Thirst

Meena, called Minni by her friends and family, and her brother, Sanjay, sit on a hill overlooking the Mumbai harbor and beyond it the Arabian Sea. Looking at such a vast quantity of water, they reflect on how little drinking water is available in their community and how people in wealthier neighborhoods have access to enough water for swimming pools on their roofs. They plan a future where they will be able to live in those affluent areas, with Sanjay working as a professional chef and Minni in some undetermined high-paying job. As they walk home, they see that a fight has erupted in the line for their neighborhood’s main water tap. Not wanting to get in trouble, they run home as quickly as possible.

Back home, they find that their mother, Rohini, has made daal and potatoes for dinner. Their father, who runs a local tea cafe, talks about seeing the fight in the water line from his shop. Minni and Sanjay stay silent on the matter because they want to adhere to their father’s favorite proverb, “See no evil, hear no evil, say no evil” (6). Furthermore, he reveals that the fight erupted because the water supply is so low that there is not enough for everyone in the community.