This couple is a fountain of kindness

NC Santhakumar may not have a welcome mat outside his house, but it's obvious everyone is welcome. Instead, there's a stainless steel tap outside his door connected to a can of drinking water inside, and a stainless steel tumbler chained to the tap marked "kudi neer" or "drinking water" . It's a makeshift drinking water fountain open to everyone 24 hours a day.
"I know what it feels like to be thirsty and have no one give you water. I do not want anyone who comes to my street to be thirsty," says Santhakumar, 53, a diamond setter, who lives in Mundakanniamman Koil Street in Mylapore. "After all, water is God's gift to us. Why shouldn't we share it with everyone?"
Santhakumar's wife S Shanta is responsible for making sure that the can is refilled as well as cleaned along with the tumbler every night. "On an average , we refill the can three times a day. In the summer, it's usually four," says Shanta.
Santhakumar says he got the tap fixed because people who visited the Mundakanniamman Temple near his house used to knock at his door asking for water. "We never turned them away," he says. "And then, one day, my wife and I thought, why not keep a can outside so people can drink water anytime of day or night. We realised there must be people who are thirsty but too embarrassed to knock at a stranger's door."
But the can outside did not work as Santhakumar found that people would steal the can and tumbler at night. So he fixed the tap and the chained tumbler on his outside wall.
It's been five years since he started giving away "kudi neer" . Everyone on the street knows that this is the place to stop if you are thirsty.
"On weekdays, between 3 pm and 4 pm, you will find a queue of thirsty schoolchildren and their parents near this tap," says Santhakumar. "Parents also know that it is filtered corporation water. It is the same water that my family drinks."
"I give food and water to anyone who knocks at my door," says Shanta. "After all, God has given us enough to eat, we must share it with others." The couple has also kept a pump near the door in case the can runs out at night and people need to fill up.
The Santhakumars add that they have never run out of water ever since they moved in even when houses around them went dry. The two are now working on improving their 'kudi neer' by giving people cold water in the summer and warm water during the rainy season.
kamini.mathai@timesgroup .com