Elemental India

Around the world, people are increasingly facing a future that is crowded and hot, thirsty or drowning, subject to violent weather extremes and a changing climate, where the rich and poor inhabit separate spheres and governments are unable or unwilling to confront the most vital challenges their citizens face. For India, this reality is the very tangible present.In this lyrical exploration of life, loss and survival, Meera Subramanian travels in search of the ordinary people and micro-enterprises that are determined to revive India’s ravaged natural world. An engineer-turned-farmer brings organic food to Indian plates. Villagers resuscitate a river that had run dry. Cook stove designers persist in their quest for smokeless fire. Biologists bring vultures back from the brink of extinction. A bold young Bihari woman teaches young adolescents the fundamentals of sexual health. Through an investigation of these five crises, Subramanian finds renewed hope for a nation that has the potential to create a sustainable and prosperous future – for itself, the Earth and all her inhabitants.