It’s the height of a merciless summer in the Bedadka panchayat area in Kasaragod, the northernmost district of Kerala, in May. And yet, this farm is awash in green, as if the monsoon is already here. Small streams of water gurgle through the land; two ponds nearby seem ready to brim over. If one were to set out in search of the origins of such overflowing abundance, it would undoubtedly lead to an ancient method of water harvesting, the Suranga , and Chaliya Kunhambu, 66.
Surangas are tunnels that go into the very depths of the hard laterite rocks to groundwater, through which water flows perennially in a small stream, without the use of a pump. The water is collected in mud reservoirs, called Madhaka . And it is Kunhambu, probably the last of the suranga diggers, who knows the best kept secrets of the rocks in the region. He has his finger on the pulse of water that flows quietly beneath it all.
“I don’t charge wages daily. For, given the nature of the rocks, I need to navigate my way through them to the place where I sense there will be water,” Kunhambu says. The suranga digger charges ₹1,500 a kolu (0.76 metres) that is dug. His helper, who removes the debris, is paid ₹700 a day.
When he stands, with his feet firm on the earth, he knows almost exactly where water is, under the ground and inside the huge rocks. Using his pickaxe, Kunhambu digs deep, laterally, into the hills, stopping only when he strikes water. He works alone, for the tunnel is only wide enough for one person to stand. Surangas , however long or deep they may be, are dug by a single person.
A person helps remove the soil dug out and clear the way. Kunhambu began work at the age of 14, as a helper to a suranga digger, and over half-a-century later, his strong arms have dug around 1,000 surangas in the region.
( Thulasi Kakkat is a Principal News Photographer with The Hindu)
Cheating summer: The areca grove is awash in green in peak summer as it is watered by two ponds fed by 12 surangas.
The deep hole: Kunhambu pauses at the entrance of a suranga he has been working on for a month — almost 200 metres long.
Bending and crawling: He makes his way into the tunnel, wide enough to let only a single person pass.
Guided by instinct: Kunhambu's water divination skills tell him that there is water nearby and he gets to work, digging his way towards it.
Tryst with groundwater: Chaliya Kunhambu, 66, embarks on his day's work; digging surangas, or water channels, into the hillside in Kasaragod district of Kerala.
On all fours: Here's water! A faint trickle appars within the suranga.
Hear the gurgle: This trickle later transforms into a tiny stream.