Testing the water in the districts of Bombay (Mumbai) is a serious affair for these state officials

An unusual trip through 1920s Bombay (now Mumbai), in this amateur film which follows the water officials on their rounds as they test the city's water supply. Easily identifiable in their khaki uniforms and pith helmets, these state officials travel through 13 districts to test the water quality at wells, river banks and water tanks, as well as venturing into one of the city's many cotton mills.

As we move through the districts, the old world gradually makes way for the new. Don't miss the moment an elderly woman takes one of the officials to task over the poor living conditions. Crossing the newly-built railway track we see the early efforts to establish piped waterways through the city. This was a mammoth task undertaken by the British administration of the time after decades of chronic water shortages in the city thanks to drought and overpopulation.



Tejinder Jouhal