Growing up in a country of over a billion people, I found myself wondering even at an early age about the effects of modern human society on the planet. I was fascinated both by the vast urban mosaic of buildings, vehicles, roads, industries and other impressive signs of development engineered by human enterprise, as well as the small communities living so close to the earth, nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas, just hours away from Delhi. Looking back, I can see how my early years in a free-progress schooling environment (inspired by the Steiner schools) influenced my love of the earth and all living things. Three early years spent in Canada, discovering the untrammeled beauty of nature at its rawest, also left a strong imprint on me. As a result, I decided to combine my passion for the environment with a strong sense of fairness and right versus wrong, and pursued environmental law. After completing law school in India, I felt the need to supplement my knowledge of the law with a more complete understanding of the earth and its component-systems. Moreover, I wanted to learn lessons from the environmental movement in the West and find ways to translate some of those successes into the Indian context. This brought me to Columbia University, for a Masters in Environmental Policy, and subsequently to NRDC, where I’m thrilled to be part of a collective of brilliant and inspiring minds fighting for the earth every day, and living their lives for something bigger and more important than just themselves. She blogs on NRDC's Switchboard.

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