I live in Kirti Nagar and in this Colony there is only one municipal water tap. There are no water taps in the respective houses of the people. The municipal water tap which is in front of my house is quite an enjoyable sight. Every morning and evening there is a great noise and a great crowd.
Throughout the day this is a place of great activity. Early in the morning, women, children and men come with their buckets and pitchers. Everybody is in a hurry to get the water. Sometimes they begin quarrelling among themselves because each one of them is anxious to have the first turn.
I have often seen the earthen pitchers break in this quarrel. I pity how old people have to wait till the rush is over. This early morning rush lasts till about 9-30 in the morning and after that the water tap presents a deserted scene for some time.
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At about 12-00 noon, there is again a crowd but this time it is mainly the crowd of women. They come to wash their dirty linen for the day. These women wash their clothes with soap and then also put them to dry on the nearby open lawn. At that time there is so much gossiping and there is so much talk about each other’s homes that one’s head is turned.
In the afternoon, the water tap again becomes busy. But people now come in one’s or two’s. There is not that big crowd that one sees in the morning. Some people come with their pitchers while some are there with their buckets.
This time they are more leisurely and I often hear them gossiping amongst themselves. They are all in a very good mood. They appear to have forgotten their quarrels of the morning.
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Near this municipal water tap, the most usual scene is that of the car drivers and rehri wallas. For them it is a place of rest after their day’s toil.
Throughout the day one can see a large number of such people sitting at ease and enjoying themselves. They eat and enjoy their rest round this water place.
For them it is a Caravan Sarai, for others it is a source of the most essential thing, that is water. As a matter of fact, the municipal water tap of my locality is the live wire and a source of great satisfaction to the whole facility.
Here people gather and they come to know each other more intimately although sometimes in the hard way. Of course there are difficulties which would not have been there if the houses had been supplied with water taps.