Gowri Naik has been digging wells alone. Villagers protested after officials ordered her to stop working on a well for an Anganwadi. Now, she is likely to see water in two days.
Published Feb 28, 2024 | 11:00 AM ⚊ Updated Feb 28, 2024 | 1:31 PM
Grit and an eye for perfection drive Gowri Naik of Ganesh Nagar at Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district. (Supplied)
“Two more days,” a visibly peeved Gowri Naik wiped the sweat off her forehead.
At 58, the healthier years are behind Gowri of Ganesh Nagar, a small village near Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district. Age, however, has failed to dampen her indomitable spirit.
It is the same spirit and Gowri’s insatiable urge to ensure water that caught the attention of the district administration and the state. They chipped in against her wishes and irritated her.
A cylindrical pit that Gowri has been digging close to an Anganwadi is now 35 feet deep. She is expecting to see water in two more days.
Anyone else would have appreciated the district administration’s intervention — but not Gowri. The administration, taking note of her lone effort to dig the well to provide water to the Anaganwadi, gave her two helpers — a man, and a woman — to ease her work.
And, it miffed Gowri, who throughout her life, preferred performing tasks alone and perfectly.
Chandraprabha Vinayak Naik, like all others, was unaware of the impending Covid-19 pandemic when she got married to Gowri’s son. The family then used to collect water for domestic purposes from other houses in the neighbourhood.
Gowri prefers to work alone. She felt more workers would delay the task. (Supplied)
A few months into her wedding, the pandemic broke out in India. The lockdown followed, and people looked at each other with suspicion. Everyone could be a potential coronavirus carrier, people suspected, as death gleefully juggled with people’s lives, dropping many, across the world.
The pandemic presented a problem to Gowri’s family, Chandraprabha recalled: “There was no water even to drink in our house.”
The scarcity of water did not force Gowri to sit back and curse fate. “One early morning, I found amma leaving the house with a spade, shovel, other digging materials, and a rope. She didn’t speak much. I wondered what had gone wrong with her,” the younger woman chuckled.
Gowri had had her plans. She had decided to dig a well for her house. The village soon learnt about Gowri’s resolve, and she became the butt of a joke.
People, who initially scoffed at her, soon took Gowri seriously as she continued digging day after day. They even visited the work site to see the progress.
By now, Chandraprabha felt embarrassed after realising that she was no match for her mother-in-law’s grit and energy. Gowri did not care, like she didn’t when people laughed at her. She remained focused.
“My mother-in-law used to leave home at 6.30 am, sometimes even earlier. She returned around 11.30 am for lunch and left again after a while. She then came back around 7 pm. She had a daily target of of 8-10 feet,” Chandraprabha said, adding, “she is now tired but her mental strength is as strong as it was before”.
A month and a half later, Chandraprabha and others heard Gowri screaming, “neeru kaantu” (found water).
Chandraprabha had heard about Gowri’s what she termed ‘adventures’ before. She now saw it for herself.
Chandraprabha was all in awe of her mother-in-law. But those who knew Gowri from her childhood days did not expect anything less from the gritty woman.
She was different from girls of her age. While the girls played hopscotch, Gowri watched them from atop trees that had always thrown a challenge at her.
Known for exceptional skill in climbing tall trees, people frequently found Gowri on the top branches of jackfruit or mango trees, often enjoying the fruit. She scaled heights that most boys of her age shunned out of fear.
Born to a nomad-like family of labourers who moved from one place to another in search of jobs, Gowri learnt to stand on her own from a tender age. Her agility and fearlessness made her a formidable figure, and she often competed with the men, climbing tall trees.
As time passed by, the young tree-climber champ transformed into a woman of indomitable will. In 2017, Gowri, a labourer who earned her living by de-husking areca nuts, decided to take on a daunting challenge. She planted 150 areca, 15 coconut saplings and some plantains in her land which dried up before her eyes due to a scarcity of water.
Hiring labourers for digging a well was then beyond the means of her family. She knew it could cost anywhere between ₹1.50 lakh and 2 lakh. Even as other family members and villagers prepared mentally to resign to fate, Gowri quietly picked up the pickaxe.
She had made up her mind to embark on another adventure, much different from the tree-hopping ones from her childhood. She started digging, determined not to let her village go parched. And soon, she found water, the elixir of life, deep in the earth’s womb. She did it alone.
The village was overwhelmed. She came to be known as ‘Lady Bhagiratha’ after the mythological character who brought the River Ganga to earth.
Gowri’s journey so far has not been one of mere physical labour but a testament to unwavering resolve.
Gowri is back in the news once again after she started digging a well for the Anganwadi in the village. For once, she faced pressure to stop digging. However, her calloused palms and iron will did not succumb to pressure.
Speaking to South First, Gowri recalled her first venture to find water. “I was almost 25 years younger then,” her eyes narrowed as she smiled broadly. “I had tremendous physical and mental strength. It was in my land. The only fear I had was that my daughter and son to stop me from doing what I was trying to achieve,” she chuckled like a little girl.
“I hid from them that I was digging a well. I would sneak out into my thotta (farm) after they had left for work, dig the ground, and return before they were back. Nobody knew about it until I had dug about 10 feet,” she recalled.
Gowri could not hide the well-intentioned task from her children for long. They were both upset and surprised. Her daughter told her to stop at 10 feet. She convinced them and kept digging. At 67 feet, water bubbled up.
“The happiness I felt is beyond words. Water doesn’t come from the middle of the pit. It first comes from the sides. When I felt the ground wet and a few drops trickled from the side at 67 feet, I was thrilled and screamed in joy,” she said.
Gowri did not stop at one well. When Covid hit, she picked up her tools again, which her daughter-in-law watched in disbelief.
Gowri’s story spread across the village and beyond. Several local leaders and panchayat members appreciated her. Several functions were held to felicitate her and the title ‘Lady Bageeratha’ was conferred on her.
Gowri said she is likely to find water for the Anganwadi in the next couple of days. (Supplied)
The accolades and recognitions did not make Gowri idle. She felt a compelling need to contribute more to the community. “I felt I was being selfish. Both wells were dug for my family’s purpose and I wanted to dig another well for the public. It is my final wish,” she told South First.
She turned her attention to the local Anganwadi, where workers and children struggled daily for water. The workers often trekked two kilometers for a pail of water. The risk of contamination from sewage during pipe leakages further exacerbated the situation, discouraging parents from sending their children to the Anganwadi.
It was time for Gowri to pick up the tools again. She went to the Anganwadi, and intuition led her to a location where Gowri felt she would find water. She barricaded the site to keep the children safe and started digging.
Gowri’s indefatigable spirit caught the attention of the local administration. The Anganwadi workers, though impressed by what Gowri was doing for them, feared trouble. They informed the panchayat and sought its permission.
This was new to Gowri. She had never sought anyone’s permission to climb trees or dig wells.
“My mother-in-law had never been to school,” Chandraprabha said. “We submitted a letter seeking permission to dig the well. It was more than 12 days of digging and there was no sign of permission but my mother-in-law continued digging.”
Gowri was aghast when authorities prohibited her from digging the well. The officials relented after the villagers threatened to hold a protest. (Supplied)
Gowri was 15 feet below when she saw unfamiliar faces studying her from above. “The authorities from the Women and Child Welfare Department came over when my mother-in-law was working in the pit. They asked her to stop digging and come out,” Chandraprabha said.
Gowri was upset and angry. She refused to stop her work. A day later district in-charge Minister Mankal Vaidya met Gowri and appreciated her efforts and said she could continue the work.
However, the next day, Gowri said a few officials from Tahsildar’s office visited the site and removed the barricades, and took away the rope, bucket, and digging tools. Gowri felt disarmed.
“There was no official written order to stop digging the well. We told my mother-in-law to stop all this since we are not influential and can’t fight the administration. However, our villagers did not give up. They threatened to stage a sit-in protest,” Chandraprabha said.
On learning about Gowri, and the villagers’ support to her, BJP MP Anant Kumar Hegde intervened. He asked Gowri to continue her work but insisted on taking the help of at least two workers.
“I had to agree to his request. I even gave a letter stating that I am responsible for my life if any untoward incident happens. I know Goddess Marikamba will protect me, but people fear for my life. So now, I have one man and a woman labourer to assist me,” Gowri said.
Having helpers was against Gowri’s wish. She felt they would slow her down. Yet she agreed to take them in.
Gowri is now confident of seeing water in the next two days. She has dug about 35 feet already.
“I would have completed my work by now if this entire drama could have been avoided,” the smile has disappeared from her face.
Despite being given help, Gowri trusts only her instincts and her work. She said the work gets slow if she depends on anyone else. She reaches the site much earlier than the two labourers who are appointed to help her and even stays longer.
“I am hoping to see water in another two days,” Gowri is visibly miffed. “Despite the pressure from the officials I did not stop digging,” she added.
When asked where her next well would be dug, Gowri said the ongoing project would be her last.
“I am done,” she sighed. “I have tremendous physical strength to dig more wells but fighting with authorities is not my game. I have accomplished my wish. Hope I have inspired someone, somewhere on this planet,” she said.
Two more days, and Gowri is likely to touch water. And she will be keeping her tools away for good. But will Gowri stay idle when there is water deep down? Time will tell. Only Gowri could stop Gowri.
