I soon discovered that the most intelligent of the four was a Jāt; and I had a good deal of conversation with him as he stood landing the leather buckets, as the two pair of bullocks on his side of the well drew them to the top, a distance of forty cubits from the surface of the water beneath.
'Who built this well?' I began.
'It was built by one of my ancestors, six generations ago.'
'How much longer will it last?'
'Ten generations more, I hope; for it is now just as good as when first made. It is of 'pakkā' bricks without mortar cement.'[9]
'How many waterings do you give?'
'If there should be no rain, we shall require to give the land six waterings, as the water is sweet; had it been brackish four would do. Brackish water is better for wheat than sweet water; but it is not so good for vegetables or sugar-cane.'
'How many "bīghās" are watered from this well?'
'We water twenty "bīghās", or one hundred and five "jarībs", from this well.'[10]
'And you pay the Government how much?'