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

Title: Animalia Indica: The finest animal stories in Indian literature Edited by: Sumana Roy Illustrations by: Rohan Dahotre Published by: Aleph Book Company Year of publication: 2019 ISBN: 978-93-88292-57-3 Thanks are due to the team at First Post The piece on First Post here Some weeks ago a friend shared a poster bearing a poem and illustration of the elephant. The eight line ‘simple’ poem and the ‘evocatively’ done elephant in water colour touched me like few posters have done. It told me something about elephants, their actions and emotions and – in a way – enabled me to connect with the species. In this it did more than most, if not all, posters on the species that I have come across. Majority of the posters, for example, highlight the pachyderm’s weight, age, height and other statistics including difference between 2 species – African and Asian. The friend and I got on to discuss how good literature – stories and poems – can play a pivotal r

Traffic jam in Tirthan valley Published in Deccan Herald's Spectrum here . The unedited version placed below.  Thanks are due to the team at Deccan Herald and Himalayan Ecotourism .  Image Credit: Himalayan Ecotourism Gushaini, in the lower Tirthan valley of Kullu district ( Himachal Pradesh ), is synonymous with the Great Himalayan National Park ( GHNP ). Till a few years ago broadly two categories of people used to visit the valley. Those seeking the peaks and valleys of GHNP – be it for treks, wildlife sightings, silences or else - and the anglers lured by trout in the Tirthan river! Their numbers were low; read manageable. Today, their numbers have been overtaken by the quintessential tourist. Those who come – with friends or family - looking for a good time, away from where s/he stays. These include people coming for weekends and those who add Gushaini to other destinations nearby or not so nearby. This summer I visited Gushaini after a gap of few yea