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

Feeling Mizoram  ~ ~ Back to where: Newspapers have holiday on Sunday . .  Road signs warn people not to drink and drive - in a dry area . . A big cross greets one on landing at the airport . .  Hotel staff say ‘tu’ or ‘tum’ after saying ‘sir’ and the tone happily smells of equality  ~. ~  Leaves falling from trees have such a free abandon to them – also each of them is different : colour / fall . . Once in a while wind hastens the fall ~ ~  Life as if becomes 3 D in the silences / openness around – one perhaps feels more . . Wonder if there is any connection – for this is the place which taught me not to take self seriously ~ ~ ~ Bas yahan sirf patte hilte hue dikhte hain Sunday ko . . Beech beech me kutte ya murgi ki awaaz . . baki roj ke shor se aaram hai . . dolne ki ichha karti hai kabhi kabhi in patton ke saath saath ~ ~ Murgi aur church ki awaaz jaise bindiyaan hain alag rangon ki ek kore kagaz pe – Sunday ke...

Share a piece by Yaranajit and me that finds place in February 2014 issue of Sanctuary Asia (Vol. XXXIV No. 1) A group of pale, yellowish white-winged butterflies fluttered around the rotting fruit. We moved forward slowly and then stood still to observe them. Yes, the prominent yellowish-white forewings had a black margin with two chains of white spots and two isolated white spots. The whitish-yellow hind wings had two tails with a ridged margin. A couple of years ago, we would not have been able to identify these butterflies but we had no hesitation now – Great nawabs we wrote down! The nawab butterflies, along with the rajahs, we had read up, belong to the ‘brush-footed butterflies’ family, also referred to as Charaxinae group. Nawab butterflies occur in Northeast India and further east up to Thailand. Many have gaudy colours and brilliant flashes thanks to iridescent scales covering the wings. Beauty notwithstanding, some are known to favour decaying crab-meat or rotting ...

This piece finds place in the June 2013 issue of the Newsletter and Journal of the Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India Saiha, one of the eight districts of Mizoram is located at its fag end and caresses Myanmar. It houses some of the most amazing remaining rain forests in community owned lands within the biodiversity hotspot of northeastern India. Samrakshan ( NGO, with which I am associated ) works towards conservation education with school going children ( and their teachers ) of select schools, youth associations, village councils and forest department personnel in Saiha. It perceives them as active partners in the program rather than as participants. Film screenings, tea stall conversations, posters, participating in celebrations – meetings of partners, nature walk, documentation of local wildlife values are some of the actions undertaken in the process. While being sensitive to the local cultural values efforts are designed to involve the partners in discussions, argumen...

Some snippets, concerning adults, from an interesting book -  Conservation Education and Outreach Techniques Susan K Jacbson, Mallory D Mc Duff and Martha C Monroe Publisher: Oxford University Press Print ISBN-13: 9780198567714 Learning and teaching with adults (and youths) Maturity generally brings in a different set of priorities for learning, especially a greater sense of self-direction, more experiences from which to draw upon, and a desire to learn things that can immediately be useful in work or social situations. In the likely event of a diverse group of adult learners, it is important to use a variety of learning strategies to appeal to the wildest possible set of learners, allow adults to choose their subgroups or task, and permit a variety of responses and outcomes. As a result, most adult training workshops include icebreakers to introduce people, large group information-delivery, small group discussions, engaging activities,  and opportunit...

We used to have discussion on this term; removal from habitat would have within its ambit species hunted, trapped as also those kept as pets! " First slide of the PPT has to be attention-grabbing "  I begin this post recalling the above piece of advise from a close friend ( though not quite on lines of hunting / pets ): This was on way to Phura (near Palak Dil ). Just as we had begun to feel pleased that the 8 – 10 hour pick-up ride ( during which we used to stand, sit or lie on rice-filled sacks ) was coming to an end I came across this. I initially thought I was imagining on account of an extra-bumpy ride and then somehow banged the pick-up ( sign for the driver to halt! ). Its size made the otherwise questioning me go into a stunned silence. This was on way to Tlangkawn ( road towards KVK ). As I took rest, near a turn, I saw a young boy with a bag and gun that belied his size. I shared water and showed him the binoculars and camera, I then ca...

Some snippets from an interesting paper ( While the entire paper is interesting I found this portion to be all the more pertinent and have taken the liberty to remove the references and cull 600 odd words from a 21 page paper ) Place-Based education at Island Community School Aimee Howley, Marged Howley, Christi Camper and Heike Perko The Journal of Environment Education 42 (4), 216 – 236, 2011 Placed-Based Education (PBE) and Environmental Education (EE): Definitions and Comparisons PBE is a progressive form of education in which students use their own communities as the source of issues to investigate the location for learning, and, indeed, as an important motivation for learning. Its aim, according to some scholars, is to promote students’ understanding of the interdependence of their lives with those of others in their communities. To strengthen student-community connections, PBE offers opportunities for students to explore the geography, ecology, sociology, ...

Shared my meagre understanding on CCAs at Rishi Valley during a recent trip. The setting was amazing ( entire school in the evening at the assembly hall ) and am absolutely indebted to Rishi Valley for the opportunity.  Two conversations of the evening stand out. During afternoon tea one student shared that she and her friends were excited not because of the talk but because of the dinner that was to precede the talk; just in case I had any illusions. After the talk ( and questions that followed ) one student came up and as I bent down he put his hand on my shoulder and said 'shy ok - so talking like this'; his tone was very much like that of one of my closest friends.  Select slides and accompanying 'bullets' are placed below Control and management ( decision making ) rest with community Community is closely related to ecosystem  Efforts lead to conservation Not necessarily strict preservation but multiple ( flexible ) rules ...

Kaustubh's very encouraging email got me back to putting in place this post on discussions with students pursuing ecology ( at Rishi Valley ). We discussed what ( if anything! ), from my meager experiences in the region, I could bring in that would add value for the students. We, after a not so long conversation, narrowed down on jhum ( shifting or slash and burn cultivation ). Share some of the questions I faced below. Couple of these have been more pertinent and thought provoking than those I have heard in my meanderings in the region. Some of these are tricky and answers ( as placed here ) may appear a tad too simplified but I understand the session served its purpose and we had a nice time!   Is jhum rice different from wet rice? ( ~ sure it is .... ) Are their varieties of rice in jhum? ( ~ of course, I am not aware of these though!.... ) Does government decide where jhum will be done? How? ( ~ we discussed who decides and how this has been 'affe...

Some random thoughts from recent train journeys ** About an hour from Delhi – I see - An absolutely stunning August landscape Green of the flowing bajra Earthly brown of the huts against the lively colours of flowing chunris worn by women Amidst these - two pairs of snow white Sarus Cranes stand tall ** How I wish to walk into the untamed open lands - I see from the train Climb these rocks up and down - touch the trees and lie down As I look at the sky high above Different species of birds - I happen to see Some I recognize and others not - wonder what they indicate – if at all Feel good to not know too much of nature - mystery is good at times ** Train moves on - as trains do It’s touch makes the signals go red As it overtakes the Egrets in the green vastness - dotted by electricity towers Rains hit my - fresh from sleep - face Time - as if -gets the train swagger ** Hillocks appear small and also vast at same time Wonder i...