Rakesh Khatri – The Nest Man of India should be the role model for each one of us. I have come across several individuals who give all of their efforts and time to do something for the birds and animals, and Rakesh Khatri is one of them. Mr. Khatri deserves nothing but a bow and all the appreciation.
Due to the increase in the level of pollution and urbanization, the birds and animals have lost their homes and are now wandering to find shelter. As per reports, because of acid rain, the fish population gets affected as well, for which the food source of birds becomes scarce. Today, we will cover an inspirational story of Mr. Khatri – The Nest Man of India, who has dedicated his life to providing shelter to the birds.
Rakesh Khatri – Early Life
Rakesh Khatri belongs to Delhi, and he has a special attachment to the birds and animals of our society. The birds and animals are not living in a pleasant atmosphere or are wandering in search of shelters, etc. always disturbed him. Before shifting to Ashok Vihar, Rakesh Khatri stayed in Purani Dilli and was always warned by his parents to be gentle and cautious with the creatures. He recalls moments where his elders told them not to switch on fans as the birds nested in the higher corners of the room and could get hurt. Making notes of all the issues the birds faced, Rakesh Khatri started building nests for them by himself.
Rakesh Khatri – Why He Is Known as Nest Man of India
Initially, he started building the nests with a few materials that comprised raw coconut shells and newspapers. He filled up the coconut shells with shredded newspapers and pasted them on the outer walls. He tied it with a stick and hung it somewhere close to his society. Though this wasn’t a successful attempt, he didn’t lose hope. He kept trying until he got it right. Rakesh Khatri can be called the epitome of the idiom – “Practice makes a man perfect.”
He made his next attempt using a few more varieties of items, which included bamboo sticks, light husk, and jute thread. This one was a successful attempt, as in the next 4 days, a bird made it their home. Soon after, people started asking him to make nests for them. And that’s how Rakesh Khatri made his first batch of 20 nests. They put these nests up in the locality.
Today, Rakesh Khatri makes a variety of nests that are made mainly of disposed tetra packs. And he made around 1.25 lakhs nests for birds across India, which is absolutely incredible. He’s doing some praiseworthy work for our society by developing different shelter homes for the birds.
Eco Roots Foundation – An Initiative by Rakesh Khatri
Being a passionate environmentalist and having an endless love for birds and animals, Rakesh Khatri always thought of different ways to help them. To contribute more to environmental development, betterment, and preservation, Rakesh Khatri founded Eco Roots Foundation in 2012.
Eco Roots Foundation works towards spreading awareness among people about environmental issues and motivates them to work for the betterment of it. Eco Roots Foundation has successfully carried out the initiatives they had taken. Some of them include building tree canopies in the RWAs of East Delhi, building herbal nurseries in school complexes, and installed recycled e-waste bins in residential areas.
Rakesh Khatri’s Success Story
For all the praiseworthy work Rakesh Khatri has been doing, he has bagged several awards. He won the Limca Book of Records award twice, once for conducting workshops to teach participants how to make handmade nests. And another one was for organizing the largest theatre event on climate change, with 1,12,00 students and performances in 12 languages.
Rakesh Khatri also received the National Award for his incredible efforts in Science and Technology Communication through innovative and traditional methods. He also received The London World Book of Records Award for creating 1,25,000 nests using jute and tetra packs.
Being the thoughtful and kind-hearted person he is, Rakesh Khatri said that he cannot explain in words how blessed he feels to give a home to someone.
To know more about Rakesh Khatri, please check – Twitter
To know more about Eco Roots Foundation, please check – Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
If you liked this story, read about Prasiddhi Singh, a 7-year-old environmentalist who’s on a mission to plant 1 lakh saplings.
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