Dakshina Kannada-based Girish Bharadwaj’s bridges are not just about connecting people and places. They are about bridging the gap between utilisation and exploitation. They are about connecting hearts and souls.

Girish heads a 70-strong Ayasshilpa, meaning “steel sculpture” in Sanskrit. Over 100 suspension foot bridges built by the team provide highly efficient, eco-friendly, cost-effective, and immediate solutions to connect the rural India with the urban. Built mostly in Karnataka and Kerala, they can be easily transferred to another location when replaced by bigger ones.

One such bridge built across Laknavaram reservoir in the Naxal-dominated Warangal district of AP laid bare how sincere and humane initiatives can bring together people, no matter how separated they stand ideologically. The team received a tearful farewell from the villagers, and still considers it a unique milestone.