The canal and men in a boat

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream… may be a popular rhyme, but was part of my life growing up. Not the rhyme, but the experience. Our house was situated right on the banks of a canal. The canal had been there for ages, serving as the lifeline to the hinterland, for the surrounding villages. The waterway remained busy throughout the day—and at night as well—with country boats carrying their cargo up and down.

After the paddy was harvested, it was hulled and then loaded onto large barges by an army of labourers. They carried the sacks to the boat and covered them against the elements with mountains of straw. The entire boat turned into a granary on the move with grains stored right up to the roof. 

For the boatman the boat was his home. It was not exactly 3-BHK accommodation, but the men had the ‘basics’ -- a kitchen, bedroom and rest area. What about a restroom? The entire expanse of the canal was open to them to answer nature’s call! Taking a bath was no problem, with such a vast ‘outdoor’ swimming pool at their feet. 

When I was a young lad, I used to humour the ferrymen as they cooked their frugal mid-day meal of rice, lentils and a couple of vegetables. They waved their bamboo pole at me. “Do you want to go to Rangoon?” one of them asked. 

“Is it very far?” I expressed my curiosity.

“No,” he replied. “I will take you there on my magic carpet and bring you back in a jiffy!” He laughed and told me stories of his travels, till it was time for them to depart. “I will take you with me next time!” He promised. But Burma has become Myanmar and his promise remains to be fulfilled. 

An old stone bridge stood sentinel over the old canal. It had a very narrow parapet on which the street urchins stretched themselves and gossiped. They were no trapeze artistes, but I cannot help admiring their feat of lying prostrate on that narrow ledge, night after night, without plunging into the water. That too without a yoga instructor in tow!

The law of averages has a way of catching up with a vengeance. I came across a news report recently that a street urchin sleeping on the parapet had suddenly fallen to the water below. His identity was yet to be established.