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

Compliment to an unbothered Over the second cup of tea on an affable summer morning, Scratching and pondering over notes – of the day before - I see the orange headed thrush, How stunning you look – I compliment her, Shut up she says, what do you know of us thrushes? How proud (and human) I thought – As she turned - the orange of her nape flashed, Burning shade, as if, of the setting sun, The fiery black lines emerging from near the eyes, Took me to the splendor and gusto of springs in monsoon, Her to and fro walk – under the huge banyan No less stately than the tree itself Glad I saw you, I say - By then, she was away from sight Thrushes, I now know, are bothered not by lowly humans. (image: Sumit Sen) Share links to wikipedia and another lovely image of the species. Many thanks to Sumit Sen. 

My ' recommendation ' in the Lonely Planet : Best Escapes – East and Northeast India published in April 2014. Many thanks to  Lonely Planet . Environment issues of Northeast forests and Wildlife Two factors make the forests of the northeastern India special: a majority of them are owned by local people and its varied wildlife is not restricted to the limits of national parks and sanctuaries. But these rich, gift-laden forests face issues on multiple fronts. Plantations: Mono-culture cropping is fast replacing the earlier biodiversity-rich natural vegetation and local cultivation. This results in loss of habitat for wildlife. Rubber and palm are currently the main culprits; Mizoram, unfortunately, is the latter’s poster-child. Mining : Rat-hole mining for coal and limestone is literally destroying the hills and the forests that carpet them. Meghalaya is infamous for these and boasts of uranium presence too! Dams: A series of dams are planned ...

Share a piece by that finds a place in The Hindu - Sunday Magazine, 1st June 2014. Thanks are due to The Hindu, Samrakshan Trust, Krithika, Ramki and Dharmendra.  How green is your travel? Nimesh Ved and Yaranajit Deka At a recent meeting in Kohima, Nagaland, a senior wildlife biologist asked about the viability of eco-tourism as an income source at multiple locations in places like Nagaland and Meghalaya? The demand is, as of now, low due to remote locations and the way these states are projected in the media. There were other questions too: How many tourists can be expected in these not easily accessible areas? Can wildlife-based tourism take off in places where dense vegetation does not help mammal sightings? At that point, we were discussing Community Conserved Areas ( CCA ) in Nagaland and exploring potential sources of income for the people who are the custodians of the amazingly rich biodiversity in these areas. A few weeks later, we found ourselves rev...

Do not much wonder on what the reason is but the last few days I have been - kind of - talking to self of you. More than a few times, have I told mumi that you would have said this or done that in a particular situation.  One day, out of nowhere, I wondered on how special you made me feel. As I revisit the moment I realize there was no before, no after and no reason; just the thought. The other day mumi prepared a dish which you loved and I felt, no – wanted is the correct word, you to pull it towards your plate for a refill. Chatting with mumi on going out for a walk in what she was wearing then; I told her that while she agreed you would have, in her place, got excited and asked how it would appear! Putting back the Sherlock Holmes Omnibus on the rack, the other day, I was reminded of how you were a tad displeased on my having got the book on my birthday; as opposed to a box of sweets.  I still savour both equally! Around a month ago as I walked along the r...

An edited version of the piece below finds place in SAEVUS; May 2014.  Thanks are due to Saevus, Sree and Sudarshana. Indebted to Dampa Tiger Reserve,  Pu Tlana, Jhony, Joseph and Zakhuma besides many others in the landscape who shared time, awareness and tea. Marauding oil-palms Dampa Tiger Reserve in Mizoram is arguably one of the older and yet lesser-known Tiger Reserves in the region. As you read this, it faces a threat like few others. Is it one of the usual suspects: Hunting? Shifting-cultivation? Dams? No. This time the offender is deceptively green - or should I say - oil that appears green . This comes at a time when camera-trapping exercises have revealed the splendour of its wildlife wealth to be not only intact but also on the rise and the field-director has titled his endearingly drafted piece – Dampa: Out of the Woods? The highly diverse forests in the villages that constitute the Dampa Tiger Reserve and are a crucial habitat for all t...

Grand Delusions A Short biography of Kolkata Indrajit Hazra Aleph Book Company 2013 Me The first 6 years of my life in Calcutta have ensured that I remain positively biased for the rest to follow. To this day I am a Flury’s fan; such that the Flury’s counter in Hyderabad is one reason that encourages me to brave the evening traffic. Some lines we read stay with us; for some reason or for no reason. This I read a long ago, don’t remember where but has stayed on since –‘ During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s in Calcutta we had nothing to do and the whole day to do it in’ . Coming to this book - After a longish while read a book where I was keen to absorb all that the page I was then on had to offer and simultaneously was also anxious to read the next page. I wanted to go quick but ensure that I miss nothing as well. Cover Book reviews Khaleej Times The Indian Express Bookgeeks.in Five interesting and random lines from the book.  ...

The Book Butterflies  On the Roof of the World ~ A Memoir ~ Peter Smetacek Aleph Book Company 2012 The Cover A snippet from the book. The interesting thing is that the leaf mimics not only have a shape and a wing pattern that resemble leaves, but they even behave appropriately. If an Oakleaf, or a Peacock Pansy ( Junonia almana ) is disturbed, it will dash into a thicket, where it will either settle on a twig in the shade or on the ground amid dead leaves. There it will keep very still until it is satisfied that the danger has passed. If the danger, in the form of a lepidopterist or a bird, follows up, it will wait until the hunter has got quite close, keeping up the deception as it sits among the leaves. While one is searching, there will be a sudden flash of orange and blue, or orange in the case of the Pansy, and the butterfly will be off at high speed before dashing into another bush. This strategy is called flash coloration. The idea is tha...

 ~  A Note of mine that finds place in JBNHS 110 (2); May - August 2013 ~ ~ Many thanks to BNHS ~ ~ Images and video are from Mizoram but not mentioned in the note ~ THE HOOLOCK GIBBON HOOLOCK HOOLOCK IN SAIHA, MIZORAM, INDIA: HISTORICAL RECORDS, RECENT SIGHTINGS AND CONSERVATION ISSUES Introduction The Hoolock Gibbon Hoolock hoolock occurs in the westernmost extreme of the distribution of the 16 gibbon species currently recognized (Geissmann 2007; Kakati et al. 2009). Its range between the Brahmaputra and Chindwin rivers encompasses three countries – Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar (Groves 1967). It is the only ape represented in the Indian subcontinent (Geissmann et al. 2009). The species has been on the list of the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates since 2006 (Walker et al. 2007), with the global population estimated to be about 5,000 animals, of which 2,600 to 4,450 are in India (Choudhury 2006; Molur et al . 2005) and about 200 in Bangladesh (Ka...

Silences Silences as if meander and beacon Far amidst pleasant empty shades A sleight of thought As if brings forth sunlight Am I at the cusp of change in life? ** Chalte Chalte Din me aasman ke khulepan ko mehsus karna Raat me animesh ho ke taare dekhna ~ dekhte rehna Kabhi shaant rehna Kabhi saanate ki awaaz ko sunna ~ sunte rehna Baaithe baithe kho jana Chalte chalte in sab ko apne me sametna ~ chalte rehna Bas chalte rehna ~ **

Across the Chicken Neck – Travels in Northeast India Nandita Haksar Rainlight RUPA 2013 Share some snippets from different parts she moved along – some on account of their pertinent questions and some my bias towards forests. Some words that describe the book Pluses Well-researched, gives a feel of the region, puts forth facts without fear ~ Minuses Amateurish at points, too much of 'I' factor, can do with editing ~ Nagaland Around me I see many tourists, Indian and Western, furiously taking photographs of the cultural troupes. What strikes a discordant note is that all the hundreds of photographers and tourists, not a single one bothers to pause and speak to any of the dancers. No one seems to want to hear their stories, to share their concerns, or to understand the difficulty of keeping alive a culture which has lost much of its meaning under the onslaught of organized religion. I am also disgusted by how the officers of the Indian s...