Delhiwale: Mashak wallas, past and present

In Delhi's Sunday Book Bazar, a rare guidebook reveals the fading legacy of mashak wallas, with Muhammed Rafi as one of the last practitioners.

It all began one afternoon in Delhi’s Sunday Book Bazar, on fishing out the first edition of an out-of-print guidebook on the Walled City. Published more than 35 years ago, ‘Old Delhi: 10 Easy Walks’ was authored by two Englishwomen, Gaynor Barton and Laurraine Malone. The cover shows a man standing in front of the Jama Masjid. He is in check lungi, with something slung on his shoulder. It is a mashak, an old-fashioned goat-skin bag. Long ago in Purani Dilli, a mashak walla would draw water from the well, pour it into his goat-skin bag, and hawk the water from house to house.

A man in pants-shirt is sitting on a wooden cot. He introduces himself as a mashak walla. Muhammed Rafi concentratedly studies the photo on the book’s cover, and recognises the man--“Bhoore!” (HT)

Today, Jama Masjid still stands in the same place where this photo was clicked. But the mashak walla is not to be sighted. A bit more exploration of the area reveals the presence of a functioning well. And just beside the well, a tea stall. And hanging from the tea stall’s wall: mashaks! A man in pants-shirt is sitting on a wooden cot. He introduces himself as a mashak walla. Muhammed Rafi concentratedly studies the photo on the book’s cover, and recognises the man--“Bhoore!”

Centuries ago, water-sellers roamed the labyrinthine alleys of Shahjahanabad, selling well water in mashaks—just as contemporary vendors now sell “refrigerated cold water” from metal trolleys. Mughal emperor Humayun was said to be once drowning in the Ganga and rescued by a water carrier, Nizam, who gave him his mashak to swim over the river. This story is mentioned in the Humayun Museum, which opened last year in Delhi..

Bhoore, the mashak walla depicted on the book cover, died a long time ago, says Rafi. Sitting beside his own mashaks, Rafi is a member of the endangered species, since it is almost impossible to find mashak wale these days. Rafi says that the profession of hawking mashak water has passed down to him from his ancestors. For a long time, he worked as a labourer in Azadpur Subzi Mandi, while his father and two uncles carried the family legacy of mashak. One of the uncles died, another fell sick, and some months ago, his father gave up the work due to old age and returned to their village in nearby Amroha. This series of events obliged Rafi to give up his job as a labourer and to take up the profession of mashak walla. “It is my duty to continue this heritage,” he says matter-of-factly, looking intently at the mashak walla on the book cover. Gesturing towards the mashaks hanging behind him, he clarifies that these are not historic relics. They were made recently, and he himself is well-rehearsed in the craft of making mashaks. He graciously agrees to pose with the book.