India is one of the most water stressed countries in the world. However, despite appreciable increase in funding for water research, high quality science that is usable by stakeholders remains elusive. I argue that this can be attributed to the absence of research on questions that actually matter to stakeholders, unwillingness to transcend disciplinary boundaries, and the demise of field-work research culture in favour of computer simulation. Conventional wisdom is these trends are driven by what is publishable. However, there is an increasing interest in the international community in interdisciplinary, problem driven, empirical research. Using examples of my own research in Chennai and Bengaluru, on water scarcity in urbanising watersheds, I offer some methods and insights.