The Mouse Trap & Water Woes!

Today's Nayaki muses with a mouse under the palm in the comfort of an airconditioned room in stark contrast to the the young Kannamani  who was settling down with live mice for company.The abode was the second floor of a dilapidated structure on one of the most happening and arterial streets of Calcutta .Each room had a built-in Rat Trap waiting to devour the rodents and little Nayaki had spent her childhood there.The balconies overlooked the busy Rash Behari Avenue.The residents woke up every morning to the call of the Bahri Wallah.The sump never needed to be filled & the motor never existed.For those of you who may be wondering who the Bahri Wallah was...here's the answer.The one I saw all my years was a short dark stocky man who carried water a la Shravan Kumar .Two huge oil tins served as the water carriers.They hung alternatingly on either side of his shoulders and he would painstakingly fill up the tank inside the house on the second floor.The leaking roofs were a blessing and buckets arranged in order also chipped in to help during the rainy season.Little Kannamani was a young woman and was the pillar of the family.Young ,ambitious Krishnamurthy had ventured into lucrative pastures and was serving in Bihar.....