At 77, ‘Water Baba’ of Barmer keeps desert travellers hydrated for 21 years

For 21 years, 77-year-old Thana Ram Kadwasara has sat beside the Barmer–Batadu road in Rajasthan with bottles of cold water. In summer, temperatures here cross 45°C as buses, trucks and motorcyclists battle the desert heat.

A resident of Hudo Ki Dhani village, Thana Ram starts each day by filling and chilling water for travellers. Bus passengers grab a bottle through the window. Taxi drivers stop for a drink. Labourers walking long distances pause for relief before moving on.

There’s no NGO, no volunteers, no donation box, no signboard. Just one man who shows up daily because he believes no one should go thirsty on this stretch.

Long unnoticed, his work went viral after an Instagram video by Mohan Baliyara. Since then, people have called him “Water Baba” and “Angel of the Desert”. For Thana Ram, the only reward is knowing a traveller’s journey became a little easier.