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See life through a water prism
SIMPLE INNOVATIONS LIKE THE TAP HAVE DISTANCED PEOPLE FROM PROBLEMS AT THE SOURCE. World Water Day has come again. Did we do anything differently about our use and abuse of water since the last Water Day? At the gross level, it appears not. Because, in the context of India, this past year was one of […]
Article
Giving Is Easy” – Heroes of Philanthropy
Journalist and novelist. Corporate wife and mother. Now, armed with a fortune from Infosys’ meteoric rise, Rohini Nilekani is intent on helping India’s poor. View PDF
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48 Heroes of Philanthropy
From helping disaster victims to funding soup kitchens, they make our latest regional list. Forbes Asia. View PDF
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उलट पालट – Pratham Books – Pratham Books
उलट पालट – Pratham Books – Children’s Book View PDF
Article
Uncommon Ground – For The Children Of India
The debate has shifted to higher studies, but we I cannot afford to take the foot off the pedal on early education. In this, the final column in this series, I turn to a core area of my work over the past decade—the education and development of young children. Some sights and sounds remain sharply […]
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Uncommon Ground – A Fine Balance in Kutch
There’s a massive export of virtual water from dry regions to wet, through the sale of both milk and meat products. on work, with soaring temperatures and no promise of rain despite an unusual cloud cover. We travelled a couple of hundred kilometres in the clay desert, despairing at the spread of Prosopis juli-flora which […]
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Uncommon Ground – Tilling The Urban Soil
Urban farming enthusiasts believe it is the best way to green the city, while providing a little food security too. It is remarkable how much you can grow in a small space with very little fuss. My colleague Vishwanath, who himself has demonstrated the viability of growing paddy on his small rooftop garden, taught me […]
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Uncommon Ground – Greening The Toilet
The past century of sanitation has been an environmental and financial nightmare for the world. It is supposedly the 100th anniversary of the modern lavatory, though there is some dispute about when the modern flush toilet as we now know it was invented and by whom. Nevertheless, for the billions around the world who take […]
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Uncommon Ground – Mind The Gender Gap
Not only does violence against women continue in the old brutality, it is taking new bewildering forms. Twenty-five years ago, I used to volunteer with Vimochana, a women’s group that focuses on violence against women. At that time in Bangalore, dowry deaths were particularly disturbing, and much work was being done to raise awareness about […]
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Uncommon Ground – A Conflict Of Paradigms
The demand for limited fresh water has brought the issue to the centre of the debate on development. At summertime, thoughts turn naturally to water. For millions of citizens, especially women, it is a time of extreme shortage, and for ever more creative coping mechanisms. Many states have improved access to lifeline water, but there […]