Rent For Water Lesson Summary Notes and Explanation in English Class 7th

Characters

  1. The farmer: A hardworking poor man.
  2. The man: Neighbor of the farmer.
  3. King Krishna Dev Rai: The king.
  4. Tenali Raman: Wisest minister at king’s court.

Introduction

The story ‘Rent for Water’ is about the wise and intelligent Tenali Raman. He is a courtier in King Krishna Dev Rai’s palace who advised the king in times of need. In the story, a farmer and the wicked neighbor take their situation to the king to get justice but the king gets into a dilemma instead, he asks Tenali Raman to solve their problem by giving justice to the deserving one. 

Summary

The farmer bought a well to water his field

The story begins with a farmer buying a well from his neighbor so that he could water his fields. The next day when the farmer went to draw water from the well, the man who sold the well didn’t allow him as he had only sold the well and not the water that it contained. The man and the farmer got into an argument and decided to take the matter to the king’s court

The farmer and the man went to King Krishna Dev Rai’s court and made him aware of the matter. The farmer was very upset which was noticed by the king, he was a poor farmer and he had collected money with great difficulty to buy a well to water his field and now the man who sold it to him is charging him for the water too. The farmer pleads to the king for justice as since he bought the well, the water inside it belongs to him.

Tenali Raman solves the matter

The king after listening to the farmer enquired the man if everything the farmer said was true, to which the man accepts the information given to be correct. However, he still denies letting the farmer access the water as according to him he has only paid for the well and is firm on his decision. 

The king found the problem to be interesting and was confused about how to solve the problem. He asked Tenali Raman, the wisest minister of his court to look into the matter. Tenali Raman asked the man if the farmer had paid the money for the well and according to him, he did. So, since the well belongs to the farmer and the water to the man, he must pay rent for keeping his water on the farmer’s well. He must pay two gold coins and the farmer will pay one gold coin for drawing out water for his fields, and if not so then the man must take out all his water from the well.

The king was happy with Tenali Raman’s wise decision in this tricky situation as he knew he would give justice to the one deserving it. Tenali Raman proved that greed is not good and punished the man for his dishonesty.

Conclusion

The story highlights that we should feel contended about what we have. We should strive hard to earn things but not be greedy. Our greed makes us do many things which are not good or ethical. We should make just demands that can be fulfilled easily and must make our earnings in honest means. Our greed can turn us into corrupt and dishonest human beings and must restrain ourselves from becoming that. Our needs should be limited and our wishes should be in control.