100 Homes

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$8.22 / ₹149.15
Per day
Home 84
Rajkot, Gujarat
Rajkot location map

D studied to be a journalist, but chose instead to run a photocopying shop with his brother because it was more lucrative. His 8 by 10 feet shop was packed with two bulky photocopiers, a desk and a few chairs. A shed for storing machine parts stood behind the shop, and when D was young his family used to live there, moving out to neighbouring houses after more members joined the family.

D lived in a tenement which faced acute water shortages during the summer, when demand outstripped supply and a decrease in rainfall corresponded with an increase in population. Many of his neighbours were forced to install pumps which cost INR 20,000, drill underground and install pipes to draw from the water table.

As we entered the house, rows of colourful glass jars filled with spices lined both sides of the walls. The open kitchen was warm and inviting, where a colourful mud container for drinking water held the pride of place. It was fitted with a tap and had vivid scenery painted onto it. This sort of earthen pot for water was a common and inexpensive way of keeping water cool in Rajkot.