Monsoon dependent nations like India have for centuries practiced the concept of rainwater harvesting. Indian history since the third millennium BC has instances of rulers funding water conservation projects. The practice slowly died down due to inexplicable reasons.

"Thousands of years back, farmers of Kutch and Baluchistan collected precipitation to be used in irrigation, which then was quite normal in many parts of the country", says, Himanshu Grover, Programme Director of Natural Heritage Division in the Indian National Trust For Arts and Cultural (INTACH), who have a separate division for rainwater harvesting

Even during the Mughal Era various baolis and reservoirs were constructed all along the country to store rainwater. Mughal King Akbar, was known to have many such schemes in far off places. Delhi alone has several baolis that have since dried up.

"Thousands of years back, farmers of Kutch and Baluchistan collected precipitation to be used in irrigation, which then was quite normal in many parts of the country", says, Himanshu Grover, Programme Director of Natural Heritage Division in the Indian National Trust For Arts and Cultural (INTACH), who have a separate division for rainwater harvesting

Even during the Mughal Era various baolis and reservoirs were constructed all along the country to store rainwater. Mughal King Akbar, was known to have many such schemes in far off places. Delhi alone has several baolis that have since dried up.

" Earlier the state took care of the supply side to some extent by the development and maintenance of several ingenious and indigenous ways of storing rain and flood waters and it was the dharma of the ruler to support and execute several kinds of water storage structures, which in the present day context is only confined to history books", says Grover.

With the advent of new technologies and modern methods of irrigation, this age-old cost effective technique of natural replenishment of ground water was relegated to the background. It is ironic that today these very techniques, rejected for their obsolete value and slow pace, are being revisited and revived.

" In simple parlance it is storing rain water in various bodies and then utilizing them when normal supply of water is scarce" says noted water-expert Eklavya Prasad of the Centre For Science And Environment (CSE).

While for environmentalist and water experts, the concept of rain water harvesting may not be novel, for a country which has seldom heard of such technologies except as chronicled in history books, rainwater harvesting has to be elucidated along with its potential benefits in order to increase its popularity amongst the general public.

Studies show that by adopting this technique, ground water table rises admirably, with uninterrupted supply of water enhancing crop yield. A joint study by the Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources and International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO noted the multi-faceted benefits of this technique.

Villages like Neemi and Raj-Sadhlya are fine examples of what a small intervention and initiative can do. By adopting the very simple technology of harnessing rainwater, the perennial problem of drought and death in Indian villages can be rooted out, forever

Raminder Singh of Neemi village in Rajasthan is a supremely contented man. His five acres of agricultural land yields three times the output that it did a few years back. He has cleared all his dues and plans to buy a tractor.

Like Raminder Singh, many in Neemi are ‘raining in’ their newfound prosperity. Just a few years ago the same villagers were at the edge of survival. Large tracts of agricultural land were devastated due to scanty rainfall. Cattle died as there was no fodder, and the small hamlet was on the brink of being ‘dried off’ the face of the earth.

Rainwater harvesting has truly transformed their lives. No longer are they dependent on the vagaries of Nature. No longer are they constantly looking at the sky waiting for rain.

Echoes of the same story can be heard from drought-hit Gujarat. Villagers from Raj-Sadhyla in Rajkot district were financially ruined by rain failure for two consecutive years. The situation was so grim that it was a choice between migration or death by starvation.

But now, four years down the line, all this has changed. People in the village have everything they wish for, crops are a-plenty, most households have an electrical connection and there is palpable prosperity all around the village.

All of a sudden, Raj-Sadhyla has become a model village. Here too, the mantra of prosperity was rainwater harvesting, which the villagers embraced a few years ago and which successfully spun their wheel of fortune. And when the whole state was reeling under severe water crisis, villagers in Raj-Sadhlya not only had plenty of water for their own consumption but also were able to supply water to the neighbouring villages.