India's most tenacious husband

Determined to provide his family with drinking water after they were
refused access to a local well, this Indian man spent 40 days digging up a
15-ft well in his hometown of Kalambeshwar village, in the state of
Maharashtra. Under normal circumstances it would have taken four or five
people to complete such a task, but Bapurao Tajne managed to do it all by
himself.

   Tajne, a daily-wage laborer, is a member of the village’s Dalit community,
which has long since been discriminated against by people from ‘upper’
castes. In this case, Tajne’s wife Sangita went to draw water from a well
in the village, but was insulted by the owner of the well and asked to stay
away from it. Incensed by the incident that took place in the midst of the
severe water crisis Maharashtra, Tajne decided to dig Sangita her very
own well, so she would never have to suffer this kind of humiliation.
Using tools that he bought from the nearby Malegaon city, Tajne started
digging and kept at it for six hours a day – four hours before his regular
job and two hours after. Given that three existing wells had already gone
dry in the village, it seemed like a foolhardy initiative, and the other
villagers discouraged him and even made fun of his stubbornness. No one
stepped forward to help him and even his wife stayed away for fear of
being ridiculed. But Bapurao didn’t give up – he kept on digging until, on
the 40th day, he finally struck water.

Now that the 15 ft deep, 6 ft wide well is ready to be used, Tajne has
graciously permitted all his fellow Dalits to draw water from it, along with
his wife. “Thanks to Tajne we get water round the clock,” his neighbor
Jaishree said. “Earlier, we had to travel a kilometer to another part of the
village and get insulted sometimes.”
Despite the fact that his wife was treated badly, Tajne has refused to name
the person who insulted her. “I don’t want to name the well owner for I
don’t want bad blood in the village,” he said. “However, I feel that he
insulted us because we are poor and Dalits. I came home that day in
March and almost cried. I resolved never to beg water from anybody.”
“I prayed fervently to God before starting the job,” he added. “I am thankful
that my effort has been rewarded. It is difficult to explain what I felt in
those days. I just wanted to provide water for my whole locality so that we
Dalits do not have to beg for water from other castes.”

Today, Tajne is considered a local hero and his ambitious feat has been
featured on several local TV stations. His dedication and hard work have
also earned him the appreciation of the local government and teh respect
of his wife. Sangita now regrets mocking him during his struggle. “I did not
help him a bit until he struck water,” she said. “Now the whole family,
except the two kids, helps him as he deepens and further widens the well.
It is already 15 ft deep and Bapurao wants to dig five feet further. It is six
feet wide at the top and he wants to make it eight feet wide. We are
hoping our neighbors will help us in this task.”
Tajne, on the other hand, is too proud to directly ask for help. “When the
tehsildar (local tax collector) asked me what sort of help I needed, I told
her to do whatever was appropriate,” he said.

culled from boredpanda