The Wandering Cloud I See

Before I begin, I  would  like to apologize for an excruciating long delay in posting any new post. As a kid, I was always fascinated by animals, plants etc. I would often be found observing butterflies or lost in the natural wonders of birds. My parents had a very tough time trying to keep me away from snakes. For me I wanted a life where I could be with animals and plants all day long. Back then I was unaware that there was a career with animals. Being in wilderness was all I wanted. Gradually it dawned on me that I can be a wildlife researcher and conservationist and that way I can be in wilderness all my life! My field site in peninsular India                                   Black-shouldered kite Here I am a PhD Candidate, studying birds in shrub forests, trying to see how birds see a forest and what they prefer in the forest. I get to walk in forest all day long! Cl...

This is the story of a man from India who defied the world! This is the story of  Jadav "Molai" Payeng, from Jorhat, Assam, North-eastern India. 1979 floods struck North-eastern India's Assam. However when the flood receded the large number of snakes that were washed on to the sandbar by the flood were stranded. The heat finally got to the stranded snakes! Jadav barely 16 then upon seeing the carnage, sat down and wept over lifeless forms of those reptiles. However for Jadav the story did not end there. He soon realized that the helpless snakes were victim of the missing tree / plant cover as they could not seek refuge in shade to escape heat.  He went on to alert the forest officials. He asked them if they could grow trees over the sandbar. He was told that nothing could grow on that sandbar and asked him if he could try and grow bamboo over there. Guess what! He did! He did it alone!  In his own words "It was painful, there was no one to help...

As kids I would often fight with my brother over the topic: Who was the favorite of our mother? It sounds kiddish, Now I would often pass those thoughts off laughing.  However the other day while I was walking down the memory lane and there were a few thoughts about conservation bouncing about in my head, the question struck me all over again...   The same question over which I fought with my brother. The same question that made me laugh and pass it off as kids passing obsession. The same question this time struck me with a force greater than that of a lighting bolt!    We humans are doing the same... We have taken the same question to a whole new level and dimension. Is it some weird obsession or some fanatic behavior.  Since ancient times we have considered Earth as our Mother. However we soon became fixated at the thought: Mother loves us (humans) more than her other children and hence her gifts are only for us and not for anyone else....

These are some images from web... They all talk about Conservation...  

What if you wake up one day only to realize that your most cherished dream was destroyed!  I see my dream of sustainability and conservation being destroyed bit by bit!  I see my mother, Earth writhe in pain and suffer everyday! I see the right to life- being snatched away I see myself die everyday, I see my mother-Earth shiver in dismay! We believe that World will take care of itself! The World is infinite  or  The World is enough for Everyone's need not greed!  How do we define Everyone? How do we differentiate between need and greed? If we look at the human population growth curve below, we find that the human population has exploded in recent times at an unprecedented rate! (Source: citizenactionmonitor.wordpress.com ) In 1960 there was a Scientific Paper published in "Science" : " Doomsday: Friday 13th November, A.D. 2026, at this rate human population will reach infinity if it grows as it has gr...

"If we are the most intellectual beings that has ever walked on the planet how come we are the only ones destroying that planet"  -Dr. Jane Goodall I have watched this documentary "Jane's Journey" based on life of Dr. Jane Goodall twice in two days and each time there was something new, strong passionate! As a kid I grew up with news all around me  Only 1311 Tigers left! Elephants killed in an accident with train! Rhinos being poached! A leopard that strayed in a city- Killed! I would become more and more desperate upon hearing such news. I would share my desperation with others but that only made it worse as everyone seemed to believe "it is inevitable that everything will be lost! We are all just trying to slow it down." I would wonder often why?  They say "We have not inherited Earth from our forefathers, we have borrowed it from our children" but borrowing means there is a pay back! We did not borrow we stole E...

I found this letter standing out in waste paper basket, curious me picked it up and read it. Shaken was I, I did not  have any words. I quietly walked back to my lab and sat in silence. The Letter goes like this: Dear Human, Imagine that, little by little, your home was taken away from you. The forests and mountains where you once roamed freely disappeared, replaced by by roads and concrete buildings. What if politicians in suits, someplace far away, decided your fate... decided that you, your family, your friends and your neighbors became a nuisance-- a menace-- to those who had invaded your home. And so now you must die. Imagine these politicians rallying for your slaughter... ignoring what science has told them, encouraging citizens to hunt you down and kill you. Imagine your family under attack. Defenseless, with nowhere left to hide, you must dodge bullets from ground and sky, just to find food for yourself and your young children. Imagine that in one...

Irishman Mark Boyle tried to live life with no income, no bank balance and no spending. Here’s how he finds it. " If someone told me seven years ago, in my final year of a business and economics degree, that I’d now be living without money, I’d have probably choked on my microwaved ready meal. The plan back then was to get a ‘good’ job, make as much money as possible, and buy the stuff that would show society I was successful. For a while I did it – I had a fantastic job managing a big organic food company; had myself a yacht on the harbour. If it hadn’t been for the chance purchase of a video called  Gandhi , I’d still be doing it today. Instead, for the last fifteen months, I haven’t spent or received a single penny. Zilch. The change in life path came one evening on the yacht whilst philosophising with a friend over a glass of merlot. Whilst I had been significantly influenced by the Mahatma’s quote “be the change you want to see in the world”, ...

My Mother I read pre-history and see earth that was there, I see images of the beauty, I see life. Mighty roar to chirping birds inflight laughter, love and eternal glow of smile I see present, I see the shadow of the past, dark clouds of human ignorance the darkness of the rigid belief forests being cut, animals being killed greed and hunger pain and suffering to reside scared am I scared am I for the future of earth and life... In her I do reside, Earth- My Mother-My life.                                                                                 ...