Urban query! How is Mumbai treating its water bodies?

In Mumbai a broken water pipeline also means broken dreams A July morning in 2017 made this apparent when a pipeline burst in Bandra East wreaking havoc in the slum of Indira Gandhi Nagar Two childrenmdashan infant and a nineyearoldmdashdrowned after the water washed away hutmentsArchitectresearcher Ipshita Karmakars essay Pipes as a Means to the City says The settlement of Indira Gandhi Nagar was built along the Tansa Pipeline constructed in 1892 Here around 5000 residents had built their households and at several junctions along the pipeline siphoned water using subsidiary connectionsThis was a means of obtaining water in a fairly unequal city where water flows beneath your feet and yet you are denied access The flipside of this way of obtaining water is that several times the weak connections of the pipe have burst flooding the settlement and washing away propertyThe essay is part of Mumbai Water Narratives a unique project initiated by Living Waters Museum to collect curate and communicate Mumbais rich water heritageLaunched in July this year it hopes to engage Mumbaikars especially children and youth and help them understand their relationship with water in a city where such an association is both inseparable and multifaceted From Mumbais maritime trade that goes back several centuries to traditional fishing by Kolis the imminent problem of flooding and its mesmerising water bodiesmdashsea lakes rivers and tanksmdashthe citys connection with water is commercial historical challenging as well as intimateMumbai Water Narratives online repository comprising stories cartographic experiments drawings podcasts and personal memories is an attempt to revisit this relationship says collaborator Minaz Ansari professor at the Rizvi College of Architecture BandraLack of security means locals illegally draw water from the Tansa Pipeline In 201718 the houses along it were demolished following a public interest litigation PIL to clear all settlements within 10metre range The residents of Indira Gandhi Nagar were shifted to Mahul PICASHISH RAJE Living Waters Museum is a virtual museum founded by Sara Ahmed in 2017 to get the youth to visualise water heritage and reimagine sustainable inclusive and equitable water futures in the country An adjunct professor at Ahmedabad University Ahmeds journey with water began nearly three decades ago when she was pursuing a PhD in Environmental Sociology from the University of Cambridge Around the same time the Indian government launched the first Ganga Action Plan As part of my work I conducted research in Varanasi and got interested in the cultural politics of purity and pollution as well as the livelihoods that were being impacted by the new technologies to clean the river she shares in a telephonic interviewA chance meeting with artist and water activist Basia Irland in Minnesota in early 2000 prompted a conversation around the need for a water museum for India As an academic and policy advocate she is also on the board of WaterAid India I soon realised that there was a whole lot of communication on water happening through the creative arts which needed our attention A museumtype approach she felt would make the conversations around water more accessible appealing and less preachy But I never saw Living Waters as a museum with four walls The idea of having something virtual meant that our museum was not tied to one place we could share notes with other institutions and help young Indians think of perspectives and notions around the right to water and water justice and equity says AhmedSara AhmedQuite early on Ahmed managed to secure the support of the Global Network of Water Museumsmdashendorsed by UNESCOs International Hydrology Programmemdashof which she is a founding member for her initiative One of her first projects was spearheaded by a group of photography students of the National Institute of Design NID AhmedabadAhmed gave them a quick primer on the water issues in Gujarat They came back with amazing stories and memories of water that I had never really thought of like shipbreaking at Alang the dhobi ghats along the Sabarmati river and the salt workers in the Rann of Kutch They were creative students doing their Masters in Photography and here I was making them think about water So thats really the kind of footprint we want to havemdashinterdisciplinary and inclusiveSince then the virtual museum which is based at the Centre for Heritage Management Ahmedabad University has harnessed the power of music song film photography prose and poetry to tell water stories In March the Living Waters team also showcased the first prototype of its interactive map on the famous vav or stepwells of AhmedabadWells like this one in Chembur gaothan have a strong cultural connect with the communities PIC COURTESY Mohammed Esa ShaikhThe Mumbai project was launched when Karmakar reached out to Ahmed during the lockdown Ahmed thought it was the right time to document her birth citys water heritage Ansari and architects Jinisha Lodaya and Nisha NairGupta joined the team The discourse in Mumbai has shifted from water as a resource water as philanthropy 1800s water as a civic property 1845 onwards water as a commodity to water as a right for citizens since 2014 and also an entity that can ravage homes every monsoon say the founders The changing nature of the relationship of the city with water made it doubly important to identify these narrativesAs a starting point the team has been using its Instagram handle mumbaiwaternarratives to call for entries both oral and visual We are looking at everything from architecture to stories that discuss livelihoods like those of the bishtis or water carriers Kolis and dhobis which are closely linked to water and customs and practices where water still plays a significant role says Ansari The Instagram feed currently has personal memories and photographs of contributors whove witnessed the chaos of Bhaucha Dhakka the surreal sight of the migratory flamingos and the peace of Banganga Tank Then theres also the manner in which water is stored in large drums and buckets outside tenementsmdasha grim reminder of the disparity in distribution of water in the city This collection sets a narrative of how a plastic blue barrel as essential furniture becomes a part of many householdshellip the caption readsThe website on the other hand offers a more serious indepth investigation into the citys water heritagemdashthe quaint fountains pyaavs and pipelines among them Its still a work in progress admits Ansari who has personally researched Mumbais wells for the initiativeA file picture of a prewedding East Indian ceremony The bridesmaids seen leaving for the well PIC COURTESYPadmini Chakravarti nee QuinnyThe wells have a strong cultural connect within different communities The legends and histories surrounding them only make them more fascinating objects of history Bhikha Behram Well a Grade 1 heritage structure located near Cross Maidan is one such example It was built by Bhikhaji Behram a trader from Baruch and opened to public in the year 1728 The most popular legend is about how the trader was imprisoned due to mistaken identity as a Mughal spy and once released built this as a token of gratitude As per local stories during the great fire at the naval docks in 1944 this well provided water day and night for over a week to help the fire tenders douse the flames says AnsariAnother intriguing story around Zoroastrian wells includes two prominent agiariesmdashthe Anjuman Parsee Agiary and the Wadia Agiarymdashboth in close proximity at Princess Street which was relayed by archaeologist Kurush F Dalal during a lecture The well in each agiary is home to a turtle with a patch each on their left and right sides respectively According to local legend the patch is known to interchange sides during different times of the year indicating that the turtles in fact travel between wells probably through an underground aquifer that connects them Separated by urban development in the visible plain these wells however follow their own natural networks below ground level adds AnsariMinaz AnsariSome of the wells that have survived especially those in the Christian villages are used by East Indians for their wedding ceremonies The wells were usually situated next to a fig tree Even today families of the tobeweds make offerings to the well after which water is drawn from it to bathe the bride and groom a day before the wedding says Ansari of the tradition known as Umbracha PaniThe team is also hoping to source stories from the Warli Adivasi community which lives in and around Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli and Aarey Colony They are the true custodians of the river They have a very interdependent relationship with it they use the river for domestic purpose and ensure that it is never polluted At the point that this river exits the national park it becomes a nullah There is a stark difference between how we and the indigenous communities treat our riversThis picture represents the stark disparity in water distribution For most tenements blue drums are now part of standard furniture PIC COURTESYSidnyaam Frames Mumbai Water NarrativesThe project will translate into a virtual exhibition next year on March 22 observed as World Water Day In the meanwhile we hope to hold popup exhibitions and heritage and river walks to create awareness about these stories says AnsariKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news