Tag Archives: water wheel

While traveling across rural Rajasthan, en route from Jaipur to Udaipur, our guide stopped the bus beside a farm.  The point of the stop was for us to see how a water wheel is still used in agriculture.  There was a large metallic mechanism beside the road apparently connected to a water wheel; after a chat with the farmer, a pair of oxen were attached to the steel bar and we were shown how the water wheel worked.

This type of water wheel is called a sakia, or Persian wheel (although it likely was invented in India around 300 BC).  The device is designed to lift water from a well using buckets or scoops connected to an endless belt activated by …

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