I took this picture on my morning walk at Yercaud, where we went last weekend.

The wires speak of progress…the hen at the left-hand-side of the picture speaks of being still agricultural, and farm-based…and the number of water-pots the woman is carrying, in all their prismatic colours, still speaks of the fact that basic infrastructure is lacking in our villages, and women have a hard lot to bear.

Remember that the woman will be trekking back with all those pots full of water…and that’s if it’s a good day. On a bad day, when there is no water, her physical load will be light but her household load will be heavy as she tries to manage without water.