Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan, well acclaimed for his stellar movies and the television serial, Satyamev Jayate that took the country by storm through its addressal of relevant citizen issues, is today the pioneer of a mammoth water conservation movement in Maharashtra, through his Paani Foundation. The project, funded by five leading corporates—Tata Trusts, Reliance Foundation, Deepak Parekh, HDFC Bank and Rajiv Bajaj—aims to make the state drought-free through people’s participation
Leading from the front: Aamir Khan, goes beyond his TV serial Satyamev Jayate to begin a water conservation mission in MaharashtraAamir Khan: After three seasons, we were contemplating the issues we wanted to take up for the next season of Satyamev Jayate. Then both of us (Aamir and Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO, Satyamev Jayate) felt that maybe we should address one topic and stay with it for a longer time to see if we can make a bigger impact. So, we zeroed in on the water problem in Maharashtra. We did a fair amount of research and found that droughts occur in Maharashtra practically every year. We wondered if we could play any role in fighting it. The solution to the problem, we discovered, was decentralised water-shedding. If each village did its own water-shedding work, it could be a doable project. On a larger scale, it would be a difficult task.
Maharashtra, as you know, is a very large state, with 28,000 panchayats and about 44,000 revenue villages. Out of the 358 talukas that we researched on, 158 were in drought areas. The solution we know is watershed management, but how do you scale that up? It is not possible for any organisation to do that, actually. So, we believed one of the ways to do would be to get the villages to do their own watershed development work. And if every village did that, a solution lay therein.
We set up a Water Cup prize called the ‘Satyamev Jayate’ Cup. It is a competition which is really an excuse to get people involved. There is a certain spirit to the whole endeavour. We began with three talukas in 2015. We invited every village in three talukas to become a part of the watershed competition. What we did essentially was—having understood the science of watershed management—we created a syllabus, comprising four-and-a-half days’ training. We asked every village to send five people to us. We trained them in watershed management and they went back to their village and led the village in this work. The training was designed in a very interesting way—through experimental learning and through games so that people taking part in the training should also have a good time and are excited about the work. Besides technical training, we also imparted social training to empower these five people to go back to the village and lead.
To be eligible to participate in this competition, the village has to fulfil two criteria—firstly, to pass a gram sabha resolution that the village wants to take part in the Water Cup. Secondly, it is mandatory for them to send five people to us for training. We then provide them with technical knowledge, social support and expert advice whenever they need it.
When a village starts to get ready for the work and if the villagers have any questions or doubts, our experts are there to guide them and help them. Beyond that, we do not do anything for them. We don’t give them money, nor machines, nor do we work for them. Our belief is, this problem will be solved if the village solves its own problem.
With Anna Hazare on the sets of Satyamev Jayate, the serial that inspired the birth of Paani FoundationThe first year in that sense was an experiment. If you give a village knowledge and encouragement, can a village solve its own problem? Can they do it? Will they actually do it? And the answer was yes. In the first year, 116 villages took part. Out of them a good 40 to 45 did amazing work. And that was what we were looking for. Of the remaining 30-35 villages did medium level of work and the rest did little work. But 45 villages out of 116 did great work. And that made us realise that it was actually possible.
First the question was, will the villages take part? When we started out, a lot of villages asked us, will you be getting us money? Are you coming and working for us? We said no, we will not be working for you. It is your problem, and you have to work. No, we are not giving money either. They asked, what are you giving us? We said we are giving you knowledge.
(Satyajit Bhatkal, CEO, Satyamev Jayate states: “When the training for the first Water Cup competition was on, I was travelling from one village to another. At one village, a village veteran reiterated the fact that we are not giving money, but then said, “But at the end of it you will give, right?” I told him, “I assure you that even if not one villager works in the village or if it means that the village wants to be out of the Water Cup competition, even then we would not be giving any financial help.” He then concluded, “When a transaction starts, a different relationship begins. Good that you are not giving money.”)
Aamir Khan: So our question was, will the villages take part? Will the villagers come for training? Will our training be good enough? After the training, would they be able to implement it on the ground through the villagers? Or will they be left scratching their heads? However, with 45 villages successfully undertaking the experiment, we were reassured that, yes, this is possible.
In the second year, we covered 30 talukas. In the first year, we were testing the concept. In the second year, we were testing the scale. There is a sea of difference between doing it in three talukas and doing it in 30 talukas. Will the effort get diluted as you scale up? We only had three training centres and 18 trainers. For 30 talukas, we would need 20-22 training centres and nearly 140-150 trainers. Will their quality be as good? Because in three talukas, there was perfect control. Will the quality continue when we go up to 30 talukas? This time we were testing for scale and that again turned out very positive. We were able to scale up and maintain quality control. In the second year, that is in 2017, 1,300 villages took part.
The third year is what we are currently involved in, we have 75 talukas and right now over 4,000- odd villages have taken part in this third year. Our calendar is set such that we announce the names of the talukas sometime in November, so the people in the villages come to know that their taluka has been selected. We then send a letter to every village inviting them to take part. We announce a last date for entries. Then we start training. After selection, we start our training, which is conducted in January, February, and March, and the work takes place in April and May, for approximately 45 days. Our assessment begins in June. This year, we trained more than 20,000 people in February and March.
“We did a fair amount of research and found that droughts occur in Maharashtra practically every year. We wondered if we could play any role in fighting it. The solution to the problem, we discovered, was decentralised water-shedding. If each village did its own water-shedding work, it could be a doable project”
From right to left) Vinita Deshmukh, Consulting Editor, Corporate Citizen; Nikhat Hegde, (Aamir Khan’s sister), Shamim Waghmale and Sonu Vashi at Pansarewadi village in Baramati taluka on May 1, 2018, to do shramdaan for Paani Foundation’s water consrvation campaign. It was an experience in humility and doing your bit in
social service for the nation.Several people have been associated with us in this, right from the beginning. Our funders are Tata Trusts, Reliance Foundation, Deepak Parekh, HDFC Bank and Rajiv Bajaj. These five funders are funding us and we do not take money from anywhere else. Many people ask me if they can donate. I said we do not take donations. Whatever resources we have, they go towards people-building. We do not spend on infrastructure. Our funds, resources and time are spent in building human resources. We train people on how to do watershed management. They take it forward and build the structures.
Besides, many NGOs associated themselves with us in the first year. They saw the work in progress in villages in Marathwada, Vidarbha and several NGOs like Jnana Prabodhini, Manavlok and Dilasa started helping the villagers with machine work because they saw that villagers were contributing to labour but the village could not arrange for funds to hire machines. So from the very beginning, it was a people’s movement on its own. Without informing us, they started helping them.
In the second year, the Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana, another big organisation which has done some wonderful work in the Latur earthquake rehabilitation, is providing machinery free to those villages which can’t afford machinery but had done shramdaan. In the first two years, a lot of people used to ask Satya and me how can we contribute. We had no answer to them. This year we have found the answer to that.
We have started a unique citizens movement called Jalmitra. By becoming a Jalmitra (friend of water conservation), you can contribute money directly to BJS, which will make sure that the money is used to provide free machinery to the villagers. Or you can actually do shramdaan. So when you sign as Jalmitra, you can go to a nearby village where the work is on and do shramdaan. We are inviting city folks to be a part of this movement and the response has been great.
For the 1st May initiative, one lakh-odd people volunteered. Visiting a village, meeting people and working with them is a wonderful experience, and it will help the villagers a great deal. Some people have expressed their desire to do more and for that, we have given them the choice to volunteer to teach them about our App. They help villagers to upload information on our App. Or they teach them soil testing. So there are various options we give if you want to do more for the cause.
All details are available on the website, jalmitra. paanifoundation.in or www.paanifoundation. in. We are hoping that this movement grows enormously. Our dream is to have a drought-free Maharashtra.
There has been a remarkable success in the villages that have done the work. Those villages are now tanker-free. They actually have three harvests in a year. If you watch the television show called Toofan Aalaya on Zee Marathi, you will see all this unfolding. You can also go to our website and see our progress in the last two years. The changes include social changes as well. For example, last year Kiran went to a village where women were doing shramdaan but men were not. Men find excuses every day. So, one day, the women of that village decided that they would not go back home until the men also participated. They all slept in the village temple. All men surrendered within 24 hours saying they would join in the shramdaan.
There’s another instance of a village which had only three volunteers. One of them ,Vishnu Bhosale, was working along with two elderly people. These three people kept on working for 15-20 days. Kiran and I visited one early morning and sure enough, they were doing shramdaan. Vishnu Bhosale was so surprised to see me that he came running and hugged me. Both of us started working with them. About 15-20 villagers gathered but did not participate. After the work was over, we sat and talked with Vishnu Bhosale. We asked him - we see 300-400 people working in other villages but in his village only three people were working and yet he was continuing. Didn’t he get frustrated?
He said he was told a story during the training by the trainer who he addressed as Sir. A jungle caught fire. All animals ran away. They were watching that the fire was engulfing the jungle but they didn’t do anything about it. A sparrow was fetching a drop of water from a nearby pond and trying to douse the fire. All animals laughed at her. They said, “What are you doing? Would a drop of water put out the fire? Have you gone mad?” The sparrow replied, “Even I understand the small drop I am putting will not put out the fire, but when the story of this jungle is written and when there is a mention of this fire, I would not like to be included in the list of those who stood watching it. My name should be in the list of those who tried to put out the fire. Vishnu Bhosale said he wanted his name in the list of those who tried. He said he was very clear about it and he would work. Then I went to the temple and called an impromptu gram sabha and with folded hands appealed to the people to join hands with people doing such good work. When I left the village, I remember telling Kiran that this village was not going to work despite my appeal.
She said yes, she too felt the same because they had not responded or yielded even when I talked to them. But then later I heard that 10-15 people had joined, and finally they did very good work in that village. I met Mr Bhosale recently. He had earned a lot of money this year through the agriculture he was able to do because of the water retention. He said he earned Rs.5 lakh. Other farmers who had larger lands earned more, around 10-15 lakh. So even the village I thought was not going to do anything, finally joined in. So there are some such wonderful stories.
“We are working very closely with the administration. The government has been very supportive of our effort. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his entire office, all the Collectors in the districts right down to gram sevaks and krishi sahayaks are very supportive in our efforts”
No, not conflict. There are a lot of people who want to contribute. Everyone is doing wonderful work and making significant contribution. If more people join this effort, it can only be good. We are working very closely with the administration. The government has been very supportive of our effort. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his entire office, all the Collectors in the districts right down to gram sevaks and krishi sahayaks are very supportive in our efforts. Our experience with the government and administration has been very positive. There are schemes like Jalayukt Shivar which run in parallel.
Actually, when I met the CM for the first time and discussed this, he was very excited because he was keen to solve the water problem. And he told me about his scheme, Jalyukt Shivar which has now completed three or four years. He was very keen initially that I become the brand ambassador for that scheme. I asked him to give me some time to research this work. After researching for a year, we went back to him and told him what we wanted to do. He agreed. One of the secretaries reminded him that I was to be its brand ambassador. Fadnavis said yes, that’s fine. What he is trying to do is to build a people’s movement. He also said that, if I need any help from the administration I am welcome to get in touch. The CM has been very far-thinking and very positive. We also work with many organisations wherever we can.
It would depend on the size of village, but our experience is that in 45 days if a village does concentrated work, it has a huge impact and you see the results the next year because the real results are to be tested not immediately after the rains but the year after that, in April.
Aamir’s Facebook post: Had the pleasure and privilege of meeting Mr S.B. Mujumdar, founder of the Symbiosis University, along with his wonderful wife. What a truly inspirational man! His contribution in the field of education in India, and to the lives of lakhs of students who have benefited from Symbiosis, is simply remarkable. Mr Mujumdar is truly a role model for all of us. Great to see that his daughters, Dr Vidya and Smita, are carrying forward his legacy with such sincerity and passion. Respect and best wishes. —Aamir KhanSatyajit: It’s 24 out of 36 districts. The 12 districts which are excluded are those that are water-abundant. These comprise Konkan and five districts of Eastern Vidarbha. But this is an ongoing process. For example, Konkan also has a reverse problem of too much rainwater. They can’t retain it. It takes the topsoil away because it comes with crashing speed. But we began with three talukas in Western Maharashtra, Vidarbha and Marathwada and we have grown from there. We grow outwards from the centres from where we started. One of the ideas in the second year was to open it to all the districts and choose one taluka in each district, but we felt that would spread us out too thin. And we have also realised that where the work happens, the news spreads from there. In a taluka, even if 20 out of 100 villages participate, the remaining 80 feel they should take part next year, because they did see the progress in the village that took part. So we didn’t want to jump into all the districts. We wanted to spread organically. Also, when we start spreading from three to 30, we need that many more trainers and training centres.
Our approach has been to make villages that have participated in watershed management, as our training centres. And the villagers who have worked on it become our trainers. So it’s an organic spread.
Last year was the first year when we tried the idea of inviting people for shramdaan on May 1. Twenty-five thousand people came from cities to the villages to work. This year one lakh have signed up.
Aamir Khan: In the first year, out of the 116 villages that took part, we probably had a success rate of 35 to 40 per cent. In the second year, we had 1,300 villages and with better results...
Satyajit: Actually, I have a little bit of a problem in figuring out the question. When we look at success, what is success? Success can be measured by many parameters. One is, whether the village got water? And the second is whether the village started harvesting water? I feel that whether the village got water is not a sufficient yardstick.
Politics in the village is actually the main problem. It is the problem with the society, because society is the vessel in which water gets accumulated. And when that society is fractured, it becomes impossible for water to get accumulated. A leaky bucket holds no water. So if society is fractured, it will hold no water. So the challenge is not a challenge of nature. Our main challenge is the challenge of the society. If society comes together, that is the bond that will hold water. Everything we are doing is an attempt to hold the society together, because then only can we reverse nature’s problem. Like we always say, water conservation and mind conservation go hand in hand. If there is a union of minds, water will be conserved automatically. If minds are not in union, water will not be stored. So the challenge for us is, in how many villages are people coming together? And I say that’s huge. So the bigger question is, how successful are we in percolating these ideas?
When Satya and I started working on this together, we said that in the coming years we should not be needed there. The need for Paani Foundation should end. All villages should be strong enough to do watershed management. They are aware, they are sensitised, and they know how to go about it. In five years, we should be able to wind up. And then let others take over.
If we do manage to achieve what we have set out to do, then other States should definitely use this platform. But it has to be localised. You know I cannot do it in Tamilnadu, just to give you an example, as I don’t know the language. Which language will I speak to the people? So it has to be local people who should take it up.
A lot of what we do is very fine work - that of strengthening the fabric of the society.
“Everything we are doing is an attempt to hold the society together, because then only can we reverse nature’s problem. Like we always say, water conservation and mind conservation go hand in hand. If there is a union of minds, water will be conserved automatically. If minds are not in union, water will not be stored”
We are trying to sensitise people and empower people with knowledge. This Science is not rocket science that would go over our heads. It is a science which any one of us can grapple with, and I am just trying to learn and put to use.
We are working mainly in villages which are not canal-fed. So the only option they have is watershed management. The villages which already have adequate water, which are being fed by canal or river don’t require it. To answer your soquestion a little more precisely, the whole approach towards this is a very inclusive approach. Our approach is to try and include people in this. Sometimes we may come across difference of opinion. But we don’t exclude anyone from this process. Our perspective is completely apolitical.
Well, I don’t know. But in fact a number of politicians and people are actually working, unknown to me, and have been doing shramdaan in different villages. We welcome everyone.
I actually give as much time as required on this. According to me the time required is much higher, but throughout the year I am with Satya and wherever I am required I am there. Which is why you see me less in films. I do one film in two years. During the three years that I did Satyamev Jayate, half of my time would go for films, the other half would be dedicated to the TV serial. Now I give half of my time to water and the other half, to films.
No film on water, we are doing ‘reality’ on water.
Kiran Rao and Aamir Khan’s bubbly romance that cemented into a marital relationship has now metamorphosed into ‘giving back’ to the society through a unique water conservation mission in Maharashtra. A glimpse through the eyes of Kiran Rao. Read on...
The water conservation movement in Maharashtra has got new evangelists in Bollywood superstar, Aamir Khan and his wife, Kiran Rao. Their charisma, dedication, scientific approach and micro strategy, are all executed with precision and passion. Their Satyamev Jayate team led by the dynamic CEO, Satyajit Bhatkal, has been able to admirably expand the reach of this effort to 75 talukas of Maharashtra in this third year of its existence.
Aamir Khan is seen as the Ambassador of the Satyamev Jayate Cup which motivates villagers to participate in the large-scale water conservation project. Thousands of villagers from over 4,000 villages across Maharashtra have joined this public movement, through shramdaan. Aamir candidly states, “In fact, Kiran is more involved in this project than me. I am in and out of it as I pay some attention to my movie making too.’’
The latest film of Aamir Khan’s to hit the screen will be ‘Thugs of Hindostan’ but here in Maharashtra, the couple are heroes to the villagers. Kiran, who is deeply involved in this mission, states her love for social work in an earlier interview with Corporate Citizen: “Affinity for social work was one of the reasons why I wasn’t doing films in college. I did my higher studies in developmental economics. Being a part of the Satyamev Jayate made me realise that within the training that we have as communicators, we can surely make a big impact. And, in the past few years, I have understood the way I can be involved in stirring a social revolution in the society.’’
She further stated, “Doing it yourself and being involved in it on a personal level changes the way you connect with people. It also changes your outlook towards what you are doing. It is easy to say, but it is quite something else to be on the field and to actually dig the ground, which will be the base for someone’s house in the village. And that impact of hands-on experience is unique. Being a part of this movement has changed my connection with people around me, which is indeed beautiful.
``I have always lived in Delhi and Kolkata but working with the team in the villages was an eye-opener. Travelling for 45 days in the villages and doing the groundwork opened up my heart. Over the years, people have become cynical, but this journey has made me realise that people are capable of positivity; they have great resilience, amazing tenacity and most importantly, they are filled with love and warmth. The journey was not only heartening, but it also inspired me.’’
Could she narrate any gratifying moments? “Oh, there were many such gratifying experiences,” says she with enthusiasm. “I remember, while doing the groundwork for Paani Foundation what stood out for me were the people who overcame their political differences and women who encouraged their men to be a part of the shramdaan. There were children and youngsters who participated in large numbers who also inspired the elders to join the movement and spread the word across the village.”
“In Krishnapur, there was a group of Patil women, who otherwise never got a chance to get out of their house. The movement encouraged them to work together. Positivity was infectious in the movement and it easily spread across all the villagers. Also a Patil girl from another village left her job to travel across the village and inspire them to be a part of this initiative. However, the icing on the cake was when a lovely girl called Alisa Pathan postponed her wedding just to make sure that the movement created waves.
“These stories of villagers coming together, women leaving their houses for shramdaan show how powerful this movement is. There were two incredible women from Ekamba village- Shushilabai and Vimlabai - who put aside their jobs to be a part of the training. They were so inspired by it that they decided to bring together their village to impart what they had learnt.’’
Any advice for youngsters who wish to be a part of the movement? States Kiran, “They don’t need any advice. What they need is a platform and an opportunity to do what they do best. I have learnt so much from these youngsters. Their power and excitement is immense. The youngsters are already quite charged up. All I hope is that they should be provided with the right drive. Also, my request would be to allow the girls to get out of their houses and let them be a part of such movements.”
While Kiran Rao was impressed by ‘cute’ Aamir Khan in the film Qayamat se Qayamat tak’ way back in the 1980s, she never imagined she would meet him one day, fall in love and get married.
“It was on the shoot of Lagaan that Aamir first met short-haired, bohemian-looking young assistant director Kiran Rao, whom one day he was to marry. She came from an aristocratic family as her paternal grandfather was J. Rameshwar Rao, Raja of Wanaparthy, a large estate in Telangana under the Nizam of Hyderabad. She told a reporter later that as a fourteen-year-old she had seen QSQT on the new VCR her family had bought. “I loved him (Aamir) in it but I enjoyed the film more. I was like, ‘What a great film, what great music, what acting and what a cute guy!’ The impression of him she came away with was ‘he is one of the few good actors in the industry.’ However, when she accepted the film job, she did not think she would spend any time with the film’s star since she was a lowly assistant at the time.
But destiny had other plans for the two. This is how Aamir and Kiran met:
Her first encounter with him was on the bus in which they were travelling to Bhuj for a recce. Though no one expected Aamir’s company on that journey as the bus was full of technicians and crew members, Aamir Khan, who is a superstar, was also on the bus. But Aamir was not just on the bus, he also made conversation with every assistant, asked their names, introduced himself, Kiran said, and eventually they talked for the first time. This first encounter with Aamir made Kiran realise that he was a regular, chilled-out person with no starry tantrums.
“He had no filmi persona about him at all,” she revealed. Though he was surrounded by security guards, she found him completely down to earth. She felt there was no snobbery or I-don’t talk- to-assistants kind of attitude in him, which impressed her.
“Both of them, at that time, were not keen on a long-term relationship. But after a few months of spending time with him, Kiran fell in love, though she did not expect anything serious to come out of such a casual relationship. She confessed, “I felt like oh… this is someone I really want to spend more time with and this is someone I want to know better. But I fell in love with him quite early…” A couple of months of spending time intimately with him, she was hooked.
“Aamir shared what he loves about Kiran. “Her energy—it’s a very vibrant and positive energy which I find comforting and healing. She is a very happy person.”
Kiran fascinated Aamir with her knowledge of art, music and films. He liked her sense of aesthetics and design, and loved her creative instinct. Kiran found Aamir’s sensitivity very endearing... They keep each other on their toes
“When eventually he did commit to Kiran, the two became inseparable. After Aamir got his children’s blessing, the couple married in 2005 in the presence of their entire families at his Panchgani farmhouse.
“Over time, Kiran became extremely protective of Aamir and would even defend him and pick fights with anyone who upset or disturbed his mental equilibrium. She fascinated Aamir with her knowledge of art, music and films. He liked her sense of aesthetics and design, and loved her creative instinct. Kiran found Aamir’s sensitivity very endearing. His manner is light and teasing with her, making fun of and amusing her, while she fondly calls him “Chhotte!” They keep each other on their toes.
(With inputs from Ekta Katti and excerpts from Good Times Magazine)
By Vinita Deshmukh
