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(August 25, 2021) By Sourabha Rao  Entropy. Perhaps it does not have to be dreadful a realisation that all this is going to decline into nothingness. For after all, can we even fathom nothingness? Perhaps it is that very possibility that brings value and beauty to what is now, here. Would we truly value something that would come with the promise of eternity? Does a part of us savour that rather perverse joy of that hunt – to value and worship something, sometimes above onese...

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(August 02, 2021) Here’s the fourth part of our ‘Birds of Chopta’ series – with the following seven birds and poems dedicated to each one of them. We hope you enjoy it.   Poems by Sourabha Rao. Photo courtesy shared below each image.     1. Speckled wood-pigeon     © Hemant Vashista     for now, there is a tree, and a pigeon the tree, mute and rooted that sense of assurance that only a tree can give the bird, lig...

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(July 29, 2021) Written by Sourabha Rao Phrases that convey something to the effect of ‘reconnecting with nature’ often seem poignant. Not because there are metaphorical allusions or poeticism for us to consider, but because they somehow seem to presuppose that it’s a connection that we are capable of severing. Especially for those of us dwelling in cities, getting away from the din into the lap of mountains or the verdant depths of rainforests, plunging into a river for a swim or going o...

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(July 05, 2021) ಕನ್ನಡಾನುವಾದ: ಸೌರಭಾ ರಾವ್ಜಗತ್ತಿನೆಲ್ಲೆಡೆ ಮನುಷ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿಗಳು ಸ್ಥಳ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಪನ್ಮೂಲಗಳನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ವಿವಿಧ ರೀತಿಗಳು ಇಬ್ಬರ ನಡುವಿನ ಸಂಕೀರ್ಣವಾದ, ಬಲವಾದ ಸಂಬಂಧವನ್ನು ಮತ್ತು ಅದರ ನಿರಂತರತೆಯನ್ನು ಇತಿಹಾಸದುದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ದೃಢಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಬಂದಿವೆ. ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದ ವಾರ್ಲಿ ಬುಡಕಟ್ಟು ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ಇಂತಹ ಸಂಬಂಧವು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಮಾರ್ಜಾಲದ ರೂಪದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ವಾಘೋಬಾ ಎಂಬ ದೈವವಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಕಟವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಹುಲಿ ಮತ್ತು ಚಿರತೆ ಎರಡೂ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳ ಲಕ್ಷಣಗಳನ್ನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ವಾಘೋಬಾ ಇವೇ ಮಾರ್ಜಾಲಗಳಿಂದ ರಕ್ಷಣೆ ನೀಡುವ ಶಕ್ತಿ ಎಂದು ವಾರ್ಲಿ ಜನ ಪೂಜಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ. 'ಶೇರಿಂಗ್ ಸ್ಪೇಸಸ್ ಅಂಡ್ ಎಂಟ್ಯಾನ್ಗಲ್ಮೆಂಟ್ಸ್  ...

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(June 21, 2021) Here’s the third part of our ‘Birds of Chopta’ series – with these seven birds and some poetry dedicated to each one of them. We hope you enjoy it.Poems by Sourabha Rao. Photo courtesy shared below each image.1. Grey-winged blackbird© Manavendra Sahyou wonder why, for some of usblack is grief, mourning, evil and even deathhere’s an orange bill and a smear of grey on wingslike a heart-rending attempt to make up for our own misreadingsa blackbird is now only beau...

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(June 07, 2021) War and armed civil strife are a cause of widespread human suffering. But armed conflicts also pose a significant but under-recognised threat to thousands of mammal and bird species, according to a new study published in the journal, Conservation Letters. The study was conducted by researchers from Wildlife Conservation Society-India (WCS-India), Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and Panthera, by analysing maps of regions of armed conflicts, species geogra...

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(June 03, 2021) By Sourabha RaoSometimes, all it takes to make a world of difference to an entire community is a man of principles. This is a conversation with one such man from a little hamlet called Joida in Karnataka that, in his time as a student, did not even have a degree college or public transportation. And from such a little town, he went on to become the first person in his community to earn a Ph.D.Meet Dr. Jayanand Derekar, who has been actively involved with us in conservation work across the Mysore...

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(May 31, 2021) (ಮುಂದುವರೆದ ಭಾಗ…) ಲೇಖಕರು: ಸತೀಶ ಗಣೇಶ ನಾಗಠಾಣ ದಂಡಕಾರಣ್ಯದ ಸುತ್ತ ಚಲಿಸುವ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗಳು! (ಭಯ, ಕೂತುಹಲ, ಹಾಸ್ಯ) ಎಷ್ಟೊಂದು ಚಳಿ ಇದೆ ಇವತ್ತು ಅಬ್ಬಾ! ಮೈ ಕೊರೆಯುವಂತಹ ಚಳಿ, ಇಂತಹ ಚಳಿ ಮೈಯಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಕ್ಕಿದ್ದರಿಂದ ಗಡಗಡ ನಡಗುತ್ತ ಮಾಡುವ ನೃತ್ಯ ನೋಡೋರ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಹಾಸ್ಯ ಉಂಟು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಂತೂ ಸತ್ಯ. ಅದೋ ಬ್ರಹ್ಮಗಿರಿ ವನ್ಯಜೀವಿ ಅರಣ್ಯಧಾಮ ಶೋಲಾ ಕಾಡುಗಳಿಂದ ಆವರಿಸಿದ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕಾನನ. ಈ ಶೋಲಾ ಕಾಡುಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುವ ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸು, ಉತ್ಸುಕತೆ ಎಲ್ಲರಲ್ಲಿ ಮನೆ ಮಾಡಿತ್ತು. ಒಂದರ್ಥದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳುವುದಾದರೆ ಮೈ ಜುಮ್ಮೆನ್ನಿಸುವ ರಮಣೀಯ ಸ್ವರ್ಗ ಅಂತಲೇ ಹೇಳಬಹುದು. ನಿತ್ಯ ಹರಿದ್ವರ್ಣದ ಮತ್ತು...

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(May 24, 2021) Interview by Sourabha Rao When artists are brimming with love and respect for nature and its many marvels, when art revels in the artist’s humility, the joy that spreads through human creativity will know no bounds. This singular joy that stems from Earth’s beauty will bring the misty realms of Hokkaido, the vast and stunning savannahs of Africa, the sprawling salt plains of Kutch, the mysterious depths of Corbett to an eager beholder’s receptive mind and heart, and then t...

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(May 20, 2021) Article curated by: Samriddha GhoshEvery year since 2018, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the Slovenian beekeeper Anton Jansa (1734-1773), the pioneer of modern beekeeping, May 20th is celebrated as ‘World Bee Day’ across the globe to raise awareness about the significance of bees and beekeeping. These tiny buzzing hymenopteran insects display eusociality, which is the highest level of organisation of sociality amongst living animals. They have unique haplodiploid breedin...

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