Photos, Illustrations and other Images

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Water warriors – Stories on people and their relationship with water
The stories in this yearbook highlight efforts by rural and urban communities across India to take back ownership of their water resources. Posted on 20 Oct, 2015 06:49 PM

Water sustains lives and livelihoods. It is a precious and finite resource that, in future years, is likely to become the main bone of contention between peoples, states and nations. Water – like every other finite resource – needs sustainable and equitable management, with equal focus on reducing demand, recycling and finding alternatives, as well as the usual emphasis on supply solutions.

Prayers on the bank of the Kshipra
After Cyclone Aila, farming nurtures food, faith in Sunderbans
In 2009, Cyclone Aila caused significant damage to livelihoods in the Sunderbans. While saline soil is subversive to agriculture in the area, integrated farming gives many the courage to start afresh. Posted on 14 Oct, 2015 09:53 PM

“Another flood like Aila should never happen again, but if it does, we have the knowledge to start working on our soil again”, remarks Binota Munda of Nebukhali village in Hingalganj block, North

Seed-banks are an effective instrument to preserve local varieties and keep people together
Step back in time into 'Ugrasen ki baoli'
Hidden amidst the crushing madness of Delhi's life, this stepwell offers a glimpse of a monument centred around water which is both fascinating and 'past' functional. Posted on 12 Oct, 2015 08:28 AM

Tucked away in a quiet by-lane of Delhi's busiest commercial centre Connaught Place, Agrasen or Ugrasen ki baoli waits imperially for a lost traveller to reach its steps.Called 

The old and the new: Ugrasen 'baoli' against the backdrop of Delhi.
Catching rain in the land of "too much water"
Rainwater harvesting in a school in Jorhat, Assam helps address water quality issues, improves attendance and serves as an example for others in the area to fight arsenic and fluoride contamination. Posted on 23 Aug, 2015 08:16 PM

Even in the remotest village of Assam, you would often find one saying ‘paanir nisina daam’ (meaning as cheap as water) or ‘paanir nisina xorol’ (as simple as water) over a good bargain or an easy task. Water is, almost always, associated with simplicity and abundance.

But those were the good old days.

Children drinking rainwater collected in tanks at Melamati Government Junior Basic School, Jorhat (Assam).
Mithi: Recounting a river’s apathetic journey
July witnesses the highest rainfall due to the monsoon but with it comes the risk of flooding, especially in slum clusters in one of India's most populated cities--Mumbai. Posted on 22 Aug, 2015 05:45 PM

For Kaleshwari Yadav, a resident of Morarji Nagar slums in Mumbai, rain is not her biggest worry; it is the lack of it. Residing adjacent to the Mithi (meaning sweet in Hindi) river, she says when it doesn’t rain, the stagnated river becomes a breeding ground of deadly mosquito vectors of diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

Household waste entering Mithi  in the slums of Bhim Nagar
Water treated royally in Mandu's Jahaz Mahal (Ship Palace)
It was not enough for the Mughals to just harvest rainwater but the structure needed to form a lilting backdrop to life in their palaces as exemplified by the Jahaz Mahal. What can we learn from it? Posted on 12 Aug, 2015 07:56 PM

Ghiyas-ud-din-khilji is a man about whom history is confused. Contemporary records speak of 'a lover of peace, particular in his daily prayers'.

An intricate set of curlicues set in the floor leads rainwater from the roofs to a tank in Jahaz Mahal, Mandu
How has water privatisation affected Chattisgarh?
The Mahanadi's longest tributary, the Shivnath, has borne the brunt of urbanisation and industrialisation but the impact has been felt the most by residents. We capture their story in pictures. Posted on 27 May, 2015 04:37 PM

The Shivnath River is the longest tributary of the Mahanadi River.

Shivnath river near Mahamara Barrage, Durg
Age-old grinder in Himachal Pradesh goes out of style
Waterwheels or 'gharats' have ground wheat since the 7th century, but are now dying a slow death. Our pictures capture this environmentally friendly technology, and those who still persist with it. Posted on 22 May, 2015 02:42 PM

Traditional water mills or gharats as they are called in the hilly regions of Himachal Pradesh were once found in nearly every village. Today these mechanisms that use running water to grind wheat, rice and maize and also occassionally to extract oil, have been replaced by electricity run mills.

A 'gharat' in Himachal Pradesh that uses water power to grind grains
Water, through an artist's lens
Photographer Arjun Swaminathan speaks to India Water Portal about his journey so far, which includes filming water stories. Posted on 30 Mar, 2015 08:36 AM

How did your interest in filming water stories come about? Is there any particular issue on water that has interested you? What has guided your selection?

Search for water (Source: Arjun Swaminathan)
Cursed by greed: The Falgu river
The Falgu river, supposedly cursed by Sita to run below the ground, is today threatened by encroachment and pollution. Can she be saved by her defenders? Posted on 23 Mar, 2015 04:32 PM

The story of the Falgu is one of greed. Unlike most other rivers, the Falgu is not just a victim of greed, but also an oppressor -- she oppressed none other than Sita herself as she flowed through Gaya in Bihar.

The story

People gather around a chua in the Falgu
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