May 1, 2011
School of Engineering, Coimbatore
 

Have you ever wondered where our water comes from? In India, ground water fulfils over 80% of all rural and urban water demand.
 

It is estimated that India has over 2 crore borewells, most of which were drilled during the past forty years alone. Since there were no regulations, just about anybody could puncture the earth and start pumping ground water.
 

As a result, today India today is the largest user of groundwater in the world. And it is most at risk from rapidly depleting ground water levels. Borewells in many parts of the country are now beginning to run dry.
 

NASA hydrologists studied satellite data to discover that groundwater beneath northern India receded by one foot per year over the past decade. This finite resource was being overused and in danger of becoming completely depleted.
 

Yes, we need to do all we can to conserve water. And help raise awareness about the issue in any way that we can.
 

Final-year B.Tech. student of Electronics and Communication Engineering at Coimbatore, Karthik M. is doing all he can by making dramatic videos that highlight the problem and suggest solutions.
 

A recent video titled Forget Today, Forget Tomorrow won the first prize in a contest on short-film making titled Take One, organized by the Amrita Photography Club on campus.
 

Earlier, the film was awarded the second prize from among 70+ entries received in a themed video contest on Man and Nature organized by the Center for Environmental Studies at Coimbatore.
 

Karthik’s film highlighted the concept of water conservation in a unique way. The film opened with a scene wherein the protagonist stabs his alter-ego. Shot in black and white, the opening grabs one’s attention.
 

The film moves on to flashback, wherein the guy is playing football and then playfully splashing his friend with water. In another scene, a tap is inadvertently left running, causing much water wastage.
 

An elderly mother is chided for drinking water during the day, and being warned that there may not be enough water during night time. When the same mother is collapsing later due to thirst, the son is willing to trade his laptop to get some precious drinking water, but he finds no takers.
 

An improbable depiction of reality? Perhaps not. India is home to 15% of the world’s population, which is expected to face acute water shortages in the very near future.
 

“Though from an engineering background, I am very passionate about film making,” shared Karthik. “I firmly believe that we can bring strong awareness about various environmental issues through this medium.”
 

“The attempt in this film has been to make people understand the future realities regarding water availability, if water is not used properly at present,” he added.
 

Yet another video on solid waste management titled The Dawn fetched Karthik the Best Director Award in a short-film making competition at a tech-fest conducted by the Srinivasa Ramanujan Centre, Sastra University.