How The Widows of Vrindavan Celebrated Diwali in 2014
This Diwali, the widows of Vrindavan spent Diwali 2014 lighting diyas along the banks of the Yamuna. They have decided to use the holiday to spread awareness about the need for environmental conservation of the river. Their celebration is significant not only for the environmental consciousness they preach, but also because …
Indians Think the Greatest Danger is Religious and Ethnic Hatred
According to a recent study published by the Pew Research Center, Indians think that Religious and Ethnic Hatred poses the greatest threat to the world. This is no surprise coming from a country known to have its own set of religious and ethnic problems. The next highest were Inequality and Nuclear …
Let's Celebrate Diwali Without Hurting the Environment
Introduction Recently, Delhi based Director & Cinematographer Gurmeet Sapal and Sehaj Singh followed the recent trend of picture captions to create a “Green Diwali” campaign. Some of the submissions were great advice for celebrating the holiday without hurting the environment, and one common suggestion was to avoid using crackers to celebrate …
Freedom from Darkness: A Village in Bihar Powers Itself With Solar Energy
Introduction Dharnai is a small village in Bihar (one of India’s poorest states) and has been unable to get government provided electricity for over 30 years. Greenpeace India has recently solved their problem to help power the village using solar energy! The Problem According to the organization, small shops in …
The Value of One Bucket of Water
It’s amazing and sad how much polarity is in the world when it comes to appreciating water. This video does a fantastic job of portraying those poles. It sometimes becomes easy to take simple things for granted, but videos like this do a great job of humbling us to the worlds problems.
Connecting India’s Villages with Successful Village Migrants
A rather common question asked amongst Indians on being acquainted with one another is regarding their “native place”; the village, town, or city that the person originally belongs to. Having been born in the southern city of Chennai, but brought up in the western city of Pune; with my mother …
Ganga River Pollution: Uma Bharti's Tough Job
For decades now, India’s industrial power has been growing– along with its pollution levels. One of the “best”– or probably worst– examples of this is in the Ganga River. Holy and Impure The river, regarded among Hindus as among the most sacred places in the world, is one of the most …
Climate and Agriculture: How India Can 'Make it Rain'
With the rising temperatures contributing to the ongoing drought, India’s climate is far from pleasant. Rainfall has already been 44% below the average thus far into the monsoon season, and as El Nino approaches, weather forecasts have started indicating that a 7% rain deficit is a likely scenario; India will have a …
India's Nuclear Policy: Not New, Not Clear
‘Smiling Buddha’–India’s first nuclear weapon explosion–marked a watershed moment in Indian history, serving as a promising start for further investment in a highly advanced technological field. Since its first nuclear test in 1974, India has both maintained and advanced its nuclear capabilities. It has recently built several new plants and developed more …
River Rapti in Gorakhpur Sees Decrease in Zooplankton Because of Sewage
A study was recently published in the World Journal of Zoology titled, “Effect of Domestic Sewage on Zooplankton Community in River Rapti at Gorakhpur, India.” The Background India has a huge clean water and sanitation problem, which only gets worse with an increasing population. One of the major reasons clean water …
