Submerged Worlds: Uncovering the Hidden Stories of India's Mighty Rivers

In 2022, a group of adventurous travelers embarked on a hiking trip across Uttarakhand, scaling the hills and meadows from Auli to Chopta. As they stood at the Tehri Dam, 855 feet above the Bhagirathi River, their driver revealed a startling truth – his hometown of Old Tehri in Garhwal had been submerged under the river, along with many other villages, after the dam's construction.

The realization of an entire civilization being wiped off the map struck the author like a tsunami. They saw homes, schools, marketplaces, and the vibrant life that once thrived by the riverbanks, now lost forever. This discovery led the author, a children's author passionate about bringing untold stories to light, on a journey to understand the plight of India's rivers.

The author uncovered a disturbing pattern – rivers polluted by industrial waste and religious practices, floodplain encroachment, and mindless construction leading to catastrophic disasters. These invisible stories, often ignored or overlooked, needed to be shared. The author's research culminated in a young-adult book, "Submerged Worlds and Other Amazing Stories of India's Mighty Rivers," which aims to shift the narrative and encourage readers to rethink our relationship with these vital natural resources.