"What is this, man? This is an arid region. We rarely get any rain here. Most of the original inhabitants of this village have migrated from this place already. There are a few public wells and the water level in them is at eighty feet deep. Because we have the sea at five miles from here, the wells have some water always. But the water is acrid in taste. Those who are still living here are doing so because they have no other place to go. They eke out their living by doing some job or business in the nearby town. You want to sink a borewell here and raise a farm! How did you even get this idea?"
Swaminathan patiently listened to the harangue of the village patriarch and then replied:
"Sir, you say there is groundwater at the depth of eighty feet. So, if I sink a borewell, won't it yield water? You also say that because the sea is nearby, there will always be a spring of water deep below the ground. So, once I sink the borewell, it will keep yielding water, won't it? People living here didn't attempt to sink a borewell maybe because they didn't want to spend money. They have not even dug any well in their house sites and have been content with using the water from the public wells. Many of them draw water from the public well using the pulley installed there, take their bath, wash their clothes and carry a few pots of water home for using in their houses. I don't know whether no one thought of sinking a borewell or whether no one had the money for it! I hail from this place. I had been to Dubai for work. I earned well and sent money home regularly. After a while, my family members, not willing to live here, migrated to the nearby town and settled down there. I have just come back from Dubai after completing my assignment there. I could also have settled down at some other place and lived a comfortable life with the money I have earned and saved. But since I own a small piece of land in this village, I want to raise a farm there. Once I do that, this village will be transformed completely. After six months, you will see for yourself the extent of transformation that has taken place."
After explaining his plan in detail, Swaminathan took leave of the patriarch.
"Hm! If you are destined to lose all you have earned in Dubai by digging the ground for water in this arid region, who can prevent it?" murmured the patriarch to himself.
In the next few days, Swaminathan actively pursued his plan of sinking a borewell.
First, he brought in a water diviner and using his expertise, selected a spot for digging the borewell.
The next day, the truck carrying the borewell digging machine and a team of workers arrived. The truck also brought in a few mineral water cans to supply drinking water to the workers!
The boring machine roared and bored for three days. At the end of the third day, water sprang up from the ground. Swaminathan celebrated the event by distributing sweets to everyone present on the spot.
The patriarch who was watching everything was surprised at the success of Swaminathan's efforts. 'Well, it appears that this man is going to succeed in his mission of raising a farm in this village!' he said to himself.
The very next day, Swaminathan got a pump installed, laid the pipelines and using a temporary electricity connection, got the pump started.
When water flew out of the outlet pipe, everyone clapped. Some people tasted the water and expressed their satisfaction about the water not tasting bad.
But, after a few minutes, the flow of water stopped. The workers switched off the pump and restarted it after priming it by pouring water from the mineral water cans. But, water did not flow out. They tried this a couple of times, but the flow of water did not resume.
Swaminathan looked at the team of workers with concern.
The leader of the team, after a moment of hesitation, said, "Sir, it appears that there is only a small quantity of water under the ground. You will get water only if water accumulates again from the springs around this spot."
"How much time will it take for the water to accumulate so that we can get it through the pump?" asked Swaminathan.
"You can try tomorrow" replied the team leader, conveying the subtle message to Swaminathan that the team had completed its job and that it had no plans to come back the next day.
As Swaminathan was contemplating what to do next, some villagers came to that place, running.
One of them threw a hostile look at Swaminathan and yelled at him, "What have you done, man? Water level has gone down in all the public wells. We are unable to draw even half a pot of water at a time. Your borewell has sucked up the ground water from all the wells in the village. We don't know how long it will take for the water level to rise up to a sustainable level."
The leader of the team who was able to size up the situation told Swaminathan, "Sir, our Proprietor has asked us to collect the remaining amount from you. You can pay by cheque as well."
"My dear young man! This is a place where the rainfall is rare and scarce. There will be ground water only if it rains. I warned you even at the beginning not to enter into such ventures in a place not blessed with sufficient rain. Now, the existing wells have also dried up. How are you going to make up for the loss suffered by us?" asked the Patriarach, his voice reflecting both sorrow and anger.
Thirukkural
Section 1: The Path of Virtue
Chapter 2
The Glory of Rain
Verse 16 (in Tamil)
visumbin thuLi vIzhin allAl maRRAngE
pasumpul thalai kANpu arithu.
Meaning
Unless raindrops fall from the sky, not even a blade of grass will grow here.
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