Nana asked for the following couplet from Sahir Ludhianvi to be read on this day:

Lo! Another light has gone out

Congratulate the darkness of the night.

And he wrote a verse for his own occasion:

A light was lit at Gharota in 1923

It went out at Dehradun

And mingled today with the

Deep darkness of the Doon valley.

The world will remember our beloved nana, Professor Jaswant Singh Bali, as a scientist and a poet who left a long and rich legacy in both fields. He is known as the father of watershed management. To us, he was the bedrock of our family. In an ever-changing world, he was the one constant in our lives. Nana was always there to remind us about what is truly important in this world — health, family and living in harmony with nature. A light has indeed gone out in our lives.

Our Nana was born on December 18, 1923 in the small Punjabi village of Gharota. Until he was 15, his education took place in the shade of a peepul and banyan tree. His notebook was a plank of wood that was washed every night. His pen was the stem of reed grass. The ink was purple tablets dissolved in water. He got his first pair of shoes at 8, the leather so stiff he thought it was a punishment and preferred to walk bare feet in the dirt. He used to sing so loudly in the open-aired toilets that the whole street would hear. His parents ordered him to stop, lest he gulped germs from the foul air. He chiseled this reminder on the wall that remains today: “Singing is prohibited.”

These pastoral surroundings left an indelible mark on him, as did the death of his elder brother, Manohar, at the young age of 16 on Diwali. Nana never celebrated the holiday again.

He went on to become a pioneer in soil and water conservation, first by leading the department for the government of India, and then for the United Nations and on World Bank projects that took him to to far-flung places from Bulgaria, West Indies, Libya and Rome to Malaysia. Before clean energy and climate change become popular, Nana won national and international awards in those fields. Though he was involved in so many environmental initiatives throughout his life, he took time to share his knowledge by conducting training programs and by teaching students at IIT Kharagpur.

Nana’s goal through all of this work was simple — to alleviate the plight of India’s rural populations, her farmers and those whose livelihoods depend on the bounty of her natural resources. Even after retiring, he spent the next 20 years working for free for the Soil Conservation Society of India, authoring hundreds of policy papers on preserving India’s biodynamic ecosystems and attending conferences to offer his wisdom.

Over the last decade, Nana turned his hand to his second love, poetry. He wrote and published five anthologies of poems on topics ranging from philosophy and the quest for happiness to science, social issues and his favorite pet, Rocky who inherited Nana’s youthful spirit and lived until 18.

Nana’s poems offered insight into the breadth of his intellect and curiosity and depths of his soul, which cared so profoundly about so much. He wrote his poems to inspire others to understand our planet and to help those in need. His legacy in science and poetry will serve as an inspiration to the youth of India for generations to come.

What is so remarkable, is that despite Nana’s professional achievements and the demands that came with it, he always looked at life in its beauty and entirety and lived it with consciousness and wisdom, a balance between both rationality and emotion, head and heart.

“There are only two things you need. Economics in your life and religion in your death.”

While it is easy to talk big and dream even bigger, Nana put his beliefs into actions on a daily basis. He cared for creatures big and small. Every stray dog and cat in his neighborhood showed up at his doorstep and knew they would find food and shelter. At one point, Nana adopted 9 stray dogs that he would take on walks. My mom quipped there were more animals than humans in his homes.

“Happiness has to be conquered, not just plucked. Dwell upon the good traits of all! Their talents and traits will become double and your pains will become half.”

One of his favorite stories took place in Nirman Vihar where him and our Nani used to live. A stray dog and cat had made it their home as well, and one day the cat went up to the dog who was lying down to whisper something in his ear. The dog raised his head to say he understood. Soon the cat returned carrying a kitten in her mouth and laid it on the dog’s belly. One by one she dropped off her litter. Then she left for a few hours to get food and came back for them. Nana always marveled at the wonders and mysteries of life because he was present in it.

Even the day after he passed away, a little puppy forced his way into the house to ask for refuge. This little fellow, like countless others before him, knew that Nana provided a safe harbor from the frenetic world outside. As Nana himself wrote “Plants are loveable. Trees are lovable. Animals, both wild and domestic respond to your love.”

Nana extended the same love and care to people he met from all walks of life. If you went to a restaurant with him, he would stop to speak to the doorman to inquire where he was from, whether he lived with his family, how he was getting by and so on. Next, he would connect in the same way with the waiter and the manager. Nana taught us to be compassionate and connect with the human condition in each of us. That this is the ultimate connection between all of us here on earth.

No one was spared his curiosity and his genuine interest in their welfare, none more so than Usha, who cared for Nana and Nani for over 20 years. Nana did not want Usha to always be a domestic helper and wanted to leave her and her lineage, the skills to advance their lives.. He put her through school, ensured she completed vocational training courses including in computers, and convinced her to learn how to drive. When she married Babu, he ensured that he too got the appropriate training to be able to start his own business someday, which he has already begun.

A couple of days before he passed away, he made our father promise that we would put their son, Chitesh (whom Nana named) through school.

In return for Nana’s unique support, Usha and Babu looked after Nana and Nani through the twilight of their lives. We are eternally grateful for their love and commitment.

Our entire family feels the profound loss of losing our beacon. Our mother, his only daughter, especially feels this loss today. Our Nana was her biggest fan and her staunchest supporter. My mother, an environmentalist in her own right, recently had an idea that students should plant trees as part of their school syllabus so that loving nature will be embedded in their impressionable minds. Nana turned the idea into the One Student One Tree movement and got it initiated by the Soil and Conservation Society of India and supported by Prof. M.S Swaminathan who is a member of parliament. Nana was a champion for women’s rights, and would be proud to know that his daughter performed all his last rites and that his granddaughters all participated too.

Even though our Nana lived a rich and diverse life and left an indelible legacy, we cannot help but feel the darkness that is left by his light going out. Nana, we will keep learning from your wisdom and ensure that future generations will as well. We will miss you every time we see a creature or a person in need and when nature and life present their marvels and mysteries. We love you so much. Our lives can never be the same again. An era comes to an end and a lifetime of memories takes your place. Your spirit lives on in us.