Summit spotlight
“How many-ever panel discussions we brainstorm about environment and climate change – it won’t be enough until we educate people at the grassroots of our society” – this thought persistently hovered around me as I participated in the panel discussion at the World Summit on Disaster Management (WSDM) 2025 as a Panelist for UCOST, Govt. of Uttarakhand. We can keep dispensing wisdom about plastic, mitigating water consumption, and shifting to glass or stainless steel reuse bottles, but the villages and tier three towns remain a stark canvas of ‘Bisleri bottles’ strewn across grass and foliage – an environmental eyesore indeed. Beyond the visual pollution, we’re now discovering plastic embedded in the very DNA of marine life.
The panelists alongside me were exemplary, and this is precisely why I relish these serious discussions at intense forums. The additional draw, of course, is to foster dialogue, innovation, and collaboration among leaders, policymakers, scientists, and disaster management practitioners – brilliantly put together by convener and organizer Dr. Yash Arya of ‘I am Khaadi’. One gets to interact with cerebral, committed minds sharing similar life objectives and passionate missions. Alongside me were luminaries like Dr. Uma Aslekar, Director of the Advanced Centre for Water Resources Development; Prof. P.K. Joshi from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU); Kapil Joshi, Emeritus Scientist UCOST and Former PCCF Uttarakhand; and Utkarsha Kavadi from All India Institute of Self Governance – all equally passionate and vociferous about plans and solutions. Our collective focus: the role of Technology and Innovation for Water Security in a Changing Climate, and how emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and blockchain can be leveraged to improve climate resilience in water governance. The pictures thereafter were equally engaging!
Bolly glam & grit
Bollywood wives might have captured the imagination of many ladies of leisure – and yes, they did a good job – but my fascination lies with those Bollywives who possess a sense of purpose. Rukmini Neil Nitin Mukesh embodies an endearing softness coupled with remarkable purposefulness. Whether it’s her dedicated approach to raising her lovely daughter Nurvi or curating tiny, intimate gatherings at quaint spots, she stands out. Her recent ‘day at the spa’ was tucked away in faraway Andheri on some distant SAB TV road – and believe me, only she and Neil could have enticed me to venture that far! Among the various snacks on offer, I gravitated towards Nishi Nitin Mukesh’s homemade cheese sandwiches, which we savored from a tiny tiffin box, accompanied by a cup of tea at the Blossom Salon – a charming establishment run by a passionate woman entrepreneur.
Dine & unwind
If there’s one person who can host a lavish dinner with panache, it’s my indulgent friend Atul Jhamb. Sit-down dinners hold an immense charm for me, a stark contrast to loud, noisy, overcrowded rooms with slipshod buffets offering the much overdone Indo-Chinese fare! The key, of course, is to strategically position oneself next to an engaging conversationalist. My globetrotter friend has a penchant for ordering almost everything on the menu – I’ve resolved to fast the next time he hosts a dinner. These gatherings are typically a banker-corporate affair, with perhaps one or two artsy souls like Atul Kasbekar and myself amidst a sea of fund managers and finance professionals. And yet, somehow, the evening always transforms into an exciting, joyous affair. Aditya Puri, my favorite and a senior banking honcho, was in his element – singing, joking, and turning what began as a serious-ish dinner into a delightful sing-along of old Hindi songs and shared anecdotes.
