From Bhavarlal's meditation spot, the 1,000-acre complex of Jain Hills itself appears a shining advertisement for what micro-irrigation can achieve. Set in the midst of parched lands, it's an oasis of mango and banana trees, home to deer, peacocks and several other species of birds.

The complex includes a training center for farmers, a demonstration plot and research and tissue-culture labs. Tucked away in one corner is a house where three generations of Jains live.

Bhavarlal was born into a Marwari family in a village not far away. His father and uncles were farmers and petty traders. Having bolder ambitions, Bhavarlal moved to what was then Bombay to study commerce and law, after which he prepared to join the civil service. But his mother, who never went to school and had lost nine children before Bhavarlal was born, urged him to reconsider.

"She inspired me by saying I must do something that would help the cattle and birds, and all those who are disadvantaged," he recalls.

Image: An Indian farmer inspects his sunflower crop in a field at Amritsar. | Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images