Anupam Mishra (1948 – 19 December 2016) was an Indian

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

, author, journalist, environmentalist, TED speaker, and

water conservationist Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used ...

who worked on promoting water conservation, water management and traditional

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...

techniques. He had been awarded the 1996 ''Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar'' (IGPP) award instituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests,

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

.List of Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Purashkar Awardees
Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar, Official website. He travelled to villages across several Indian states, especially Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh, describing the value of time-tested systems of water harvesting. He advocated conservation of traditional water structures in India as well as abroad. He wrote books like ''Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab'' (Ponds Are Still Relevant, 1993) and ''Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein'' (Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan, 1995), landmark works in the field of water conservation. An extensive interview with Mishra about the history and future of the

Yamuna River The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Ban ...

occupies the last chapter of

Rana Dasgupta Rana Dasgupta (born 5 November 1971 in Canterbury, England) is a British Indian novelist and essayist. He grew up in Cambridge, England, and studied at Balliol College, Oxford, the Conservatoire Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence, and, as a Fu ...

's book '' Capital: The Eruption of Delhi''.

Biography

Mishra was born in

Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows at the north, west and south bounda ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

state,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in 1948. He worked at the

Gandhi Peace Foundation The Gandhi Peace Foundation is an Indian organisation that studies and develops Mahatma Gandhi's thought. History The foundation was established 31 July 1958 to preserve and spread Gandhi's thought. It began with donation of 10 million rupee ...

in New Delhi in varying capacities since completing his college education in 1969. He promoted the use of indigenous or

traditional knowledge Traditional knowledge (TK), indigenous knowledge (IK) and local knowledge generally refer to knowledge systems embedded in the cultural traditions of regional, indigenous, or local communities. According to the World Intellectual Property Organ ...

to solve water problem via preservation, maintenance and regeneration of ponds,

water management Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slightl ...

and rain water harvesting. Working with Chandi Prasad Bhatt, he was one of the early chroniclers of the

Chipko movement The Chipko movement ( hi, chipko andolan, italic=yes, lit= reehugging movement) is a forest conservation movement in India. The movement originated in 1973 at the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand (then part of Uttar Pradesh) and went on to beco ...

that flourished through the 1970s in

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

, and published ''Chipko movement: Uttarakhand women's bid to save forest wealth'' in 1978. In 1993, he published ''Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab'' ('' Ponds Are Still Relevant''), written after eight years of field research on traditional pond and water management. Soon, it became a handbook for many

non-governmental organizations A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(NGOs) working on water-harvesting projects. Subsequently, it was translated into 19 languages, including

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

, and sold over 100,000 copies, out of which the National Book Trust published 13 languages, including English. His next book, ''Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein'' (''The Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan''), also documented water harvesting and water management in Western

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. All his books are copyright free. Mishra was awarded the 'Amar Shaheed Chandrasekhar Azad National Award' of 2007–08, instituted by the

Government of Madhya Pradesh Government of Madhya Pradesh also known as the State Government of Madhya Pradesh, or locally as the State Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and its 52 districts. It consists of an executive, ...

, Culture Department to "propagate and publicise ideals of freedom struggle, patriotism and social service". He spoke on the topic "The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting" in 2009

TED TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

conference. He is the recipient of Jamnalal Bajaj Award for the year 2011. He was editor of the bi-monthly Gandhi Marg, published by the

. Mishra was a true Gandhian in philosophy and practice. Known to be warm and engaging in his demeanor and maintaining his principles throughout his life, he was a role model to many. He died on 20 December 2016 after a 10-month battle with cancer.

Works

* ''Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab'' (in Hindi), (English title: ''Ponds Are Still Relevant''), published by Gandhi Shanti Pratishthan, New Delh
On line text
1993. * ''Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan'', translated by Ms. Maya Jani, Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology, 199
On line text
* ''Chipko movement: Uttarakhand women's bid to save forest wealth'', with Satyendra Tripathi. People's Action, 1978. * '' Safa Mathe Ka Samaja '', Penguin India (3 October 2006)

References

External links

*
gandhipeacefoundation
at

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

Select writings and speeches
a
मनसंपर््क
* A few articles relating Anupam Mishra a
Pani Post
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Anupam 1948 births 2016 deaths Indian conservationists Writers from Maharashtra Indian non-fiction environmental writers Gandhians Sustainability advocates Water conservation in India People from Wardha Activists from Maharashtra Indian editors 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers 21st-century Indian non-fiction writers