The interviews and reporting for this story were conducted in August 20234.

How do you usually wake up in the morning? Is it the doorbell, an alarm, or perhaps a family member? Now, imagine waking up to the calls of a leopard or a sambar deer instead!

Jai Dhar Gupta experiences this every day at his biosphere in Uttarakhand, nestled in the Shivalik foothills, overlooking the stunning Raghati river. At the Rajaji Raghati biosphere, all you need to do is sit on a rock and watch as leopards, elephants, and leopards pass by, while the air is filled with the sounds of chirping birds and buzzing insects.

Sounds idyllic, doesn’t it? This 32-acre biosphere, located within Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand, is the brainchild of Jai, a 52-year-old environmentalist and entrepreneur.

Inspired by the movie Avatar, Jai dreamed of living in a place like Pandora. For his 50th birthday, he turned that dream into reality — not on a distant moon, but just four hours from Delhi.

Jai’s vision for the biosphere in India was ambitious: to create a thriving, self-sustaining ecosystem that could serve as a model for rewilding efforts across the country. To bring this vision to life, he collaborated with Vijay Dhasmana, a renowned rewilding expert.

Together, they embarked on a challenging yet rewarding journey, transforming former agricultural land into a flourishing forest by removing non-native species. Their goal was simple: to create a forest exactly as nature intended.

Not only have they succeeded, but they’ve exceeded expectations. Here’s how they created the first biosphere reserve in India where the carbon footprint is minimal, time seems to stand still, and nature takes over.

‘Chowkidar’ of the forest

Jai completed his education in finance and environmental science at The Wharton School. After running successful businesses in the US, he returned to India in 2010 to continue his entrepreneurial journey.

An avid runner, he faced a major setback in 2013 when he was diagnosed with bronchial asthma while training for a marathon. This diagnosis,........

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