With a focus on each major Indian city and its unique water bodies, the book, Shades of Blue: Connecting the Drops in India’s Cities, examines the relationship of cities with their water.

As published in Mongabay India on 7 November, 2023.

Close your eyes. Now imagine that you are seated next to a stream that is at walking distance from your home. The slow guzzle of its waters helps you unwind after a long day at work. Or imagine that when you feel the need to go for a swim, you don’t go looking for the nearest swimming pool but make your way to the nearest pond, where its unsullied waters welcome you with open arms. Can you dial back to a time when backyards were adorned with wells whose waters served all the household needs?

Depending on where you are, you may find these situations incredulous, or you are hit with immense nostalgia. Either way, you know that the water bodies of India are nowhere close to what they were once. In their new book Shades of Blue; Connecting the Drops in India’s Cities, authors Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli break down the country’s water woes to the last drop while taking us on a cruise through bustling cities, through time and through varying shades of blue to deliver a compelling narrative on water conservation.

Faculty members at the Azim Premji University, Nagendra and Mundoli have previously authored the book Cities and Canopies; Trees in Indian Cities. If Cities and Canopies made you look up and marvel at the trees on your streets, Shades of Blue will make you look around and lament at the state of a nearby lake, or the lack thereof.

Head over to Mongabay India to read the full interview.