This ‘Water Warrior’ from Hyderabad is creating sustainable communities

Architect and interior designer Kalpana Ramesh played key role in restoration of Bansilalpet Stepwell

Hyderabad: Restoring water bodies, promoting rainwater harvesting, and through them creating sustainable communities – this is what Hyderabad-based architect and interior designer Kalpana Ramesh does in a nutshell.

Fondly called the ‘Water Warrior’, she has been instrumental in the restoration of the Bansilalpet Stepwell in Secunderabad. For her continuous contribution towards water conservation, she was conferred the ‘Sujal Shakti Samman 2023’ under the Jal Shakti Abhiyan by the Central government.

Kalpana says it all began with building a sustainable home for her family. “We lived in several communities across the city and everywhere I observed that people depended on tankers and bottled water when we could easily harvest rainwater.”

Finally, in 2011, she went ahead with constructing a system to harvest water at her home in Gachibowli and later convinced her community members to do the same. “In 2016, one of the worst summers the city had seen in a long time, our society went through the entire summer and beyond with the help of rainwater harvesting,” she adds.

Kalpana believes that it requires more than just awareness to bring change. She emphasises getting on the ground, negotiating with the communities, and collaborating with various stakeholders. Her innovative ideas proved the Bansilalpet Stepwell to be a model for other restorations.

The tourist plaza and the commercial spaces built around the stepwell created a micro-economy that is now able to take care of the maintenance of the structure.

When asked why she left behind her cushy career to pursue such taxing projects, Kalpana says that her previous work did not give her the kind of satisfaction she now enjoys.

“Projects like these help you unlock your whole creativity. It motivates you to think outside the box. Now, I finally feel like an actual designer,” she adds.

Making lives easier with ‘special’ care

After over 20 years of experience in academia and environmental policy-making all over the world, city-based Dr Neena Rao altered her career path and now works to improve child mental healthcare in India.

Rao’s only son Harshavardhan was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder that affects an individual’s ability to socialise and communicate.

Like any mother, she did her best to give him a comfortable life. But she did not just stop at taking care of her son, she aimed to make lives easier for many more children growing up with developmental disorders.

“To make sure my son had proper facilities, we moved to the US where he started doing much better. And that is when I realised that western countries are 15 to 20 years ahead of us in giving care to children with special needs,” she says.

Determined to bring in best practices from around the world and spread awareness about child mental healthcare in India, Rao founded Margika, an NGO focused on training caregivers in 2017.

She and her team of passionate volunteers spread awareness about mental health, and educate caregivers of such children. In Telangana alone, over 800 caregivers were sensitised with the help of Bhavitha Centres.

Rao believes that having the ability to not give up easily is one of the things that helped her achieve her milestones. To other young women, she says, “Believe in yourself, your passion, perseverance, and hard work. If you are truly passionate about what you do, other things will follow automatically.”

The tastes of Telangana

Running a successful business right out of her kitchen, Pramada Reddy is the epitome of home-based businesses. Her Pramada’s Traditional Telangana Food located near Indira Park is a go-to for all kinds of homemade delicacies.

The 61-year-old woman started her business in 2000 with the support of her husband. When she started selling ‘Sakinalu’ and other snacks, some of her acquaintances looked down upon her and questioned her need to work.

“In those days, when you are a woman trying to grow, there would be people who will discourage you. That may be the case even today. The best you can do is ignore them, work hard, and achieve what you want,” she says.

As the number of orders she received increased, she became an admired and respected person in her community for being independent and hard-working. Today, her business sells over 200 regional snacks and sweets like ‘Appalu’, ‘Laddus’, ‘Sunnundalu’ and others.

Her bestsellers are ‘Kheema garjalu’ and non-veg pickles. “There are around 30 women who work in our business. And honestly, it doesn’t look like they’re working at my house. It’s more like sisters coming together to cook for some family function,” she adds.

Born to ride

After riding on and off for a few years, it was in 2013 that city-based biker Jai Bharathi rekindled her passion for motorcycles and riding.

With hardly any women riders at that time, she and a few others began the Hyderabad chapter of Bikerni, an exclusive all-women club that aims to empower women by teaching them how to ride.

Bharathi and her team set out on a first-of-its-kind cross-country motorcycle expedition to five countries from India to – Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia to Vietnam, and back – covering 17,000 km in 56 days. Bharathi led the group for 10 fruitful years and recently passed on the mantle to Anissa Fatima. “We did multiple phenomenal rides around the country. And the important part is that we have been consistent,” she says.

Having established the Moving Women Social Initiatives Foundation in Hyderabad, in collaboration with the Women Development & Child Welfare Department, she launched the country’s first and exclusive motor training centre for women in Hyderabad.

“Mobility is an essential skill and there are a lot of opportunities that can be grabbed when a woman learns to drive. This is the calling of my life. And in the future, I want to work on training more women and promoting electric vehicles,” she shares.

Because of the constant efforts by the likes of Bharathi, the common perception of women being incapable of riding bikes has changed. Apart from being a role model and a source of inspiration for scores of young girls, she has in the past five years also made some serious strides in sustainable mobility.