Rajendra Joshi

“Saath ensured communities understood not just their rights when it came to basic services but also their responsibilities. With three decades of experience in partnerships for equitable and rights-based urban development, Saath is well positioned not just to be a player, important as that is, but to also be a resource agency, a teacher and a guru, sharing its successes and failures to other institutions who are treading a similar path.”

Mr Shankar Venkateswaran, Former Chief, TATA Sustainibilty Group and former Country Head, American India Foundation

“This book not only highlights the good work done by Saath, but also provides food for thought in terms of what needs to be done to make our cities a much better place to live than what they are today. This book will certainly help inspire people to join NGOs in their own ways and help create an atmosphere for social change that will lead to a more inclusive growth.”

Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries

“Urban India needs a large number of initiatives like those taken by SAATH to solve its large and diversified problems.”

Prof Chetan Vaidya, former Director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs and School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, Trustee of Saath

My English Version of popular Hindi Poetry book EK RAT DHOOP MEIN composed by Rajindra Joshi, eminent poet, story writer and social activist from Bikaner. These poems very emphatically express revolt against social degeneration, political chaos, moral bankruptcy, deception, betrayal, poverty and illiteracy. These are poems of contemplative mood, imbued with intellectual fierceness, emotional intensity and rational gravity. Perpetually interacting with life and the world, the poet has a simplicity of expression and depth of thought due to which a direct connect is established with the mind of voracious readers.

Rajendra Joshi was born and raised in Tanzania before moving back to India for post-secondary education. During this time, he was struck by the inequality among different castes and communities. Rajendra co-founded Saath in 1989 to work in low income neighborhoods in Ahmedabad city. Through an integrated approach, Saath has made significant impact in the base of the pyramid communities by partnering with government, civil society, academic and corporate institutions. By using market-based strategies to create inclusive societies in both poor urban and rural communities, Rajendra has facilitated substantial interventions in public health and education, livelihoods, infrastructure and basic services, financial inclusion, affordable housing, conflict resolution and disaster management through hybrid social enterprises.