An odd-looking jeep laden with even odder looking packages rolled into the remote village of Bundelkhand one evening. A man, fondly called Baba, was driving it all alone. A young crowd ran after the jeep all through the village. These children were happy to see this man coming to their village with loads of new things.

It is not for nothing that this man is known as a sort of wizard in Bundelkhand, a traditionally parched region. To AVM S. Sahni, the affable octogenarian, goes the credit for delivering the region from the agony of having to make do with very little water. He has brought water to these thirsty villagers. Earlier, the women of the village had to spend a major part of the day looking for water. All the open wells in the village had gone dry. Children helped their mothers in this fight for survival. All day long, they had to search for water. It was a common sight in the village to see people moving around with empty pots in their hands. There was no economic activity; drought had brought life to a halt. Even one assured crop per year had become a problem.

The villagers never thought that their search for water would ever end; nor did they think that a day would dawn when they did not have to go miles after miles in search of a few drops of clean water. To end their days of acute hardship, AVM Sahni appeared on the scene as the proverbial gracious redeemer. The reasons behind the water scarcity in the area were varied. To tackle the problem successfully, conventional means were not enough. In rightly gauging the magnitude of the problem is where the visionary AVM Sahni’s greatness lies. He combined some novel methods with traditional ones and came up with a revolutionary approach. In Datia village, Bundelkhand, he selected two hillocks for trenching. He knew that to capture the land moisture from the region, it was essential to dig trenches in the hillocks. Baba’s knowledge of the region is due mainly to the fact that he was born and brought up there. He had also spent some of his adult years in this region.

Sun, soil and moisture are three essential elements for any biomass growing. AVM and his team planted neem trees and grass in these trenches. With the increase in the moisture level of the land, the vegetation cover of the area also increased. AVM Sahni developed a novel concept and made the villagers understand about watershed by telling them, Gaon ka pani gaon mein, khet ka pani khet mein.

In the second phase of his approach, AVM Sahni built an appropriate water harvesting structure on the streams. He also built numerous check dams in this region to store part of the excess flow in the monsoon. Besides, he has been instrumental in the introduction of customised crop patterns that will suit the region-specific requirements of Bundelkhand. The techniques of augmentation of groundwater in the aquifers of Bundelkhand have solved the problem of draught permanently.

In spite of his age, AVM Sahni has retained the enthusiasm of a younger man. Bundelkhand remains his top priority, his first love. Already, he has done much for the region, so much so that his feats shall not be emulated in a long time to come. We here hope that the Almighty grants him many more years so that he can continue serving the cause closest to his heart. q

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