Water: Culture, Politics and Management

A publication of the India International Centre for which I contributed an article Himalayan Rivers: Geopolitics and Strategic Perspectives is now available. Click here to order.

Water: Culture, Politics and Management is a compilation of essays written by some well-known connoisseurs of Indian art and culture as well as experts and activists dedicated to the cause of conservation of water. They illustrate how water has been treated in mythology, reveal the ecological messages that underlie these myths, and describe the culture that developed around water. There are also essays on maritime trade, the craft of boat- and ship-building, the politics of water emerging out of issues like dam construction, pollution of rivers and the scope of social services in flood-ravaged areas. Finally, a commentary on the imagery of water in Indian cinema, a selection of poems and a collection of photographs illustrating the sanctity built around water depict our response to it through art and poetry. Drawing on different disciplines as well as the arts, this volume is an informative and engaging exploration of the many ways that water has sustained and enriched our existence.

Table Of Contents
Introduction: The Ecology and Myth of Water, by Kapila VatsyayanThe Kaveri River, by Clare Arni

PART I: THE RIVER

   1. Himalayan Rivers: Geopolitics and Strategic Perspectives, by Claude Arpi
   2. The Narmada: Death of a River, by Shripad Dharmadhikary
   3. A Boat of Hope, by Sanjoy Hazarika
   4. Water as a Metaphor in Indian Cinema, by Partha Chatterjee

PART II: THE SEA

   5. The Indian Ocean: The History, Ecology and Making of a Community, by Himanshu Prabha Ray, Rohan D?Souza and Gulshan Dietl
   6. Pre-Portuguese Maritime Crafts of India: The Ethnological Evidence, by Lotika Varadarajan
   7. The Composite Culture of Goa, by Maria Couto

PART III: WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

   8. Water: What Must We Do? by Ramaswamy R. Iyer
   9. Hunting Down Water in India: In Search of Vox Pops, by Sanjay Barnela and Vasant Saberwal; Poems by Maya Khosla
  10. Environmental Values and the Quality of Life, by Mahesh N. Buch

PART IV: THE CULTURE OF WATER

  11. Vanchipattu: Songs of the Boat Race in Kerala, by Vijayan Kannampilly
  12. Bhatiali: Songs of the Boatmen of Bengal, by Indrani Majumdar
  13. A Selection of Poems, with Introduction by Keshav Malik