Water

Non-fiction

Articles

frothcanal“Beneath the Foam and Fire.” The Wire, non-fiction article. (Originally published in May 2015). Bangalore’s system of lakes and canals took centuries to build, but their downfall was only a few decades in the making. February 2017.

Inside IISc campus 2.jpg“A Science City Rises as an Ecosystem Disappears.” The Wire, non-fiction article. As the Challakere kavals are turned into a strategic research complex, locals continue to fight to keep their ancestral rights to these arid grasslands. October 2016.

1461342403Chennaifloods2015dec7666“Unnatural Disaster: After the Chennai Floods.” Dissent Magazine, non-fiction article. Last December’s floods in Chennai illustrated the devastating consequences of a development model that puts profits before people. But they also hinted at what a democratic response to climate disaster might look like. April 2016.

ulsoor“Bangalore’s Dead Fish Are Just a Symptom of the Time Bomb that Lies Ahead.” The Wire, non-fiction article. Ulsoor Lake is one of the last strongholds in a water-starved city whose hundreds of old reservoirs have largely been drained to be built upon or reduced to dumping grounds in the last 40 years. March 2016.

monsoon“A Warming Earth Could Mean Monsoons Could Change Course, and India Must Prepare.” The Wire, non-fiction article. For millennia, lives across South Asia have beat to the monsoon’s largely predictable rhythm. What happens when that rhythm shifts? September 2015.

Book Reviews

Nature in the City.pngReview of Harini Nagendra’s Nature in the City for H-Net. How can we foster an urban community that has a sense of agency over its surrounding environment, and that works together across differences of language, religion, class, and caste to rejuvenate and protect that environment? January 2018.

Fiction

Catch a ride on raindrops“Catch a Ride on Raindrops.” Pratham Books, children’s book. Illustrated by Sayan Mukherjee. A group of kids go on an Alice-in-Wonderland-style adventure with the water cycle. April 2019.

The Storyteller“The Storyteller.” Dreamer’s Magazine, short fiction. Winner of Pen Parentis Fellowship for 2019-2020. Two children wander a deserted beach, in a world transformed by a storm. August 2019.