Well scene at Tibrewalah haveli at Bissau
We often talk about painted havelis of Shekhawati and share our views with the world via WWW and various platforms. The views are often diverse and many of us never tell us the intimacy of cultural practices represented in numerous paintings in an individual manner but as general subject.
I discovered this beautifully created and precise depiction of the water related architecture on the wall of a haveli in Bissau (dist. Jhunjhunu) sometime in 2002 while on an excursion that is as refreshing as it once dotted the landscape in actual reality sans women and children that fetched potable water and used the space as cultural practices. The world of a Well was not exclusive to women but intimate. While the 'Charsiya' pulled his leather bucket with a pair of sturdy oxen or a robust looking camel with the help of 'lau' that is strings made of leather and hessian ropes with strange looking load pulling gear, the water gushed through channels once the contained was emptied in the trough (Padchha) and collected in storage tanks made in the body of the platform built around the cylinder of the masonry hole in the earth. The depth of the well would not be less than 60 feet and sometimes went as deep as 120 feet. It was a challenge and a marvel for the expert diggers and masons in the semi-arid and desert zone of Shekhawati, with an average annual rainfall record hovering between 20"-40". One need meticulous details to explain the beauty of the cultural practices associated with water architecture that remained dear to the women folks. Regrettably these practices shrunk about 1970s and later vanished as tap water supply made it convenient to get access to potable water and also waste a large quantity. The Johras or masonry water tanks dotting the urban and rural landscape of Shekhawati is another marvel in the history of water architecture in the Thar.
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