The Perfect Alignment

 

Pravin Mulay is an Alumnus of NIRMAN 9. Pravin has completed his M.Tech from IIT Bombay. Currently, he is working with Farmers For Forests as a Research Associate.

Shodhgram - An area of 45 acres of land covered with greenery. With the atmosphere filled with enthusiasm as well as curiosity, a drone takes off to capture aerial views of the green cover. Taking successful aerial shots of the hundreds of trees spread across Shodhgram using the GIS technology, the drone lands safely. The man working on this concept of identifying & capturing the images of tress as well as assessing their carbon sequestration potential using machine learning is a 25 years old Emerging Adult, Pravin Mulay. 

An alumnus of IIT Bombay, where he completed his M.Tech; Pravin, belongs to the Karjat tehsil of Ahmednagar district & works as a Research Associate with the Farmers for Forests. Farmers for Forests is a not-for-profit organization working to protect & increase India’s biodiverse forest cover in close partnership with rural communities.

Formative Years & The ‘NIRMAN’ Turn

His M.Tech. years proved to be crucial in determining Pravin’s journey. He became a member of Group for Rural Activities (GRA) at IIT Bombay which worked on understanding different social issues as well as having a dialogue with people working on those issues, solidifying his social inclination. His associates at IIT Bombay later informed him about NIRMAN which brought about the turning point which he was waiting for.

“I got the answers of what I had to do, why I had to & how I had to at NIRMAN. I learnt the importance of going deep & understanding an issue from a local as well as global perspective. Instead of rushing for a solution, I tried to understand the issues of farmers as well as climate change in depth. I increased my reading & made field visits. I tried to understand the various problem solving approaches used by organizations and ruthlessly assess them analyze them on scientific basis,” says Pravin. 

 

The Quest for Purposeful Life

Pravin also shares how he charted his ‘Purpose’ journey. Pravin states, “Acharya Vinoba Bhave’s model of Swabhav-Swadharma-Yugdharma was crucial in me finding my purpose. I knew my nature which was apt for a research role. Looking around & witnessing the distressed state of farmers, I was aware of my duty to contribute for their well-being. Farmer for Forests ultimately provided me with the opportunity to also work on the climate change issue which was both universal as well as one of the most important factors leading to worrisome plight of farmers. It was a perfect alignment of what was required, what I liked & what was potential.”

Not just the perfect alignment of options, but Pravin’s thought process proved to be equally important in his decision making.  He thought more about his own financial needs rather than chasing salary packages & asked himself what he really wanted rather than succumbing to peer pressure. His intention to make appropriate use of his education for general problem solving was crucial & so was his communication with parents. Instead of bluntly declaring his decision to work in social sector, Pravin focused on explaining his parents why he himself felt important to work in social sector. Indeed, things were not easy, yet Pravin’s thought process drove him to stay on the course of his purposeful journey.

 

Working on ‘Something Important’

According to Pravin, the operating model of Farmers for Forests, which is based on the concept of Payment for Ecosystem Services, is a unique combination wherein both the issues of farmers as well as climate change are tackled. “Conserving & adding to the green cover is essential to mitigate climate change. At the same time, it will also benefit the farmers who will get an additional income for conserving green cover,” claims Pravin. He furthers adds that transition to renewable energy sources is time consuming while the issue of climate change needs urgent action from us leaving us with the choice of capturing carbon. The current technologies to capture carbon are costly & so, plantation of trees is the only feasible choice for carbon capture.

Pravin’s role as a Research Associate has proven to be instrumental in the organization making effective use of technology in their modus operandi. “I had been a keen observer of various projects during my academic years & always was curious about machine learning. It was all about application of what I knew to develop the solution to the problem I saw”, says Pravin. He also adds, “I am satisfied with my role as I am able to use my technical skills for an important activity in the organization. I can say that finally I am contributing to ‘something important’.

Pravin’s journey is an example of how youth can align their profession with their purpose. Moreover, he unfolds a beautiful process for those in search of their purpose.