The crowds of bicycles parked outside the home of cycleman Nargish Kuchaikar in Pune makes this man a public figure in his locality. Bicycles are his livelihood, but he does this not just for the sake of supporting his family, but also for promotion of "green" power.
    
In 2004, World Vision through its economic programmes provided seed money to Nargish to procure five bicycles. Four years later, Nargish's cycle-hiring business has grown to the amazing figure of 150.

Tarawade slum holds about one thousand homes, but it's never a problem to know where Nargish lives. He is one of the few people in Pune city who hires cycles to the low-income group, making him a very popular person.

"Let me tell you my story," he says, offering us cold drinks on this hot day. He sips the cold Thumps Up his wife Lakshmi has just brought him, then starts with: "My wife and I fell in love, our parents did not approve our marriage - so we ran away from home and got married in court."

It's a Bollywood start to a slum success story. People crowd around Nargish to hear what happens next.

Nargish goes on to talk about the challenges of a temporary stay at the train station followed by a few months sheltering at his aunt's place. He found a job working in a cycle repair shop.

"Then I got in touch with World Vision staff and they helped me with the seed money to start my cycle-hiring business," he said.

Cycling better than the bus

Since World Vision gave that first push, Nargish's pedals have not stopped. A member of a Pune cycle club, this cycle man is spreading his wings to make a difference at the city level and not just in his slum.

An annual event held by the Pune Cycle club and the awareness campaigns conducted by World Vision is helping people like Nargish to rekindle their dreams of saving the environment.
 
"I hope these 150 cycles will contribute to help cut pollution," Nargish says, smiling.

Nargish loves nature. Of all the houses in this slum area, he has chosen one for his family shaded by a big tree. He speaks against pollution every time he gets a chance.

"Like other mega Indian cities, Pune is getting more polluted - why do people use cars or motorcycles even for short distances?" he asks.

A small business growing at 1500 percent in four years and a happy family with two children -  what else can Nargish ask for? Instead this cycleman thinks in terms of giving back to his community.

"I invest my time with the youth, helping them to realize their dreams," he says.

His four-year-old eldest daughter Sakshi goes to school every day. "I want her to become a police officer or a hockey player", Nargish says fondly.

Hiring a cycle from Nargish's stock would cost ten rupees per day but recently Nargish introduced a subsidized rate for needy families in his community, "I charge them seven rupees per day, still cheaper than them taking a bus - therefore, it helps to cut the pollution," he says.

Nargish is doing lots of good work but he is not a contented man, in fact, he is a worried man. "How would this city look like in the future?" he asks, concerned. "There will be too many sick people and diseases will spread - because of the pollution."

For now, the cycles are his life support system and preserving nature and humanity his undying passion.

Nargish is not alone

The complex problem of global warming and climate change is too big for Nargish to tackle alone.

Greenpeace have alerted the Indian government to the massive humanitarian crisis the South Asian region could face if global warming was not kept below the 2 degree tipping point. They estimated that a rise in temperature could mean 125 million displaced from their homes in India and Bangladesh alone.

Luckily Nargish is not alone. Throughout South Asia, people like Nargish are finally beginning to talk about green issues. With enough people in India's overpopulated cities and slums voicing their concerns, the tide may turn. Of course more is needed, from civil society through to governments who have to power of policy options to mitigate these climate change problems.

What else is needed? More people like Nargish.