NEW DELHI - Shakeel Ahmad wanders the cramped alleyways of Old Delhi offering water from a goat hide canteen slung over his shoulder, a centuries-old service welcomed by thirsty vendors toiling under the baking Indian sun.

Ahmad is one of last Bhishtis, a community of water carriers fading into history after generations of quenching thirsts in Delhi's old quarter.

Bhishtis have been supplying businesses, pilgrims and passers-by with swigs from their swollen canteens since the Moguls ruled India, an era before piped water sounded the death knell for their trade.