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Arati Kumar-Rao

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Arati Kumar-Rao is an Indian author and photographer. In 2023, she released her book Marginlands: Indian landscapes on the Brink and was added to the BBC's 100 Women list.

Career

Arati Kumar-Rao was born in Bengaluru. She studied for an MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, a Master of Education at Arizona State University and an MSc in Physics at the University of Pune, then worked at Intel.[1] She decided in 2013 to leave her job and write about landscapes.[2] On her Tumblr blog, River Diaries: Brahmaputra, she profiled the Brahmaputra River.[3] She walked with writer Paul Salopek through the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan.[4] In 2023, she released her book Marginlands: Indian landscapes on the Brink and was added to the BBC's 100 Women list.[5][6]

Marginlands - Indian Landscapes on the Brink

Rao's debut novel, Marginlands, was published June 2, 2023 by Picador India. The book is about her journeys to marginlands, listening intently to their inhabitants, paying close attention to each fissure, fold and ripple. She documents the misguided decisions, wilfully ignored warnings and disregarded evidence that have brought humans to a point of no return. But the land is still rich in ancient wisdom, and its cracks hold lessons that may yet aid us in undoing centuries of slow violence – so long as one is willing to attune their senses.[7]

Praise for Marginlands

  1. ‘Arati Kumar Rao’s timely book comes as a warning in a world that’s riddled with too many difficulties. Richly intense writing ... A marvellous treatise on life on the margins, on cultures on the brink and on the disappearance awaiting ecosystems. It is a lesson and, at the same time, a heartfelt tribute to India’s diverse ecology. Marginlands is a work that makes you despair as well as hope’ Rahul Singh, Deccan Herald[8]
  2. ‘In chapter after chapter, [Kumar-Rao] tells poignant stories of loss, including those that can’t be quantified ... Through her meticulous research and impassioned storytelling, she unveils the multifaceted challenges faced by local communities, wildlife and ecosystems on the brink of irrevocable change. [Her] eloquent prose breathes life into the pages ... the fragility of these regions becomes palpable, igniting a sense of urgency to protect what remains. [Marginlands] is yet another reminder that the fate of our environment is intricately braided with our own’ Nawaid Anjum, Federal[9]
  3. ‘One of [the] finest chroniclers of [our] land’ Sonya Dutta Choudhury, Hindustan Times[10]
  4. ‘Kumar-Rao maps expansively, and probes intensively, a precisely balanced and highly fragile ecosystem and the people who have lived with it’ Latha Anantharaman, India Today[11]
  5. ‘Arati Kumar-Rao uses the skills in her toolbox to document the country’s vulnerable landscapes, ecosystems and populations’ Sucheta Chakraborty, Mid-day[12]

Selected works

  • Kumar-Rao, Arati (2023). Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink. India: Picador. ISBN 978-9395624435.

References

  1. ^ Prabbhan, Pooja (26 November 2017). "'Rao'sing cry to save our eco system". The Asian Age. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  2. ^ Sreedhar, Nitin (3 June 2023). "World Environment Day: Arati Kumar-Rao wants you to listen to the land". Mint Lounge. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  3. ^ Manu, Gayatri (8 November 2016). "Six Photojournalists Who Will Open Your Eyes to Unseen Parts of India Through Instagram". The Better India. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  4. ^ Gandhi, Divya (13 June 2023). "Surviving the shadowlands: Interview with Arati Kumar-Rao, artist and author of Marginlands". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  5. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2023: Who is on the list this year? – BBC News". BBC. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  6. ^ Dutt, Bahar (27 July 2023). "Teetering on the edge: Review of 'Marginlands' by Arati Kumar-Rao". Frontline. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
  7. ^ Kumar-Rao, Arati (2 June 2023). Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink. Pan Macmillan India. ISBN 978-9395624435. OCLC 1399535654.
  8. ^ Singh, Rahul. "The tiger's asking for answers". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  9. ^ Anjum, Nawaid (11 June 2023). "Marginlands review: How India has brought its landscapes to the brink of loss, devastation". thefederal.com. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  10. ^ "Book Box | Stories from India's margins". Hindustan Times. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  11. ^ "Chronicling change in India's landscape | Reading the land". India Today. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  12. ^ "This environmental writer-explorer's new book documents India's vulnerable landscapes, ecosystems and populations". Mid-day. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
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