“Thus it appears that the sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well…The Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges.” (Thoreau 322-323)

In this passage Thoreau discusses how the water that he drinks from his well connects him to different places around the world. He discusses how he imagines drawing water from his well and there is a servant of Bramin’s doing the same at the same well. This is because the water at Walden Pond is “mingled” with the waters of the Ganges. Although Walden is so drastically different in this chapter in terms of weather and space compared to Charleston, New Orleans and the Ganges– the water in these places connects them all. Water creates a braided stream that connects us all despite how different the places we call home are and the cultures that we practice.