“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water,” said W H Auden, one of the greatest poets of the 20th century.

I had reason to recall Auden’s profound statement as I went through social media posts after Middle Vaitarna, one of the seven reservoirs that provide water to Mumbai, started overflowing on Thursday. “What a relief,” said many ecstatic Mumbaikars, who were subjected to 20 per cent water cuts in the past fortnight in view of depleting levels of the city’s water stock. They felt relieved in anticipation that there would be no water cuts henceforth.