Water summary

 Water,  a composition in Telugu by challapalli Swaroopa Rani and translated into English by Uma Bhrugubanda focuses on the ugly practice of untouchability in our caste-ridden society. The exploitation of the untouchables and their struggle for equality and parity is brought about in this composition

This composition can be divided into three  parts. In the first part the poet focuses on the instances of common problems faced by untouchables. Water is a mute witness to all that happens to untouchables and the meanness of the upper caste people. The instances of exploitation and ill treatment and the continuous struggle between a village and Wada are brought about very clearly with examples

                  The poem begins with a note of hopelessness that "untouchability can never disappear". Our society is too much divided on caste system and this has paved the way for discrimination and exploitation. The agony of a panchama who is made to beg for a pot of water, the humiliation of a young wada girl, righteous rage of Suvarthamma and its grave consequences are the instances that show how people who belong to uppercaste oppress and suppress the Dalits. 

      The second part focuses on the personal experience of the poetess as a ward girl. The pain of fetching water from long distances,  their weekly bath while their neighbours bathed luxuriously twice a day ; Mallepalle huts burning to ashes because of the indifference shown by upper caste people. 

        A note of hopelessness continues in this part also. It can be observed in the line ; "Our blood flowed like streams.  But we never managed to win even a small puddle of water." It means that despite their silent and violent struggles, for generations, there is no difference in the society. The oppression by the uppercaste people and exploitation of the untouchables still continues despite many struggles and fights.

There is a shift in thought in the last part.  Here, water which was seen as a 'mute witness' is made the protagonist. The poetess writes about the characteristics of water ;  mainly focusing on its two extreme qualities, namely its strength and its weakness.

     Water is good and benevolent because it can give life and it is bad and merciless because it can take out life . It can create floods and it can create deserts.  It is seen as a demon and we the human beings are the playthings.  Water makes us dance like puppets. Water is so cunning that it ignites fights between two entities like states and countries. But it is so meak that it sits innocently,without any power, in a bottle in the name of mineral water

          Finally, the poet warns against the exploitation by the multinational companies that make use profit on selling our own water to us in the name of mineral water. 

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Milan Tomic

Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.

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