Uneven Absorption: World-Class Delhi, Domestic Workers and the Water that Makes Them A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA BY Heather Elaine O’Leary IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY William O. Beeman August 2014 © Heather Elaine O’Leary 2014 i Acknowledgements I gratefully acknowledge that this study could not have been completed without the help of my kin—the family I was born into and those who graciously adopted me and this project in countless ways throughout my pursuit of answers. *** Generous support was granted by: Fulbright Foundation United States Department of Education: Foreign Language and Area Studies Program University of Minnesota: Department of Anthropology Graduate School: Graduate Research Partnership Program Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship Program Interdisciplinary Center for the study of Global Change Wenner-Gren Foundation ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to P.D. and the women and girls of Delhi; | iii Informants and Name Meanings The names and identifying characteristics of collaborators have been changed to protect their anonymity, unless they wished to be named. The new names all were selected to reflect the cultural background and character of the collaborator. I chose to select common names that have meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Sanskrit, and English that are tied in with the theme of water. Some are direct, like Sanskrit “Jeevika,” which means water, while others like “Anita” derive from Urdu as the name of a goddess of water, but also reflect her role in the community with its Sanskrit meaning “a leader without guile.” Some names, like “Piyush,” are near interpretations of the theme. In Order of Appearance: Nahlah Drink of water Chandani-devi Moonlight/A river Ami Nectar Sejal River water/Pure depth Jalahasini Water’s Smile/Water’s Laughter Vahini A river/Armed force Jaldhar Swollen raincloud Varda A river/Giver of boons Kauthar Fountain in paradise Muna Hope/Fresh spring Chanchari Vortex of water/A bird Ashita Yamuna river Noshaba Water of life/Elixer Varsha Rain Kuvalai Water-lily Manju Dew drops Atreyi Container of glory/Nectar vessel Urmi Wave Neelaja Blue water Jenni White wave Nandika Water/Lakshmi Rithika Stream Barsha Rain Avisa Clear water/Ocean Jeevika Water Arali Water-lily Parul Flow of water/Graceful Neera Pure water/Nectar Varun Lord of the sea Irsia Rainbow Piyush Sweet water/Nectar Kalindee Yamuna river iv Glossary bartan vessels for cooking or carrying water basti informal settlement b’de log lit. “big people,” middle-class people boond drop chulha wood-burning handmade stove chuppals sandals dehliz threshold dupatta multi-use garment worn for modesty firengi foreign jal water jivan life jhopadi a community of jhuggis jhuggi handbuilt one-room informal homes kabaadi re-use or recycling kadai a type of pan kirana shop local convenience store kuchcha informal, of low quality (opposite to pukka) kurta-pajama garment set ludai a fight mangal sutra a necklace indicating marriage nal a canal or gutter namkins savory snacks paise coin pallava the decorative end of a sari panchayat village council patil police liaison pukka formal, of high quality rangoli decorative threshold design roti Indian flat bread sabzi vegetable or vegetable dish salwar ladies garment samanjasya compromise shauchalay bathroom or toilet sindoor red powder applied to married woman’s hairline and part swadesh self-rule wallah suffix. “thing that” or “person who” yagna sacrifice v Before Before the clustered, hovering buildings of picturesque Gurgaon rose as if by magic out of Delhi’s peripheral, methodically tilled agricultural soils, and before hundreds of illegal borewells lapped up the National Capitol Region’s groundwater; Before the Tehri Dam displaced 85,000 peasants, some in-migrating to Delhi, and before it redirected 270 million imperial gallons of water and 346 HW of power to Delhi each day; Before the economic liberalization of 1991 that laid the groundwork for water utility privatization and before international bottled beverage manufacturers were suspected of groundwater overdraft, beverage pesticide contamination, and heavy-metal contamination of village water resources; Before the Crystal River’s glistening planks were installed over Indira Gandhi’s last living footsteps and before her Green Revolution made ripples in the way India saw foreign aid, agriculture, and water; Before Mahatma Gandhi’s antyesti, his cremation, on the bank of the Yamuna at verdant Raj Ghat and before the parceling of his ashes for scattering in the watersheds where his legacy lives; Before Partition, when the branches of the Indus watershed and the branches of family trees were severed, and before refugees set up informal camps in Delhi; Before King George V stood under the blue-grey December sky and announced New Delhi as the new capitol, the laying the founding stone of New Delhi too near the floodplain, and before Delhi showed the world media a glittering, modern façade as it dug canals for the sewage of temporary durbar camps instead of the growing city; Before the decorative fountains Shah Jahan built within the complexes of Delhi’s Red Fort and the Taj Mahal, and before Delhi’s impact on the Yamuna was so great that it threatened this wonder of the world; Before communal step-wells, like Agrasen-Ki-Baoli, were built by Mughal families vying for political support and alliances, and before these wells went dry; Before the foundations of Buddhist temples were supported by the undulating forms of yakshi water nymphs, and before the water as the foundation for life was no longer revered; Before the exquisite plumbing only 450 kilometers away in Harappa; and before its ancient commitment to separating and treating wastewater was forgotten; …before all of this, water coursed through Delhi. vi Abstract Concern over sustainable development and urban water allocation is growing worldwide. Moreover, within the context of climate change, many presently socially marginalized populations are at even greater risk for future water crisis. It is critically important to understand not only the present water practices of marginalized populations, but also how their social status also affects their relationship to water. This study, grounded in eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork, traces the changing patterns of water allocation and water ethoi of the water-poor. The findings suggest that water is used as a signal of class identity and although the water-poor are typically seen as a homogenous unit, there is variation in the adoption of urban water practices. It argues that the contemporary anthropological language for global flows does not explain the rich negotiations of water values, identity and local spaces. It interjects a new metaphor of absorption to explain global flows. As approximately 1,000 people in-migrate Delhi, India each day, the vast majority to informal housing with limited water access, this overlooked population stands to drastically impact the urban waterscape. vii Table of Contents Introduction – 1 Water and Culture: Absorption, Ambiguity, and the Paradigm of Flow Chapter 1 – 37 Boond-Boond Se, Drop by Drop: Building a Body of Water Knowledge Chapter 2 – 71 Historical Hydrological Infrastructure, Governance, and Social Exclusion in Delhi, India Chapter 3 – 127 Between Stagnancy and Affluence: Upward Mobility and Water Circulation in the Basti Chapter 4 – 168 Of Pukka Thresholds and Porous Membranes: The Fluidity of Domestic Work Chapter 5 – 205 Beyond Pukka Dehliz: Bringing the Aesthetic Home Chapter 6 – 248 Jal Hi Jivan Hai: Life, Livelihood, and Urban Vitality Conclusion – 292 Absorption as a New Paradigm References Cited 310 1 Introduction – Water and Culture: Absorption, Ambiguity, and the Paradigm of Flow 2 This chapter orients the reader to the main themes and questions of the dissertation. It explores the relationship between water and culture, establishing the relationship as dialogical. It then traces the ways that water is associated with the production of hierarchy in culture and how social hierarchy also affects water. It relates these concepts to recent theories in the anthropology of globalization, most notably the concept of flow. It suggests a new paradigm, the metaphor of absorption, to understand the shortcomings of the term flow. Finally, it lays out the trajectory of the dissertation. Statement of Purpose Concern over sustainable development and urban water allocation is growing worldwide. Within the context of climate change, many presently socially marginalized populations are at even greater risk for future water crisis (Bakker 2010; IPCC 2007). It is critically important to understand not only the current water practices of marginalized populations, but also how their social status affects their longitudinal relationship to water (Thomas and Twyman 2006). Urban areas present special challenges to water allocation as myriad needs compete for the same resource in a concentrated area. The negotiation of competing water needs leads to the prolific development of rhetoric about the value of water. Competition grows more dire as the increasing adoption of middle-class1 consumption patterns and water values puts additional strain on water supply (Hoekstra and Chapagain 2007). Megacities, especially those in developing countries, experience unprecedented increase to water demand and, as such, provide a rich context for 1 I use Shridarhan’s concept of the middle-class based on income in concert with