Palghar boy who dug a well for mum loves to experiment | Mumbai News – Times of India

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[google-translator]

He’s a bundle of bones, with a twinkle in his eyes. Pranav Ramesh Salkar is the toast of Palghar district, 128 km from Mumbai, after he dug a well for his mother near his hut in Kelve, a sleepy village, early this month. “I am happy aai will no longer have to do daily trips to the rivulet,” he said on Saturday.
His achievement has turned Pranav, a Class IX adivasi student from Adarsh Vidya Mandir, into a celebrity, and he fears the media glare will disrupt his daily schedule of long walks, climbing trees and watching birds. No mobile, no pizza and no Google, at least for now, for the lanky lad who loves to experiment with things he can lay his hands on. He recently linked solar panels with a motorbike battery to illuminate his hut.
Armed with a spade, shovel and a small ladder, 14-year-old Pranav Ramesh Salkar began digging a well in the middle of his courtyard, which is framed against a bunch of tamarind and pipal trees, braving the scorching May heat in tiny Kelve in Palghar. “Pranav would keep scooping out the earth all through the day with a 15-minute lunch break,” said his father Ramesh, even as his mother Darshana smiled on affectionately. A small board, announcing Pranav’s achievement, is placed neatly above the well.
The boy’s happiness knew no bounds as clean, pure water began to rush out from earth the trickle soon turning into a steady flow. Ramesh helped him build a mud ‘katta’ to fortify the 20ft ‘bawdi’, which is now the family’s proud possession.
What motivated Pranav to single-handedly dig a well in his courtyard? “I didn’t like my mother fetching water from a nearby rivulet. She would carry home buckets of water every morning before getting down to cooking and other household chores,” he said on Saturday.
Untouched by urbanisation, Kelve is nestled amidst trees. A zigzag mud road snakes through ‘naag-vel’ (betel leaf) fields and salt pans to reach Pranav’s home. Ramesh works in a vegetable field as labourer. Pranav is the youngest of four siblings.
The news roared through Kelve like a river in spate. Villagers made a beeline to the well, while friends from nearby ‘bastis’ visited Pranav’s home in Dhavangapada. “My school teacher too came to see the well,” he said, a radiant smile lighting up his face. The local civic body promptly set up a tap in Pranav’s courtyard, said Sandip Kini, the panchayat samiti chief. “The samiti is eager to give him some more help,” Kini added.
Now, the media glare is proving too much for him. “The other day he rushed back home and began to sob as he saw a team of media persons arriving with a camera crew,” said Darshana.
Untouched by internet and social media so far, Pranav loves to experiment with things. “Pranav doesn’t talk much, but he is innovative-and good with his hands. He can be taught to make home appliances or some such,” said Shrish Save, an entrepreneur and nature buff.
Tied to a nearby tree, a long rubber tube serves as a makeshift swing. “I love to fly high,” he signed off with a grin.

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