Lekha is an orphan who has quite a fascination for all things connected with Rajasthan(India). The fascination comes to life as she is pulled into the century when the Mughals and Rajputs are in a tussle over Rajwara (Rajasthan of today). The story...
I jerked awake as someone shook me. I was a bit confused as to where I was as it looked like a tent and then I realized that I was still inside the carriage and had slept off. Both Vasundhara and Gayatri too woke up looking heavy eyed. All three of us had lied down to straighten our backs but the heat and the swinging motion of the carriage had lulled us to sleep.
The maid who had woken us up told that we had arrived at a dharamshala (rest house for travelers).We were led to a separate area where the ladies could wash up. There were five to six buckets lined up with lotas (almost spherical utensil ) inside. It was a low walled area made of red sandstone and also the flooring was done similarly. A cloth had been hung on a peg on the wall for drying up the hand and face.
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Two varieties of lotas
The water freshly drawn from the well felt cool on the face and arms as we washed the dust and grime which had formed due to all the perspiration.
Few women got together to prepare for the lunch, as the men looked after the animals with them. Everyone looked very busy except for a few of us who had charpayis (woven beds made of jute ropes) laid out for them to sit on. Things were done in a disciplined fashion as everyone seemed to know their specific jobs. I saw few men and women drawing water from the well and wanted to try my hand at it.
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A charpayi
After the luxurious life of the palace this was the first time I was seeing how the other half worked in this century to get things done. Everything was done manually and required lot of physical efforts.
"Can we go help them pull some water from the well?" I asked trying to subdue the excitement in my voice.
"Why would you want to do that? There are enough people for that" said Vasundhara.
"My parents always did that job and had forbidden me to go near the well. So I wanted to try out once". It seemed I was becoming an expert at story telling but then a lie if told for one's survival and doesn't hurt anyone isn't a sin, I hoped.
"Okay let's go , but I must warn you it's a very hard job and requires loads of strength" said Gayatri.
"Don't worry I am not that weak. I am quite capable of doing such jobs." I was quite confident about my capabilities, as I had just seen a girl in her teens effortlessly pulling out two pots full of water which she then loaded on her head with the help of a lady present there and later walked with ease towards the place where they were cooking. The part where she had balanced the pot on her head and also walked with them was indeed difficult I agreed, but pulling out two pots full of water was not.
