This page compiles all posts related to my internship with a water-focused NGO called Arghyam in Bangalore, India.
16 November 2009 – Gandhian Thoughts on Gender, Water, and Sanitation
25 October 2009 – Guest Post: Photo essay on water loss due to leaks
12 October 2009 – Kids and Songs for Safe Water and Good Hygiene in Tamil Nadu
16 September 2009 – Water for the Ages in India: Two Weeks at Arghyam
31 August 2009 – Water for the Ages in India: Initial Impressions of H20 in Bangalore
2 Comments
October 1, 2009 at 7:41 am
Hello
I’m amazed at your blog which I find fascinating. I was looking for teaching materials and ideas for my students on the water issue, and I would like to thank you for your enthusiasm and all the information you provide. I hope you have a great time in India and I’ll certainly try to read your blog regularly.
Take care.
Daniele
October 5, 2009 at 6:31 pm
We have recently produced a 65 minute feature documentary film titled, The Rising Wave (English subtitles) examining the social, cultural and economic effects of water privatisation using a range of case studies in India. In particular, the film examines three areas of the process of privatisation of water: 1) The change in the status of water in India from a public common to a private commodity, 2) The resultant urbanization of water to generate both economic and political capital, and 3) The separation of water, which has a deep cultural significance, from the wider Indian society.
The film initially documents the collective usage of water and its association with spiritual value. In Varanasi (North India) boatmen have survived for generations through fishing and transporting people and goods. Throughout Chattisgarh (Central India) a network of communal ponds provides water to villages all year round. Village ponds are thus revered and have folk legends connected with them. The film then proceeds to examine different instances of privatisation and the consequences for the concerned local communities. In Tehri (in the Himalayan foothills)) the government of India has constructed a dam, essentially to provide water to the Metropolis of Delhi more than 300km away. The Dam has resulted in the submergence of the historical town of Tehri and more than 150 surrounding villages, leading to a loss of livelihood and community networks. In Chattisgarh a 23.6 km stretch of the famous Sheonath river has been leased to a private water company to supply water to the nearby industrial estate. The company has constructed an anicut and a reservoir. As a result villages downstream have lost their farms and way of life as the river has stopped flowing.
Finally, in Mehendigunj near Varanasi, the film speaks to small-scale farmers whose food crops have suffered as a result of the building of a Coca Cola bottling plant that has depleted the ground water table of the surrounding area.
Vandana Shiva, one of the world’s leading ecologists, comments throughout the film on the privatisation of water and its inherent pitfalls and inequalities, particularly for the rural poor, a group that still constitute the majority of the Indian population.
Contact http://www.yaskdesai.com for more information