Water

  Not so long ago, one little boy walked with his mother to search for water in the forest. They had already been walking for an hour in the burning afternoon sun.

It was the month of June in India, the peak of the hot and dry summer, people are in desperate wait of the first drop of rain. Hoping drought goes away, but, sometimes, it does not, making every day a fight between life and death. One has to hunt for cattle fodder, food and water.

 

 The little boy asked his mother, "how long do I have to walk ?" The boy was exhausted and the searing heat was sapping whatever energy he had left inside himself, yet, he plodded on, trying hard to curb his thirst, so that if they found enough water to suffice for the day he could easily get rid of it. Finally, they found a well with enough water. Slowly, his mother pulled the water up the pulley in the bucket and emptied it into the pot which she then put on her head to carry water back home where her husband was waiting.

 They walked back the long path to the village facing the dry hot winds called the loo. There is always the hot earth on which the villagers walk barefoot. Slowly they walked home. When they reached home, the little boy's father was looking very mournfully at his destroyed crops, wishing that this time the rains would wash his worries and his debts away. Maybe this is wishful thinking but, what else can a drought ridden farmer do? All he can do is wait for the rain to fulfill his dreams of getting a bountiful harvest.

    

Just about two years age, heavy rain had made the village a prosperous one with the farmers cultivating rice. There was a festive atmosphere the whole year till the rains the following year very low rains led to huge losses for the farmers which led to their leaving the village in search of jobs and some much needed food and water. 

Some like the young boy's uncle had taken the drastic step of committing suicide due to the escalating debts that result due to a failed crop. A prosperous village not long ago now was a stirring picture of hunger, thirst and poverty.

 A stark picture of the situation in those villages that are devoid of any irrigation facilities. The young boy had not been to school since a year due to the drought that robbed the family of their primary source of income, agriculture.

The very next moment, the boy heard the sound of thunder which announced the arrival of rain which was as good as nectar the sweet drink from heaven which washes away all misery from life. The black clouds soon closed out the Sun, and the rain came hurtling down. Poverty alleviating, fulfilling rain! God had answered his prayers, finally! This was the gift for all his perseverance and diligence to God.