January 14: Pushkar / Sariska

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, the group will drive to Sariska in North Rajasthan via Volvo bus. Travel Time: 5-6 hours

Upon our arrival at Tarun Bharat Sangh’s Campus Ashram, The Gandhi Legacy Tour of India delegation are warmly greeted by The Waterman of India, Dr. Rajendra Singh, his family and the community members he serves.  We are honored, introduced to each other, served some chai masala and learned more about the community, his background and projects, at the Tarun Bharat Sangh Campus he founded. A compelling story is told by Kasturi, one of the women in the Sariska community who now serves as a board member of Tarun Bharat Sangh’s NGO overseeing agriculture.

After our warm greeting, we will visit the Tarun Bharat Sangh’s fields and sites around Sariska.  Tarun Bharat Sangh established by Rajendra Singh, the Waterman of India.  Three decades ago this region of Rajasthan was arid, deficient and erratic rains and a depleted ground water table had turned the area into a dust bowl.  Rajendra Singh a medical doctor chucked his government job and began living amongst the local farming community.  He was told to forget about education and medical care if he really wanted to help to bring water to this perched community.  He was taught basics of water conservation and then diligently worked to convince the villagers to work with him to begin water conservancy and rain water harvesting work.

They built a series of rainwater harnessing check dams over natural aquifers harvesting rainwater run-offs from surrounding hills. Today three decades later the region has become green and has perennial water.  It has experienced deficient rains for the past three years but its farmers have been reaping four bumper harvests annually.  They have water reserves to last them in case of a decade long drought and are now planning to enhance the capacity of their own man made water reservoirs so they they can sustain and survive a 15 years long drought.  The following is a video from a previous Gandhi Legacy Tour of India visit with the amazing Waterman of India.

Rajendra Singh the water man and his successful experiment in water conservation and influencing the micro weather pattern of the region has been recognized by the United Nations and he was awarded the Prestigious Stockholm Prize.

Buffet breakfast at the SariskaTiger Heaven Hotel, – lunch, and dinner.

SariskaTiger Heaven Hotel: The Tiger Heaven is conveniently located near Alwar and Sariska and provides numerous activities from visiting historical monuments to the exploration of wildlife and nature trails.