Sharachchandra Lele

Interview Summary (00:01:14) Parents, interests as a child and studying at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay Sharachchandra Lele was born in Pune, Maharashtra, but moved around due to his father being in the Navy. He lived in Delhi and Jamnagar before returning to Pune. His mother was a homemaker from a politically active family. He went to IIT Bombay for his undergraduate studies. He says he was not pressured to pursue a specific career. Lele talks about his childhood and what enabled him to...

Interview Summary (00:01:14) Developing an understanding of and interest in the environment Sharachchandra Lele highlights several key turning points in his life that shaped his understanding of the environment. These include attending a nature camp during the 12th standard, encountering the State of India’s Environment report during his IIT career, and participating in an interdisciplinary programme at University of California, Berkeley [Archivist’s note: Lele refers to it as State of Environment report,...

Interview Summary (00:00:37) Navigating engagement on committees as a non-domain specialist/expert; challenges, opportunities and learnings Sharachchandra Lele discusses his experiences on committees related to coal mining and the Karnataka Elephant Task Force, highlighting the challenges and opportunities he faced as a non-domain specialist. Despite lacking extensive knowledge, he used various strategies to learn and familiarise himself with the subject matter. In the coal mining committee, Lele, an...

Interview Summary (00:00:37) Challenges in producing impactful knowledge Lele discusses the process of producing impactful knowledge and the challenges involved. He emphasises the importance of starting with a problem-driven approach rather than being driven solely by theory or methods. However, defining the problem itself becomes a dilemma, as it can be influenced by those in power and may lack broader relevance. Lele gives the example of his work on forests and the need to understand the relationship...