Voices from the Ground

Uttarakhand, India’s water tower, where many rivers & glaciers originate, also besets with change-makers, social workers, environmentalists, scientists, educators, artists, writers, poets, religious leaders, and actors like Chandi Prasad Bhatt, Sundarlal Bahuguna, INdramani Badoni, Swami Sivananda, Ruskin Bond, Tom Altar, Nayantara Sahgal, Shivani and Mrinal Pande. However, like tradition-bound and change-resistant Indian society, change is generally observed at micro-level in Uttarakhand too, where a few people, because of their resolve and conviction, have spent their entire lives to enrich their immediate society. Most have no institutional support and backing, barring a few who are from the government or have formed voluntary organisations. These people largely remain unnoticed and unsung. This anthology of 17 such individuals and a couple that reflects the underlying theme that if an individual is committed & looks beyond his/her immediate surroundings, she/he could bring an everlasting change in society. This anthology is not just a documentation of those actions that are not ephemeral, but the models for others to follow, since micro-level changes, as a beautifully woven pattern of flowers in a garden, an emerging picture, salubrious for many people who dare to dream.