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

This post shares a piece published in Deccan Herald on 20 th October 2015. Thanks are due to Anitha Pailoor, Deccan Herald , Dharmendra Khandal , Firoz Ahmed and Priya Singh . Reports of a golf course coming up in the township of the Numaligarh Refinery Limited in Numaligarh near Kaziranga National Park in Assam created ripples and troubled many; some also regarded it as one of the ‘regular’ depressing news on the wildlife conservation front. Why - one wonders though - does a Miniratna Public Sector Unit need an arena for a sport usually associated with the elite, that too within a ‘No Development Zone’. Golf courses are ‘infamous’ for their water guzzling abilities; an average 18 hole course’s annual water consumption can fill up approximately 130 – 140 Olympic sized swimming pools. To add fuel to the proverbial fire, pesticides are applied in golf courses at higher concentrations than almost any other type of land; and their extensive use could contaminate waterways and d...

The Heat and Dust Project: The broke couple’s guide to Bharat Devapriya Roy & Saurav Jha HarperCollins Publishers: 2015 Book and its pluses The first time I read of the book it came like a breath of fresh air with its stress on a lower budget ( and as a corollary – in most cases – lower carbon foot-print ). Especially when, all around, one comes across avenues to spend more. The second time I read of the book I got a picture of the book being about a couple’s trip. Which it is; but it is also about much more. It acquaints us with the past and present of authors and the places, it tells us of people in these places, bonds developed during travel and excitement – challenges – perks of travelling on a budget and more. G K Chesterton wrote: Traveler sees what he sees and a tourist sees what he goes to see. This is, by all means, a lovely travel narrative. Authors walk the streets, move in buses, climb hills, have meals and conversations with locals eat at s...

This post shares a piece which appears in Sanctuary Asia – October 2015 issue - Mountain Musings.  We stands for Arpan and I. The trek - like most that is good in life -happened by chance and we have since been on a trek in GHNP again! Thanks and more thanks are due to Sanju (and colleagues) for being together along the treks and bearing our eccentricities, Stephan and team at Himalayan Ecotourism for enabling the trek and Sanjeeva Pandey for GHNP as it is and more. One after another, six Himalayan Vultures came into view as we sat in the large balcony of a small hotel adjacent to the river. They kept close to the hill side, appearing exceptionally stunning against the blue sky. The vultures did not perch even once in the half an hour that we spent watching them, more than once adjusting our own positions to their movements. I felt as if I could lie on my back and watch them soar for all eternity. They seemed to share that sense of freedom; a longing for great expanse...

Joining the Dots Text and Photographs: Nimesh Ved and Swati Chaliha We are indebted to the people of Ungma and Longsa, and the DGZ committee for bearing our ignorance and teaching us of forests during those very wonderful days and – of course - for the very lovely pineapples. Thanks are due to friends at NEPED for sharing of Nagaland, the energies and humour. Colleagues at FES we thank for being together and for presenting the opportunity. This piece appears in the July – September 2015 issue of Hornbill ( BNHS ). Twice on the first day, the dilemma posed to us was whether we should take the tar road that snaked along the path, albeit a little further from where we had figured out the boundary lay, or cut our way through the wild growth. In both cases, after deliberation, we decided that the easier path was not the one best taken, and cut through the forest. We were walking the boundary of a Community Conserved Area (CCA) in Mokokchung district, Nagaland. CCAs are...

Some thoughts on Muzaffarnagar Baaqi Hai I moved out to the street – in heavy slow steps – and called up the number I had not answered as the film was being screened. Other end: How was the film? Me: Disturbing. Other end: Audience? Me: Room was full, more people than chairs and no one either talked on the phone or went out. Other end: Did anyone disturb the screening? Problems have been reported from Delhi. Me: No. We were to discuss conservation education but it was kind of difficult task after one had heard of people being cut, killed and burnt. As I sat in the bus, I wondered on saving wildlife when human life had very little value. I was returning home after attending a screening of Nakul Singh Sawhney’s Muzaffarnagar Baaki Hai at Lamakaan. The screening had been disrupted few weeks ago at Delhi and 25 th August was the date for screenings at multiple locations across our country. Lamakaan is an inclusive cultural space that promotes and presents the ...

Pleased to share link to the piece which finds place in the Hindu Sunday Magazine Many thanks to The Hindu. The unedited version I share below. Last Sunday I  got an opportunity to attend a concert on Hindustani Classical music at a Club. Brilliant performers had the audience enthralled at the excellent venue. As we moved out of the hall for refreshments I noticed tea being served in disposable plastic cups. For a club which is elite enough to continue, some of, its ‘Days of the Raj’ practices and stress on a dress-code, surely lack of cutlery could not be an issue. I eves-dropped, as I moved, and heard not one voice talking about it; it just was not a concern. I shared of this ‘something being out of place and wrong’ feeling to the person standing next to me and was pointed to the disposable plastic glasses for water! Neither the club nor patrons had any qualms in using disposable plastic cups and adding to our collective trash; one that we have no idea of disposing...