Water, People, and Culture - India Water Portal

People and Culture

Jhum fields of Arunachal Pradesh

People and Culture

Indigenous farming practices in Arunachal Pradesh improve soil, water, and farm sustainability

Aarti Kelkar Khambete

20 Mar 2026

8 min read

A woman ferrying a boat across the Kosi River in Supaul district.

Rivers and Lakes

Life between embankments: How Kosi floods shape women’s lives in Bihar

14 Mar 2026

15 min read

Anita Devi lifts her hand and smiles softly. With the foxnuts she collected during harvest in her hands that are rough and wounded.

A Day In Mithila’s Ponds: Women and the Work Behind Bihar’s Makhana

Sharat Chandra prasad

09 Mar 2026

7 min read

60 to 70 years old well in Dadhapur village of Kanpur Dehat District. Once a source of life and a vital part of traditions, the well has now fallen into ruins.

Drying wells and ponds of Uttar Pradesh re-shape rural communities' water security, culture, and connection

26 Feb 2026

7 min read

60-year-old Ramsurat Sahni gathers and harvests makhana. Age has made wading into the water difficult, but his skill remains unmatched.

Inside Bihar’s Makhana Economy: How Mithila’s Ponds Sustain Rural Lives

Sharat Chandra prasad

16 Jan 2026

9 min read

Late Ravi Narayanan

Remembering Ravi Narayanan and the legacy of thoughtful water leadership [Obituary]

Meghana Dayanand

07 Jan 2026

2 min read

Modern infrastructure, like this power pylon, now stands over the rice fields, a sign of the pressures facing traditional farming.

Kashmir’s rice fields are disappearing, and so are its farming traditions

08 Nov 2025

9 min read

Farming on the riverbanks of Betwa River

Where sand shifts and rivers flow, life adapts across India’s changing lands

08 Nov 2025

7 min read

As the sun sets over the Bagmati, the ghats of Bihar come alive with women singing, children playing, and the riverbank turning into a carnival of faith and joy.

People and Culture

Chhath puja: When rivers become temples of light and faith

Sharat Chandra prasad

04 Nov 2025

6 min read

The terraced fields of Kashmir hold drying bundles of rice. The sun casts shadows on the mountains, while the valley glows with the season’s work.

Harud: When Autumn turns Kashmir’s fields to gold

28 Oct 2025

5 min read

The land that remained unsubmerged after the dam was built has now transformed into an island, becoming a key tourist attraction of Dumboor Lake.

Dumboor lake: When fields sank and farmers became fishers in Tripura

10 Oct 2025

8 min read

Fishermen of Kabartal taking tourists around in the remaining waters of the lake.

Rivers and Lakes

Who has the right to Kabartal? Bihar’s Kanwar lake is shrinking under caste-based influence

22 Sep 2025

7 min read

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