Pandit Hanuman Sharma, or Panditji as he is simply known, has been unfolding a quiet revolution in and around the villages of the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan. He is a teacher and has taken it upon himself to teach thousands of young children the connection between the survival of the tiger, its forests and the water sources upon which their lives and that of their domestic livestock are dependent.

His medium of instruction is often music and he has penned over 300 songs about nature, which he teaches children even as he instructs them to sing and teach them to adults in their villages. By silently working to educate the children of Sawai Madhopur around the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, Panditji has given new meaning to the word “education”. He is a green teacher and an earth hero in every sense of the word.