peace and contentment.

In order to operate the well, the man on the right loosens his hold on the rope which is tied to the beam, so that it, along with the leather bag attached to the rope on the left, sinks into the water. Then he pulls the rope again, to raise the water-filled bag.  Now the man sitting on the left springs into action: he is perched on a rounded wooden trough. He pulls up the bag and empties it into the trough, from which it flows into a mud-lined irrigation ditch. Then the whole process begins again.

The child in the picture is probably unknowingly watching his own future. By now, his own child may be working the land, perhaps with a diesel motor to raise the water; if he or she has not fled to the city, for education or to look for work, or gone abroad; or if the city has not expanded to swallow up the fields.

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Bhashwati wrote:

Photo is mighty good and the bland background is most useful.

It has actually given you 3 figurines engaged in enterprise.

One tall and elegant,
one sitting on its haunches
and the smallest one looking on arms akimbo.

 The last paragraph resonated and seemed very familiar because in the course of working in rural and urban areas, these are things that one has encountered almost every day. More chillingly the causes and consequences of mining underground water have been so devastating that this photo inspires acute nostalgia. And the child in the picture, close to your age, if still alive, must be yearning for that expanse of his childhood, when he has a moment to spare in the struggles of existence.

1 comment:

Nannan N said...

Enjoyed the picture and story behind it and especially the following statement,"The child in the picture is probably unknowingly watching his own future." Great thinking.