Educational Media Reviews Online

Panihari: The Water Women of India presents an exclusive expose of the life of the Paniharis – an ethnic subculture living in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, India. Drawn by the stories of the prominent storyteller and specialist in Rajasthani folklore Komal Kothari, Abi Devan and Sudhi Rajagopal attempt to understand Kothari’s incisive vision of the Panihari’s life. When they ask Kothari if the story they heard about a Panihari woman who swears on her life to bring back water for her family but fails because it was too close to sunset and commits suicide, was folklore or true, Kothari responds “there are no stories…only real life.” Abi Devan and Sudhi Rajagopal bring us a piece of this real life and struggles of the panihari women of Rajasthan.

The film beautifully depicts the cultural interpretations of water and matters that revolve around this essence of life. With primarily a south Indian perspective (rather than an Indian American view point), the directors portray the contrasts in people’s experiences with water. Scenes of heavy downpours, plastic pots filled with water, and hoses supplying water to apartments or houses in crowded Chennai, India are juxtaposed against scenes of creaking water pumps filling beautifully decorated earthen pots and carried across foggy but dry and sandy desert on camel carts. Interestingly the imagery of water as captured in this film also seemed to be real (brown and muddy) and not ideal (blue and crystal clear).

In addition to the usual responsibilities of being a wife and mother, the Panihari woman has the responsibility of ensuring availability of water for her family. Water in this desert community is essential for survival. The Panihari women walk 8-15 miles each day to bring home water for their family. The number of miles they walk back and forth increases with the amount of water they use, the size of their family and the number of animals they own as livestock. Since this area of the desert almost gets no rainfall, the Panihari women have to get water all year round. The hardship just gets worse in the summer when the wells and ponds dry up. The film revolves around Paru (the wife of a shoemaker) and portrays her struggle to save her family from drought that kills their livestock and livelihood.

Paru decides to participate in an informal women-based social support group that she learns about from other women during her trips to the pond to get water. Despite not being allowed to go to the meetings because of her husband’s reprimands, and poverty in general, she continues to invest in the group. The very path to the pond that would have traditionally led Paru to give up her life in despair for failing to save her family, presents her with hope, a chance to change things around for her family. This film uniquely weaves the story of growth, changing culture, self determination, strength and participation of women in traditional Indian societies such as that of the Panihari.