Celebrating Gandhi through true Gandhians - Late Anupam Mishra, (Part 3 of 5)

As a homage to completing 150 years of Gandhi's life, I wanted to recognize four people who I met who represent Gandhian values – from the four corners of India. From the north, I want to recognize Late Anupam Mishra, Environmental Activist (Water).

I would not have met Anupam but for the introduction by Rohini Nilekani. When I asked Rohini as to who are some people who have done innovative work in water, Anupam's name was on the top of the list. The minute I met him in his Delhi office sitting behind his desk, I knew that this was a man of substance and also found that he was a reluctant messiah of many messages. It took me six months of continuous calling to coax him to give a talk at TEDIndia that I was curating with Chris Anderson.

And then I could bring him back on stage to INK to talk about the relevance of Gandhi. I am truly lucky to have met him and pursue him to present his ideas to the world. Many years later, I met someone at a business meeting who knew Anupam and on the spur of the moment, I asked him to take me to Anupam’s home on my way to the airport to surprise him. Anupam was happy to see me even though he was very ill from cancer. He was lying down on a divan in his living room as he received us and ensured that we ate even though he could not eat.

That evening showed me why we should never postpone things because Anupam passed away next week. He remained a true Gandhian to the last minute by the way he took care of us despite his illness.

#gandhi #water #nilekanifoundation #delhi #india #Delhi #gandhian #GandhiJayanti

Find his talk here - http://inktalks.com/discover/895/is-mahatma-gandhi-even-relevant-today