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

I had read of the proposal to construct homes in the Osmania University Campus but for some strange reason it did not hit me till I talked of it over phone with a friend; that it would take a part of the campus away. After I put the phone away I wondered on how the campus has – since more than a year – been an integral part of my life in Secunderabad. Silly enough, for a while after I moved to Hyderabad was not aware to staying so near to the campus. The Campus. More than a year of walking and I continue to discover fresh-for-me paths, small temples, neat dargahs and more in the campus. This week’s addition has been the Deer Park. ( A case report in Zoos Print published during 1999 says that 10 deer were introduced in the 24 hectare demarcated area in 1990 and during 1999 the deer population was 90+ ). It today lies abandoned. New buildings slowly raise their presence amidst existing brilliant architecture and houses – many of which lie uncared for. Open spaces, some of th...

Kullu and Naggar Nimesh Ved Published by The Alternative on 20th August 2015. We move towards Autt from Gushaini simultaneously charged and exhausted from our trek in the Great Himalayan National Park ( GHNP ). Here we put up at a fairly basic hotel that lies amidst the stretch of shops which constitute the Autt market. An evening walk in the market had us pick up walnuts and red kidney beans to take back home and apples to eat; each of these local, fresh and delicious. When we returned to the hotel we saw the hotel manager in exactly the same position that we had seen him when we left; busy playing teen-patti ( card-game ) online. Reach of the mobile-phone based internet and uses people put it to has been a mind-boggling phenomenon. As one travels, one learns more of one’s own country people. Not being able to contact the person we had planned to meet, we dropped the idea of going to Shimla . We would instead go to Kullu, the morning next, for Dushera celebration. D...

** Cradling on the tracks, Getting lost in thoughts, Memories of days long gone, Open eyed dreams of those to come, Shutting off world, when in laps of those near and dear, Staring at all around, from within nature’s lap, Rekindling the art of doing nothing, Knowing a bit more of my country as I move. ** No tabs, laptops, fancy phones, people trying to look important, Such a difference as one moves to the more interesting class, Open windows and meals with unknown, Few years ago most of us moved this way, Today, only a handful see it as an option, I wonder why ** She comes to sell toys as the train moves across a reserve forest, I wonder if I could buy one or two toys, Like the newspaper I buy in evenings if stuck at the traffic signal, For the seller and not to read, She carries sharp features and a baby, Passes again after a while – tone more pleading, One of those who owned and lived amidst untamed lands, Got only this from devel...

The Vanishing Herds The Wild Water Buffalo Anwarudddin Choudhury Gibbon Books and The Rhino Foundation for Nature in North East India 2010 Wild Water Buffalo brings forth two memories. One was the first clear sighting at Kaziranga - along the highway - with a friend. Recall staring at its magnificence in silence for more than few minutes; we did not stop as much for the Asian Elehpant or the Indian Rhinoceros. The horns seemed ‘unreal’. Second is its popping up in discussions during Baghmara days. Locals mentioned of Rewak being the place where Wild Water Buffalo used to occur and the only place in Garo Hills where it was common and a senior forest department official had shared – more than once - of his having seen a herd of 20 some years back on the plateau in Balpakram NP. This query on Garo Hills is addressed in the book. ‘A bull was ordered by the authorities to be shot dead for killing human beings near Rewak in present South Garo Hills district in 1935...

A Pocket Guide to the Birds of Meghalaya Anwaruddin Choudhury Gibbon Pocket Guides The Rhino Foundation for Nature in North East India 2014 Book Each of the species enlisted is accompanied by an alphabet indicating its status (eg: u = uncommon). Sketches, local names and images are present for some species. Select species also bear notes - like the Tawny-breasted Wren Babbler and the Grey Sibia. There are few lines on each of the bird families. The book also brings in old i.e. British era data which increases the richness; specimens collected from across Meghalaya. Basic information is present on Protected Areas, Important Bird Areas and even places one could stay at. Bibliography could be of interest to people interested in the state. Few people know the region like the author and with his vast experience he is able to bring our pointers like – Some Key Birding Sights. As one reads one gets an idea of his abnormally high level of familiarity with the reg...

The Beautiful and the Damned Life in New India Siddhartha Deb   2011 Penguin Viking The book -  Is a breezy read shaped in a non preachy tone - Talks about multiple India’s and brings out the starkness – the India and Bharat story is not just a press creation but a stark reality - Shares author’s experiences and interactions at multiple locations with people from separate / unconnected backgrounds – bringing it out as a widespread phenomenon - Highlights how more and more of us know less and less of our country – and care even less for / are oblivious to the India(s) other than one in which we dwell - Makes one question development and globalization - one wonders what people mean when they say development - and why so many people want it -  Interestingly jumps from page 27 to 71 – on account of a case filed by The Indian Institute of Planning and Management – an issue the band on the jacket conveys in bright colour -  ...

On a lovely late winter morning four of us were moving within the Dampa Tiger Reserve when we stopped to observe the possible contours of a proposed ‘development’ action. This was between Phaileng and Phuldungsui ( appx 250 mtrs before the Varihaw anti poaching camp ) near Keipuizel ( place where - years ago - tiger has been sighted crossing the road ). As I enjoy - doing in Mizoram - I took one kuwa ( betel-net ) and began loitering up and down the winding road. All of a sudden my eyes fell on a carcass. I excitedly requested others to join. We clicked images ( with the photographer and carcass in varying positions ), tried to measure the carcass, made attempts to put the ‘mammal book’ and note-pad to good use yet were not sure on exact species. But, like the proverbial four wise men who had come across the elephant, we had observations and questions on the carcass. First the questions: Was it a road kill? Can this have been eaten by a Clouded Leopard ( Kelral )...