Anupam Mishra

Anupam Mishra
Born

1948 (age 67–68)


Madhya Pradesh, India

Occupation environmentalist
Known for water conservation, rainwater harvesting

Anupam Mishra (Hindi: अनुपम मिश्र, Urdu: انوپم مشرا‎, born 1948) is an Indian Gandhian, author, journalist, environmentalist, and water conservationist who works on promoting water conservation, water management and traditional rainwater harvesting techniques.[1] He had been awarded the 1996 Indira Gandhi Paryavaran Puraskar (IGPP) award instituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.[2] He travels 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 advocates conservation of traditional water structures in India as well as abroad.[3][4] He has written books, like Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab (Lakes are still Standing, 1993) and Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein (Radiant Raindrops of Rajasthan, 1995), landmark works in the field of water conservation.[5][6][7]

Biography

Mishra was born in Wardha, Maharashtra state, India in 1948. He has worked at the Gandhi Peace Foundation in New Delhi in varying capacities since completing his college education in 1969. He promotes the use of indigenous or traditional knowledge to solve water problem via preservation, maintenance and regeneration of ponds, water management and rain water harvesting.[7]

Working with Chandi Prasad Bhatt, he was one of the early chroniclers of the Chipko movement that flourished through the 1970s in Uttarakhand, and published Chipko movement: Uttarakhand women's bid to save forest wealth in 1978.[8]

In 1993, he published Aaj Bhi Khare Hain Talaab, written after eight years of field research on traditional pond and water management. Soon, it became a handbook for many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on water-harvesting projects. Subsequently, it was translated into 19 languages, including Braille, in 100,000 copies, out of which the National Book Trust published 13 languages, including English. His next book, Rajasthan Ki Rajat Boondein, also documented water harvesting and water management in Western Rajasthan. All his books are copyright free.[5][7]

Mishra was awarded the 'Amar Shaheed Chandrasekhar Azad National Award' of 2007–08, instituted by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, Culture Department to "propagate and publicise ideals of freedom struggle, patriotism and social service".[3]

He spoke on the topic "The ancient ingenuity of water harvesting"[9] in 2009 TED conference.

He is the recipient of Jamnalal Bajaj Award for the year 2011.[10][11]

He is the editor of the bi-monthly Gandhi Marg, published by the Gandhi Peace Foundation. The journal is known for the clarity of its writing and editing, and has a small and committed readership.[12]

Works

Translations

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.