In the olden Madras, people have always kept pots of waters outside their homes for passers-by to help themselves from onslaught of thirst. The thinnai’s in their homes were always handy for such service. Also this photo tells us that apart from Tamil, even Telugu was quite common in the erstwhile Madras, and is used here to convey “Drinking Water” (i presume).

What does the picture depict, one needs to drown inside a well to have water?