A man with an indomitable spirit did what seems nearly impossible for a single man to achieve.It may not be as colossal as that of Dashrath Manjhi, the mountain man, but is massive in its own sense.Insult of his wife who was refused permission to draw water from a well by the owner, made him so determined that Bapurao Tajne went on to dig one for himself and for the whole community.A job which needs 4-5 man normally, he became so self reliant that he alone made it possible.Now, the whole Dalit locality of the village is drawing water from his well and do not have to depend on people from other castes for water.

“I don’t want to name the well owner for I don’t want bad blood in the village. However, I feel that he insulted us because we are poor and Dalits. I came home that day in March and almost cried. I resolved never to beg for water from anybody. I went to Malegaon (the closest town) and bought tools and within an hour I started digging,” Bapurao told TOI at his modest home.

Bapurao is a poor labourer from Kalambeshwar village of Washim district who is a daily wager and couldn’t afford to give up work for digging a well. He worked for four hours before leaving for work and two hours on return. He did back-breaking work for 14 hours a day almost without a break during those 40 days. No one, not even his family members, helped him. Everybody thought he had gone crazy. The villagers openly mocked him but Bapurao went ahead with his task undeterred.

“It is difficult to explain what I felt in those days. I just wanted to provide water for my whole locality so that we Dalits did not have to beg for water from other castes,” said the labourer, who has studied up to final year of BA.

There was no hydrological study to select the spot, Tajne went by instinct. “I prayed fervently to God before starting the job. I am thankful that my effort has been rewarded,” he said.

His wife Sangita now regrets mocking at him. “I did not help him a bit until he struck water. Now the whole family, except the two kids, helps him as he deepens and widens the well. It is already 15 feet deep and Bapurao wants to dig 5 feet further. It is 6 feet wide at the top and he wants to make it 8 feet wide. We are hoping our neighbours will help us in this task,” she said.

Tajne is slowly getting recognition. The sarpanch visited his house and was full of praise for him. After a Marathi channel aired his deed, the Malegaon tehsildar presented him a bouquet. Film actor Nana Patekar spoke to him over phone and promised to meet him soon. A social worker from Washim presented him Rs 5000.

But Tajne is too proud to ask for help. “When the tehsildar asked me what sort of help I needed, I told her to do whatever was appropriate.”

Reference : Times Of India.

Photos by Shailesh Mishra (TOI).

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