yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Title The Rise and Fall of the EMERALD TIGERS:  Ten Years of Research in Panna National Park Author Raghu Chundawat Publisher Speaking Tiger Published at First Post on 3rd October 2018 here .  Thanks are due to the team at First Post.  The Rise and Fall of the EMERALD TIGERS: Ten Years of Research in Panna National Park by Raghu Chundawat is the story of a passionate wildlife scientist and one of the better known tiger reserves in the country. It depicts both – the scientist’s research and monitoring work during his association with the tiger reserve and the troubles he faced after he let the cat out of the bag by pointing out to major mismanagement in the tiger reserve. To begin with the author has the guts to call a spade a spade. He is a rare species in the wildlife conservation world where keeping shut is the norm. The sector is infamous for not speaking up – be it to protect permits, or maintain liaisons, or ensure funding or e...

Bridge over the River Ganga Published in the Hindu Sunday Magazine on 7th October 2018 here . A new bridge has been announced over the Ganga in Banaras. The old one, they say, is close to collapse, and needs an overhaul or rest. Last year, a report found the bridge to be in critical condition. In 2016 it had seen the infamous stampede that resulted in the death of some 20 people. It’s difficult to put a number to the trains and vehicles that would have crossed the Ganga on the 130-year-old Dufferin Bridge. Two railway tracks, a wide road, foot-paths on either side, and a graceful grandeur matched with robustness. A structure befitting the Ganga and Banaras; not as easy task. Multiple plaques, a testimony to the structure’s history, tell stories.  Dufferin Bridge was named after Lord Dufferin who was the Viceroy of India when it was completed. In 1948, it was renamed Malaviya Bridge after Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of Banaras Hindu University. It has othe...