Visit Bhimkothi Part 4.wmv

As we rose in the morning we gathered leisurely and had chai. Then there was a quick move to the area where the water sage had determined was the best place to look. This video shows his method. I can say that he had seen this area of the village the previous day and had known it to be a good place for underground water. Now he would mark the spot. His technique is to have a dry coconut and a stone to rap the coconut and listen to the sound that is produced. At the same time he is taking himself to a spiritual realm to allow his body to feel the water under the ground. After he was done I asked about the process and also what he had felt. I was told that he felt two streams of water deep in the earth (about 5m apart) and a confluence at some point in between them. This was where he marked the spot of digging and this is where we did puja. When I asked about the details of the puja I was told that this was not a ritual specific to finding water but more of a universal acknowledgement of the gods. Now what is left is quite a bit of digging by hand to see if indeed there is water within reach below.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Bhimkothi
• Ekta Parishad
• Quaker
• land rights in India