Starting over on my 4100 row excel sheet of eminent IIT Alumni Council members, I stopped at entry in row 100 dated September 21, 2019. The entry is for Godman Gaurang Prabhu, a metallurgy engineer from IIT Bombay. He was everything this list should not be. He had renounced material wealth (this was really a list of the wealthy). He was a religious leader (and we are secular). He is also considered politically aligned (and we are apolitical). He runs a temple in south mumbai based on a ISO 9000 certification. He also manages Govardhan Eco Village, a wellness and tourism resort near Mumbai. Finally the selection committee unanimously approved his entry in the list of Distinguished Fellows. The reasons were not for his role in religion or politics but for his role in developing technology for ecological tourism. Last week I finally visited Govardhan Eco Village as part of the jury for the VishwaGuru awards for global pioneers and influencers. People who helped invent the future.
I came back truly impressed beyond belief. Govardhan Eco Village is like no other. It is not a role model for religion or politics. But for technology, spiritual wellness and sustainability. It is a place where you see not just happy human faces but also happy animal faces. Zero man animal environment conflict. Read the report on hydrological and geological planning that went into building this place at the awcadam website which is included in the next post.