The Water Man

"Jameen aur Jungle" is the catch phrase that Rajendra Singh of the TBS gave to the people of Sariska and it adjoining area. It took 16 years of hard work for him to be acclaimed as Water Man and rewarded.

Hailing from an affluent landlord family, he as different from his 3 brothers. The philosophy of social activists Subbarao and JP Narayan inspired him further. The turbulent 70's turned the course of his life for all times to come.

His father, a tough man, never approved of his ways, and to him, he was the most Nalayak. The only criteria of respectability for the old man was a Govt Job, which Rajendra Singh took following the pressure put by his father, as a project officer in the Adult Literacy Mission in Jaipur.

Once on the Job, he found the apathy shown by Govt towards the region, appalling. The Government's attitude to do nothing for the upliftment of the villages and rest content, labeling it "Dark Zone" in the official file was shocking. The callous attitude goaded Rajendra to take up the cudgels on behalf of people who had been a silent witness to their endless plight for too long. It was not a surprise that his stint as a government babu did not last for long. Together with four other like minded associates, he kicked his job in search of a cause. The adage "seek and ye shall find" came alive when these restless crusaders rediscovered rain harvesting.

Rajendra discovered the Johad, a 400-year old practice of rain harvesting. It was only after the first Johad was built resulting in the rise of water table and recharge of dry wells that people's participation became possible. The dryness of the zone started receding and with it the darkness as well.

Rajendra never forgets to credit an uneducated villager of Gopalpura, Mangoo, who taught him the secrets of rain harvesting. Mangoo was Singh's lone support in the days when he was toiling for a foothold in the village, and was his only support for 8 months working rigorously with Rajendra Singh. The never-say-die-spirit needed a Mangoo to ignite it.

The first Johad built was of more significance than merely being a water tank. It united the villagers and gave them an objective in life. It brought a social turnabout, not only environmental one. The farmers who had turned to dacoity for livelihood, returned to the village as soon the water table was recharged. Since then his BGO, TBs has undertaken the construction of over 4500 johads, small check dams and anicuts.

This also became his Karam Bhoomi of the environmentalist Rajendra Singh. The mines encompassing the Sariska region were a real threat to the Johad, as they sucked the surface water saved by the villagers.. Rajendra this time was up in arms against the power lobby. Unmindful of the threats to his life, he was instrumental in moving the Supreme court for closing 262 mines.