The poem ‘Water’ by Swaroopa Rani presents the struggle, the humiliation, the anguish and the suffering undergone by the Dalits to obtain their rightful share of water, which is a natural resource. The speaker cites ‘water’ as the witness to the practice of untouchability.

Water has been a witness to the plight of the Dalits who have been fighting for their right to their share of water. She declares that this water has been witness to the age-old strife between the upper caste people and the Dalits. The speaker expresses the agony of the panchama who waits for water the whole day and the humiliation of the Wada girl, who has to collect the water thrown at her from a distance and in this act how she has to bear the humiliation caused by the water that falls on her. The speaker mentions an incident in which a Dalit woman comes to the rescue of a Dalit boy who is about to be thrashed by Kamma landlords.

The speaker also mentions how they craved for a glass of water with parched throats. The speaker confesses regretfully and nostalgically how they awaited the day of their bath in a week while the other people in the village enjoyed the luxury of bathing twice a day. Finally, the speaker recalls how several thatched huts in Malapalle got reduced to ashes for want of a pot of water to douse a rising fire.