As with oil, water exploitation raises an inter-generational debt that will be hard to repay.
The uncontrolled and rapacious exploitation of oil has led to unintended consequences, and if we continue on a similar trajectory with water, the oil crisis will seem like the trailer of some horrible disaster movie.
Among the most important lessons to be taken from the history of oil is not taking essentials for granted. Conserve oil, but also conserve water. If our Hummers are a red flag in oil, maybe our Jacuzzis are the same for water.
Luckily, water, though finite, is infinitely renewable.
A low-water economy should rest on the principle that water be left in its natural state in the environment as much as possible. Every drop extracted must be justified. Every drop used must be recycled and reused whenever possible.
Unfortunately, the overwhelming moral force exerted by leaders like Gandhi comes by too rarely in the life of a nation.
The urbanising middle class of the 1960s and 1970s had schools, hospitals, roads, energy services, even cultural institutions - all created by the state, or under its aegis. When liberalisation came along, they were poised and ready for take-off.
Water is ultimately a finite resource. With all finite resources, there is a continuous need for sustainable and equitable management, by capping demand, improving efficiencies in supply and developing substitutes. This exercise is complicated by the sociocultural beliefs, values and affinities around this precious resource.
Millions of Indians have moved from just surviving or accepting life as it used to be to imagining a life where they can thrive and rise up to their potential. This rise of individual hope could generate massive amounts of creative energy.
The young men of India need us to do more for them. And we need to do it for men in their own right, and we need to do it even more urgently if we really want women to be empowered too.
Often, our laws and policies reflect patriarchal biases that can trap men in stereotypes - for example, the idea of guarding the modesty of a woman serves neither men nor women nor any other gender - instead, it comes from the same strong patriarchal framework that we need to confront and reject.
We need more imagination, more innovation and more public financing for projects and programmes that harness the positive energy of young men.
For centuries, prosperity has been easy to define in material terms. At a personal level, by how much one earns; how much one has.
Most disciplines invite us to more mindfulness, and more contentment. Not by consuming more externally, but by harvesting more from within, and by sharing more without. Neurosciences and behavioural sciences increasingly corroborate this ancient wisdom - joy can come from giving, and unlimited happiness from bonhomie.
Work from home will relieve the pressure on urban infrastructure and land, which can be released for mass housing or public transport, and critical lung space.
Bihar has always drawn me, ever since I was a child, brought up on the stories about my grandfather Babasaheb Soman.
My grandfather passed away in 1946, too early to see his dream of an independent India being realized.
We all want and need the rule of law to be upheld.
Indian philanthropy doesn't take enough risk.
We all need good laws, and an independent, impartial, and efficient judiciary to verify the constitutionality of those laws.
