India will soon be the most populated country on our planet (estimated 2022), and this could be seen whilst paddling. Some parts seemed so remote and deathly silent, yet I could hear the occasional rustle from the sugar cane fields or the distant chug of the water pumps sending precious water to farmers’ crops. Civilization was always nearby and it was never long before locals headed over to the sides of the river wondering what was passing them. Curiosity would get the better of them and we would be surrounded by puzzled faced wanting to see what these long floating contraptions were, what we were doing and why. It was thanks to Shilpika, who spoke fluent Hindi, that we were able to communicate so that they could understand what we were up to, but also so that we could find out more about their lives and how the river affects them.
