The miracle of water culture
Water has been omnipresent in this world, life on the Earth first began in the form of phytoplankton, it slowly evolved to other organisms. Ever since life came on earth, water seems to be the elixir and has been an influence on geography, social and political life. It is essential for any lifeform to survive. Every form of water available is a cyclic resource. Centuries ago even human settlements were formed around different kinds of freshwater resources. All the traditions in some way or other involve water. Only 3% of the earth's water is freshwater. Also, water is the muse to many artists, it's been the way of life since time immemorial. Water is something that has seen many generations come and go. Many wars have been fought. Many ships have been sunk. This is surreal that an element is so strongly rooted in our lives.
Resources like - rivers, lakes, glaciers, reservoirs, ponds, streams, and groundwater, etc. were used for daily activities by the settlements. The versatile nature of water made it more susceptible to anthropogenic interventions. These interventions were an indicator of the technological advancements of these settlements. Every settlement has its own way to denote the importance of the basic needs like roti, kapda, and makaan. An increasing population created a huge gap between demand and supply of water. According to the New York Times data published in February 2020, Water scarcity is the next challenge in front of the world. (fig.1). Hence, it becomes important to talk about water.
If we dive deep into the term representation, as an entity it is developed upon several attributes like - Culture, philosophy, Traditions, Rituals, Language, Script, Festivals, Art, Craft, etc. These attributes act as a tool for representation. Every culture has a different representation style and method. This representation of water exists in the form of folk tales, songs, vocabulary, paintings, rituals, etc. These were the ways by which people elevate the importance of basic needs like water and also use them to spread awareness among all strata of the society.
In India based on representation, one can find multiple languages with varied scripts and dialects. All of them signifying the human relation with water, mostly through cultural practices. Let's take a look at India, through the lens of culture, to understand the significance and depiction of water. While tracing back this lineage in Vedas, the name of water itself is represented and defined through 6 different names such as : Dharodak, Gang, Samudra, Karodak, Haimodak, Tusharodak.
Dharodak : is a rain water, which aligns the 7 metals in the body and is good for digestion.
Gang : rain water in the month of July (Ashvin hindu month name, according to hindu months during swati nakshatra) considered to be purest form of water. These droplets of this rain are known for the creation of real pearls.
Samudra : is a salty rain. According to ancient astrological studies during the monsoon, salty rains used to occur in the Mrugshree constellation and proposed not to drink as it is not good for our health.
Karodak : is the hail, it hampers the crop but if stored can be used as a freshwater resource. It is known to lower the acidic levels in the body.
Haimodak : is a snow water (glacier) and it can be used for all purposes.
Tausharodak : Dew droplets considered to be good for digestion.
It is surprising to see water with so many specifications and their particular benefits, which were categorized centuries ago based on its availability, source and benefits. To take this representation in nomenclature ahead, Vedas also include different names for each water resource.
‘Nadey, Audbhid jal’ is used to depict river water. It is visible during the autumn season. (Sharad ritu, autumn- Hindu seasonal name). It is often related to the origin of the river. Examples of this are Jhelum and Ganga. Another resource full of minerals is groundwater, often denoted as ‘Chaudyodak’. Examples of these groundwater lakes lie within the Maharashtrian forts, even few are found near Ajanta caves, Kalsubai peak is a good example of such a ground water resource. ‘Tadag’ is the word used for lake water, which is of sweet and salty water and is considered to be good to overcome skin disease, specially during (Hemant rutu, pre winter Hindu month). Human intervention like Dam, which holds water is known as ‘Sarsodak’ in these religious texts and also the stepped well water was known as ‘Vapi jal’ (fig.2).
Water has made its mark in all religious structures around the world. Presence of water bodies is a common sight in most of the socio-religious congregational spaces. If you look at certain practices and rituals in any culture you will notice, they are closely related to the religious and spiritual importance of water. The seasons like the monsoon in the Indian subcontinent is considered to be very auspicious, as it is the main natural resource of water. Many cultures consider this season apt to celebrate a festival which reinforces the importance of water in human life. Apart from the Indian summer festival of Holi, there are festivals like Teej, Onam, Narli pornima, Adiperukku related to some form of water. In addition to this there is a unique festival named ‘Behdienkhlam’ of Meghalaya, North East India. In this festival people from the Jaintia tribe dance in mud water to drive away the evil spirits (fig.3). Water based festivals and rituals like these were well planned and distributed over the year in different geographies by our ancestors. Such cultural and spiritual activities are based on the seasons, availability of water, form or stage of water, physical need of water for the human body, etc.
Apart from this, water plays a vital role in the Hindu rituals. Early Vedic texts identify water as a feminine energy known as shakti. It is said that the cosmic man was born of the Waters. A well known ritual like ‘Abhisheka’ is considered to be a start point of any ceremonial worship. It simply means bathing the deity. The religious practice for the Sun God is still prevalent in most parts of India. It is known as ‘Arghya’ and is the first daily ritual to be performed by offering water to the Sun God. Due to such practices, water is considered holy and plays a vital role in the public realm. Outcome of this is reflected in certain religious practices like Ghat aarti at Varanasi, Kumbh Mela and Visarjan Rituals (fig.4).
All the traditional beliefs and customs are passed onto the next generations, either they are recorded in the scripts or art form. It also depicts the time period and other factual data of that era. Water has its presence in human life in every possible way, this can be perceived in the way water is portrayed through actions and art forms.
Humans have always recorded their life graphically in the form of paintings and have expressed extensively through this form. When it comes to the traditional form of paintings, such as cave paintings, tribal paintings like warli. The depiction of water with respect to daily activities is emphasized. The cave paintings, and various traditional forms of paintings drew inspiration from around them. Therefore, there are various inspirations taken from daily lives of the villagers.
This painting belongs to a indigenous tribe of western India named varli. They have this unique way of expressing important factors of their communal life. This Painting (fig.5) showcased the harvesting of crops, where one can see women drawing water from the wells, there are men carrying water from the well towards their fields. women carrying pots over their heads from wells to their homes. These scenes are actual part of the daily activities and had been part of the tribal paintings since time immemorial.
Hence proved, Water is an integral part of human life, but people back then and now also use it carelessly. If it is a basic necessity then it should be used carefully, should be free for all and it should be abundant in nature. But, in reality, major issues related to water like drought, flood, landslides, water borne diseases, etc. takes place due to lack of awareness. There is one more major phenomenon termed as - Water wastage. This takes place specially due to mismanagement, uncertainty in production of water, concentration and rapid growth in density, no appreciation about the value of water.
In many cultures there is a concept of water harvesting and water conservation, which is based on the belief that a person who works towards building this awareness about water or contributes towards solving the issue of water - he or she will be blessed by the almighty. In Rigveda according to ardhvaryusukta, the second responsibility of nation building is considered to be rainwater harvesting. There are many patrons, kings, and philanthropists who contributed to this process of water conservation. Even normal citizens earlier used to contribute to this process by donating labour work.
Projects like stepwells all across India(fig. 6), Khul from himachal (chanel which brings glacier water from mountains to villages, fig. 7), neer katti of southern India (cascading tanks connected with river, designed to channelize and store overflowing water, made by using traditional waterproofing material, fig. 8), Indian aqueducts (fig.9) at deserted Nahargarh built by Sawai jai Singh, these all architectural marvels are proud examples of Indian engineering only related to water. In future while tackling any issues related to water we should study our past to make well informed decisions.
Thus ‘Water’ is the birth giver, nurturer and if not treated properly the destroyer as well. Therefore it needs utmost attention. We have to make sure that the water remains in our life and should flourish our future generations.
References:
https://www.ecoideaz.com/expert-corner/learning-from-water-conservation-in-indian-culture
http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/rural/whim_tradi.htm
https://theprint.in/india/governance/modi-govt-plans-to-charge-rural-india-nominal-fee-for-piped-water-under-nal-se-jal/265852/
https://www.india-briefing.com/news/industrial-water-rates-india-supply-16547.html/
Segment on water by Atul shastri bhagare
https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/drops-of-wisdom/article27298044.ece
https://hekint.org/2018/07/09/the-role-of-water-in-indian-culture/
https://www.india-briefing.com/news/industrial-water-rates-india-supply-16547.html/
https://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/showcase/3982-water-scarcity-clock
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