Recent times most of our restaurants have stopped supplying water free of cost. It is a regular question in several restaurants to ask, 'mineral water or ordinary water?', looking down upon you with scorn if you choose the later. Some of the more advanced ones have stopped supplying water altogether, forcing all customers to either buy water or just do without it.
I was in varanasi last week as the mercury slowly ascended in this pilgrim town, with the heat starting to tell, several local solutions too were marking their presence in the crowded bazaars. I found this amazingly composed elderly lady on a roadside push cart selling 'aam panna' a tangy, spicy local dish that is a natural coolant to the body. As my local guide started to tell me about the benefits of aam panna, she joined him, 'you should not drink water directly in this heat after being in the sun for long', she said, 'that is why this aam panna, this is good for the body and cools it down, now, drink some water on top of this and you will see that your thirst disappears', she added as she topped my empty glass with plain water from a mud pot. As I finished that in a couple of gulps, she wanted to know whether I would want more water.
I was struck yet again by these road side vendors and their care for the customers they may never meet again...she got paid the paltry amount she charged for the aam panna...she wanted to pass on some gyan along with it free and she had no qualms about sharing so much more water with us free of cost. And, it didn't do me any harm (for those sceptics who may say, 'you don't know where the water comes from') and instead made me feel a lot better.
