Conserving water as a scarce resource used to be a socially appreciable practice in our village communities. In today’s milieu of fast changing lifestyles, we have somewhere forgotten the traditional and time-tested conventional and durable modes of obtaining clean and potable water through our wells, kundis, kunds and baolis. Since availability of sweet and clean potable water will become scarce in near future, we need to quickly look into, re-evaluate and re-assess the utility of our traditional sources of water and the social and cultural strength behind them, especially with reference to our rural communities.

Most village estates in Haryana are fairly old, many of them over six centuries, but there are also such village estates as were settled as recently as 40 years ago. Every village has at least three wells from which the different communities in accordance with the Hindu varna system could draw water. Fairly old and large village estates had over 20 wells, some of them built in a most magnificent architectural style of the era. The construction material, depth and diameter of the well cylinder, its location and the style adopted for its superstructure obviously depended on the nature of the soil and terrain, the amount of average rainfall, purpose of location and availability of masonry expertise. Further, various design features and the size of the well which could be adopted and added to the superstructure were mainly due to the depth from which the water was required to be lifted.

The sub-soil water level was low in the nardak and khadar regions of Haryana, comprising the erstwhile district of Karnal (now Kaithal, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Karnal) and the tract along the Jamuna forming parts of old Rohtak and Gurgaon districts. In the central and south-western districts of Haryana comprising Jind, erstwhile Hisar, Mahendragarh and Narnaul area, the sub- soil water level was both brackish and deep. Substantial efforts in terms of manpower and time were needed for lifting water from a great depth, normally exceeding 60 feet, reaching to a 250 feet at some places. It required great ingenuity and expertise to construct a well cylinder in sandy soil or morass of the Jamuna khadar.

The district officers in the British period recorded evidence that in the Jamuna khadar, special techniques were developed and used for selection of material for well cylinders and to sink it. Since the khadar belt soil mostly remained marshy or waterlogged especially in the rainy season, the jhera or dug wells in that area were soon rendered useless. In a quagmire, the cylinder of a well could be neither made up of burnt bricks nor of heavy masonry stones, therefore, it could not be sunk and utilised. In this situation the traditional wisdom contained in our old texts was found to be of immense value to the builders of wells.

Wood obtained from the dhaak trees, available in plenty in natural, community forests around village estates and countryside of Haryana, was shaped as crescented and oblonged blocks. These blocks were shaped in such a way as would interlock with each other like a wheel cog. Upon the wheel-shaped bottom, whose underside had been fixed with several thick one feet long spokes of iron, were then put one upon the other. Thus, when one wheel-shaped line was complete, another would be placed on it until the desired depth of the cylinder was obtained. It were the vestiges of such wooden wells that the British officers found and recorded them in official documents.

At other places in Haryana, the wells in the upper khadar area, where the earth is comparatively stiff and stable burnt bricks were efficiently used to construct wells. Since the sub-soil water table was available at a depth of 30 to 40 feet, only a metre-high platform was added around the upper part of the cylinder of the well. Such wells were named as boria wells because they did not contain the usual four pillars raised on the rim of the cylinder and the superstructure for fixing big and sturdy pulleys at some height to help lift water from a depth. The platforms around a boria well were usually designed in a circular shape but were also done in squares, pentagonal and hexagonal shapes. One such square shaped platform with beautiful chhattaris on all its four corners was discovered by me at Sanghi, a large village of Hooda Jats near Rohtak. Some fine specimen of Banjara wells built with kankkar blocks still exist in a large number of village estates. Banjara traders, a nomadic community, who carried various merchandise on the back of thousands of bullocks and traversed great distances, had built a large number of wells near old village sites in the medieval era. A fine specimen of this genre still exists in village Samchana, near Rohtak.

Most of the large and big wells with magnificent superstructures raised on them still exist in scores of villages in central and south-western Haryana viz., village of Meham Chaubissi, Bhiwani, Rohtak and Jind. Some of the fine specimen and several others of this genre are Baniyon wallah kuan at village Farmana Khaas near Meham, Dargoo wallah kuan at village Dujana, Dalmia Sethon kee baghichi wallah kuan at Bhiwani town, Saravbhoo Seth ka kuan at Sewani town, Jangi walon ka kuan at Beri town and Dadoo panthion ka kuan at Kalanaur town. Other wells with magnificent superstructures were found by me at following villages Hada baniyon key kuen at Kharak Kalan, Ramdiya seth ka kuan at Lakhan Majra, Seth Kripa Ram ka kuan at Chhara, Banjaron wallah kuan at Bhaini Chandrapal, Pitron wallah kuan at Meham, and other at village Chiria, Devsar, Jui and Beri.

In this region some builders even thought of erecting chhattaris or a parabolic cover, on the well so that airborne dust and pieces of straw and twigs could be prevented from falling into it and spoiling the water. Such wells, called chhatri walley kuen, are in village estates of Majra (Doobaldhan), Beri, Rithal, Lohani, Mundhal kalan, Kalanaur and Barwaa. The parabolic cover on the well at Barwaa combines features of both a kundi and a well.

Those wells, which were built by village headmen or philanthropic individuals or had a combined ownership, were maintained and cleaned periodically by themselves while the others belonging to the village community as public wells were a joint responsibility. The months of Baisakh or Jayestha when the water level in the well was at the lowest were considered ideal for cleaning. Besides the well, the adjoining pond or a masonry tank was invariably cleaned by removing dry silt and using silt blocks and loose earth for strengthening their banks or bunds Nevertheless, mounds of excavated earth was carefully fixed around the big trees planted on the banks and sites were also prepared for planting new saplings in the ensuing rainy season.

The superstructure on three wells, one at Siwani, another at Bhiwani and the third at Dujana are very impressive. The Dargoo wallah well at Dujana has eight pillars on the rim of its cylinder having space for affixing twelve pulleys on it. At Siwani, underground shelters and spiral steps were provided around the rim of the well, while at Bhiwani the upper storey of an adjoining rest house was connected to the well by a bridge so that water can be pulled up without coming at the ground level. Nowhere else in Haryana I could discover such unique features added to the superstructure of wells as the above three. Apart from these features, provision was always made on big and deep wells to draw water with the help of charas, an animal skin basket, by using a pair of bullocks or a camel.

Irrespective of the style or design, the wells built on the banks of natural ponds or masonry tanks ensured availability of sweet and potable water for generations provided that both were also regularly and simultaneously cleaned. Apart from geographical and technical aspects of the wells in Haryana their socio-cultural significance provided fascinating scenes on several auspicious occasions. Firstly, the builders and masons never forgot to depict the life and events of the people, out of the regional cultural history, through wall painting, in tempera, made on the superstructure of a well and the adjoining shelter or a corner chhattari. At some places, idols of deities were also made in relief in the niches made at suitable places in the superstructure. These were made in relief either on the buff sand stone or carved of fine lime mortar.

The deserted, abandoned or defunct well sites which abound in Haryana, in fact, can become sort of village level monuments. Gone are those fascinating times when by operating a charas , a leather bucket, on a deep well substantial quantity of water, a very economical activity, could be lifted to fill the tanks and adjoining bays (khel aur kothey) made into and around the platform. Village belles, attired in all sorts of beautiful costumes and jewellery, would come and go in groups singing melodious folk songs. One wishes that those glorious day are resurrected to again spread charm of the unusual kind.