Nature’s Layers Unravelled – Encounters with birds, beasts, and relatives
Today, January 7, is the birth anniversary of Gerald Durrell, beloved author to some, and to others a path-breaking conservationist who changed the flavour of the word ‘zoo’. I have been inspired by Durrell for most of my life, although circumstances (and a general lack of guts and initiative) have…
As a child, they could not keep me from wells And old pumps with buckets and windlasses. I loved the dark drop, the trapped sky, the smells Of waterweed, fungus and dank moss. ~ Seamus Heaney I vividly remember the first time a bore well was dug on our fields.…
A walk on the beach can yield untold treasures The beach on a wet, windswept day Most people pick seashells on the seashore, and there’s that old tongue-twirler about some old sheila selling them, too. Often, it’s the smelliest, filthiest beaches littered with landmines of human dung that offer the…
A natural portrait of an owl and a squirrel is when the latter is in the claws of the former. Owls and owlets are generally fond of rodents, and squirrels do fall under their diet regime. Strangely though, I have witnessed squirrels quite often in and around owl territories. And…
With the Sundarbans of Bangladesh behind her, Jennifer Nandi explores the Sundarbans of West Bengal, India. Political boundaries, she finds, are not the only dividing line between the two nations. Beginning her journey at Kolkata, she despairs at the atmosphere of abject neglect and callousness… It is hard to believe that…
Sparrows on the wood weighing scale Sparrows dust-bathing in a boat A Blue Rock Pigeon drinks of its reflection A White-throated Kingfisher brightens the clutter Bank Mynas inspect a priest’s wares A Bank Myna surveys its domain Even paradise takes prisoners, like this parakeet Monkey business as usual – and…
One does not usually associate birding with Varanasi’s riverfront. This ancient and holy city, which is amongst the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth, is crowded, filthy, crassly commercial, oozes religiosity, garishly dressed up, loud, endlessly fascinating, photogenic, friendly, unpretentious and very often sublimely beautiful — even spiritual. Bird life…
In the fifth and final episode of her travelogue, Jennifer Nandi comes away admiring the simplicity of Bangladesh country life A village pond with a mugger/ marsh crocodile JANUARY 7, 2010 We come away from Bangladesh with an impress free from agitation of mind or spirit. This glowing effect devoid…
In July, I travelled to the Maldives with a rock band that I worked with. We stayed at Club Faru, about 20 minutes by speedboat from the main island of Male. After finishing work on our second day, I discovered that I had five days more to do nothing —…
Antlions are far more menacing as larvae: their pits are death traps for ants and small insects and can offer kids many hours of macabre entertainment
Despite the many natural treasures they harbour, the Sundarbans are most famous — and notorious — for the creature that dominates the food chain. In the fourth episode of her Sundarbans travelogue in Bangladesh, Jennifer Nandi has a brush with the Royal Bengal Tiger. Fishermen lay lines to collect crab…
The Indian Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo bengalensis) is a sub-species of the Eurasian Eagle Owl, formerly known as the Indian Rock Eagle owl. My first run-in with this enigmatic bird was near Mysore’s well-known landmark – Chamundi Hills. My friend saw him sitting on a tree near a quarry, and…
We have been treated to an extended northeast monsoon here in Bangalore. And every now and then I am presented with pleasant surprises. A few recent moth sightings. Identification help is greatly appreciated. Tiny, with neat peachy-fawn and black coloration (indoors) The same chap, pictured on my wrist (indoors) Leopard…
I was inspired to start an occasional Wordless Wednesday post by Gallicissa. Indian Roller (Coracias benghalensis) Green Bee Eater (Merops orientalis) (Photographs: Bijoy Venugopal) The Green Ogre – Birds, Wildlife, Ecology and Nature notes from India.
The brickmaking industry gradually converts fertile fields into sterile lands. Here’s how it’s done… Sarus Cranes take flight outside a brick kiln in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district As a kid when I used to take a bus to go outside the village, usually to Kanpur, the brick chimneys were…
