Lakes, Ponds and Wetlands

Water touches our lives in many ways. Our childhood memories are often entwined with the rivers that we have crossed, lakes that we have seen and the ponds that we may have jumped in. In his Bharat Darshan, the author Kaka Kalelkar travels across the length and breadth of the country and takes us to many such places we may have visited but have probably forgotten about.

I was in Rasina, my ancestral village. It was a solemn occasion - the death of my eldest paternal uncle, and it was only the second death in our extended family after almost 18 years of my grandfather’s passing. A lot has changed in the village over time thanks to its premier location on the busy Karnal-Kaithal highway.

Jakkur Lake sits nestled behind the bustling Hebbal Highway that leads to Devanahalli International Airport. A pristine, quiet spot of nature in the midst of Bangalore, this lake stands testimony to the potential that exists to manage urban water sustainably, and in an integrated manner.

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The Bhuiyas, a group of people who belong to the Scheduled Castes in Jharkhand and Bihar, have historically been landless foragers -- a fact reflected in their name which means 'of the earth'.

The Himalayas, an important part of the geography of India, extend along the entire Northern and North-Eastern boundary of the country. It spans six Indian States namely, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Sikkim and a major part of Arunachal Pradesh from west to east.

“The Dalits of this country get access to water on the goodwill of the dominant caste. Water to untouchables is still miles away,” says Goldy M George, a Dalit activist and an expert on Dalit rights.

For many in Rapar taluka of Kutch, migration was a way of life due to the absence of rainfall; they went in search of greener pastures. But when the people realised their collective potential and how they could use it to resolve water scarcity in their villages, there was no stopping them ,and the compulsion to migrate reduced.