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

People, we were told, were not keen to participate in more meetings with NGOs as promises, by most NGOs, had not been kept. We had gone to discuss conservation education, seek inputs prior to freezing the plan, and ended up listening to the story of human – elephant conflict in the neighbouring villages. Story of the situation having gone from bad to worse. Village A had planned a meeting to discuss human - elephant conflict. Besides the villagers the meeting was to include members of two local organizations.   A local politician got a whiff of the meeting and came over. During the meeting he actively participated in the discussions and promised to help. Elections were around the corner and as a corollary he was pro-active in not only taking the discussions further towards actions but also sanctioned funds. His only condition was that the fence, which had been decided during the meeting, should come up prior to the elections. Image: Karpagam Chelliah The electric fe...

This piece finds place in the Deccan Herald on 16 th February 2016. Link to the edited version on Deccan Herald site here . Many thanks to Deccan Herald, Anitha and Dharmendra. Memories of days in Garo Hills ( Meghalaya ) came forth; learning of elephants, coming across elephant dung at places one never thought they could go to, of talking with people who lived amongst elephants and more. Meghalya is one of the 16 elephant bearing states and the Garo Hills population stands at approximately 1,700.  India today has approximately 30,000 elephants; and as we lose wildlife habitats the species move to newer lands. Elephant human conflict today is increasing both in intensity and spread. Every once in a few months news of elephants run over by a train or electrocuted remind us of this! I was at a 2 day meet on Asian Elephants, focusing on Assam and neighbouring states, to discuss the concerns and chalk out a way ahead. Deliberations helped raised multiple questions. ...

Driving down a forested lane:  Elephants and other memories of the Garo Hills. This piece is published in The State of Wildlife In Northeast India (1996 - 2011) : A Compilation of News from the Protected Area Update . My bike stopped at the very place it used to then. I would either have to push it a little or kick-start it to reach the next turn from where Panda was downhill. Panda lies on the India – Bangladesh border in South Garo Hills and abuts the Baghmara Reserve Forest (BRF). As I drove on I relived moments from my three year (2004 - 2007) stint in the landscape; some of which I happily share below. The Garo Hills Landscape I was at Baghmara after a hiatus to review the efforts at Samrakshan and my only condition was that I would take a day off to drive around with a bike. Samrakshan Trust is based at Baghmara and works towards conserving biodiversity values in an equitable and just manner. The Garo hills along the India-Bangladesh border are compris...