WATER SUPPLIERS

In Jaipur, the “Pink city” is the Maharadschabuilding, called Chandra Mahal; where still reside the maharascha family in 5 sq km palace. But outside of this place, where poverty is more evident for the traveller, I discovered something that I paid attention: on the alleys toward the temples, there are certain towers beside the road, and up of that people with large jars full with water. By seeing that, no one con imagine what they are doing there. I believed, according to our mercantile vision that they are selling the water in order to calm the thirst; but I never thought that it is simply to give it to the pedestrians, so that they can wash their hands and rinse their mouths before entering into the temples.



This water is, without requesting anything in exchange, to those who are thirsty or to who are looking for becoming purified before going to their meet with the gods. What do they win with it? They sit over those small towers the whole day, and if the visits time to the temples extends until night, same: they wait there ready to help with any question as trains schedules, buses, they give some recommendations to come closer to the gods, as incenses, prayers; as a information point. And so as well as they appear, they disappear. At next day they will be on the tower of another passage.



I asked them (to the two men of this picture) if they receive some money in exchange for their jop from any particular or state institution, they replied that such an insinuation was an offence to their vocation, because they made it for love to people, as an obligatory step on the way to spiritual perfection; that certainly it surprised me. We need to know, understand and accept the way how persons of other cultures assume the world and feel it, far away of our consumption vision and of trade, or of our notes in the bank.




I would like that in the world there were hundreds, thousands men, who instead of being dedicated to the weapons dealer, to buy and to sell anything, thinking always about our pockets, we are ready to offer water to purify our mouths and our spirits.

With such ideas in my head, going back to the hotel, I met on the street the tamer of vipers and I told to myself: thanks for that, because it was not a west fantasy: such people stay alive in Jaipur streets; maybe more real than my self! They are a part of an east story, but not of that, which Discovery Channel shows us on TV. I saw them and they allowed me to shut a picture for my friends.