Best of the Lot! Here Are 5 of Our Most Read Articles of 2017

It’s that time of the year when readers catch up on various listicles- top moments of the year gone by, top cases that changed the face of the judiciary, important people of the year etc. Along with all of those, we here at The Better India, feel it is also important to highlight what you, the readers, chose as the stories that resonated the most with you.

So here we bring you the most read and shared articles on The Better India platform. These are stories of hope, courage, and motivation and we hope they give you a boost for the year to come.

1. I Don’t Smoke or Drink; I Eat Well & Exercise. How Did I Still Get Cancer? An Oncologist Answers.

Dr Vishal Rao, an oncologist and head and neck surgeon at the Bangalore-based HealthCare Global (HCG) Cancer Center, authored this article. In this eye-opening piece, Dr Rao deliberates on the various reasons that could lead to one having cancer. While the assumption for long has been that smoking, drinking, and leading an unhealthy lifestyle could lead to cancer – this doctor busted many myths and left us with many questions to ponder over.

He urges us to be mindful of the food we consume. Read the full article here.

2. This Scientist Hasn’t Paid a Water Bill in 23 Years, & His Ideas Could Solve Bengaluru’s Water Woes!

Written by Sanchari Pal, this story is about a senior scientist at the Karnataka State Council of Science and Technology (KSCST) at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), A R Shivakumar, who has devised some judicious ways of saving water.

An avid supporter of rainwater harvesting, Shivakumar is also wise while using water at home. He has designed and installed an effective greywater recycling system at his home – the outlet water from his washing machine is stored in a separate tank and is used for flushing toilets in the house. In the same way, water from the kitchen is stored and used for gardening.

Read about it here and tell us if you decide to follow in his footsteps.

3. As an Engineer, He Earned Rs 24 Lakh. As a Farmer, He Earns Rs 2 Crore!

Grandfathers are special, and so is this grandfather who instilled the love for farming in his grandson. This is a story of Vasant Rao Kale and his grandson Sachin. Having grown up hearing stories of farming told by his grandfather, Sachin grew up with a keen sense of interest and respect for agriculture.

However, like many middle-class families in India, Sachin’s parents also wanted him to become an engineer or a doctor. Sachin loved studying too, so he fulfilled his parents’ wishes by completing his mechanical engineering course.

Sachin’s grandfather would often tell him how one can survive without earning money at any given point, but one cannot survive without food. Keeping this in mind, Sachin became an agri-preneur, leaving behind a cushy corporate job and pay packet.

Written by Manabi, this article leaves us all with valuable life lessons. Read here about his journey.

4. This Amazing Family Has Saved Hundreds of Wild Animals from Being Hunted and Also Lives with Them

Would you believe it if I said that this amazing couple has a wild animal asylum in their courtyard? Dr Prakash Amte and his wife Dr Mandakini Amte have spent decades changing the lives of the local community in Hemalkasa, Maharashtra, protecting tribespeople and the local fauna alike.

Named Animal Ark, this asylum houses jackals, leopards, jungle cats, common palm civets, rhesus macaques, sloth bears, giant squirrels, rat-tail langurs, four-horned antelopes, blackbuck antelopes, rat snakes, Indian pythons, crocodiles, monitor lizards, banded kraits, peacocks, a spotted deer, porcupines, and neelgai.

Click here to read this awesome story by Ranjini Sivaswamy.

5. Blue Corn? Cinnamon-Flavoured Tulsi? This Farmer Has a Collection of 560 Varieties of Rare Seeds!

What colour ladyfinger have you eaten? I would assume you’d say green. Ever seen purple, white, pink ladyfingers? Dr Prabhakar Rao, a natural farmer from Bengaluru, has been growing these and says that these were all cultivated earlier but seems to have gotten lost over the years.

In an interview with Tanaya Singh, Dr Rao speaks about how his interest in this field begun and how far he has come since he began. He joined an international organisation called International Seed Savers’ Exchange and today has managed to collect over 560 varieties of seeds.

If you are keen to learn more about this amazing architect turned farmer, do click here.

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