This water clock has been ticking for long

State-of-the-art wrist watches and digital clocks might be a status symbol in the modern world. However, for this family in Halmuttur in Koppa taluk of Chikmagalur, it is the traditional water clock that helps them keep date with time.

Noted researcher and historian M Chidananda Murthy on Thursday gave details about the ‘Ghatika Pathre’ which also finds mention in the Puranas and other civilizations.

“This bowl-shaped water clock is 10-inches wide, 10-inches high and can store 0.75 litres of water. It has a small hole at the bottom. We found this instrument recently at Shankaranarayana Jois’s house in Halmuttur village,” he said.

“At sunrise, people would fill water in the watch bowl and keep an empty vessel below it. The water from the bowl dripped marking the completion of one unit of time called ‘One Ghalige’ (equal to 24 minutes). Once again the bowl would be filled and would mark the next time unit. The exercise went on till sunset,” Murthy said.

Historians and researchers in Karnataka always knew about such clocks being used in central and northern parts of the state. “In ancient scripts, there was mention of a Vedic community called ‘Ghaligi’, which used water clocks to measure time. The discovery of ‘Ghatika Pathre’ has given strength to the argument and helps further research in the field,” said HY Sitharama Bhatta, who spotted it in Chikmagalur.