NatureNib
Published in Press
My writing right with insight and passion has rightfully borne 700 articles on ecological issues in the pages of newspapers, magazines and websites…
Hyderabad: Sanjeevaiah Park, where birds and blooms create morning melodies
More than a recreational space, Sanjeevaiah Park located at the edge of Hyderabad’s Hussain Sagar, is a haven of biodiversity. Snugly located at the edge of Hyderabad’s Hussain Sagar Lake, Sanjeevaiah Park is a sprawling 90-acre green sanctuary offering respite from urban life. More than a recreational space, it is a haven of biodiversity where flora and fauna harmonise in a symphony of nature creating morning melodies. The shimmering waters of Hussain Sagar embrace the peninsular pied of landscape, almost like an island of oasis with an orchestra at play.
Book Review: Living with Birds – Tribute to India’s avian wonders and the call for conservation
The book goes beyond being a mere documentation of bird species. It’s a profound meditation on the interconnectedness of all life forms, underscoring the delicate balance of ecosystems. Living with Birds by Dr. Asad Rahmani is a soul-stirring slice of life to the avian wonders of the natural world. A renowned ornithologist, Rahmani’s narrative bridges the gap between rigorous science and heartfelt personal reflections, inviting readers to immerse themselves in a life lived close to birds. His prose is as vibrant as the plumage of the creatures he so passionately describes, blending ecological insights with anecdotes that resonate deeply with professional and casual bird-watchers alike.
Hyderabad’s Aasheesh Pittie wins prestigious H.H. Bloomer Award for contributions to ornithology
The award honors exceptional contributions to biological knowledge by amateur naturalists—and in Pittie’s case, it acknowledges a life devoted to birds, literature, and community engagement. Aasheesh Pittie, a self-taught ornithologist from Hyderabad, has soared to international acclaim as the recipient of the prestigious H.H. Bloomer Award for 2025, presented by the Linnean Society of London.
Opinion: Spotted saviours of ecosystems and urban balance
Leopard-human conflict is not just a predator problem — it is a symptom of our developmental disease. In the heart of Mumbai’s concrete sprawl, Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivali stands as an extraordinary sanctuary — not only for flora and fauna but for one of the world’s most adaptable big cats: the leopard. These urban leopards, numbering around three dozen, have carved out a remarkable existence within the park’s 100 square kilometres.
Rewind: Charismatic Chambal in crisis
Once regarded as wasteland, this Protected Area since the late 1970s, faces severe threats on several fronts. She is beautifully built with an aerodynamic body, and agile and smooth wings that slice through the air with elegance, sports a black skull cap as if to keep off the sun, has a contrasting white body with black wings and a bizarre beak that is bright reddish-orange. She is the original ‘Bandit Queen’ with a stiff upper lip, inhabiting the river in the ravines of National Chambal Sanctuary. I am talking about the endangered bird, the Indian skimmer because there are no more see-through rivers for these birds to fish competently. Also called the Scissors-bill, the Indian skimmer, has a bewildering beak, designed by evolution, with a long lower ‘lip’ and a much shorter upper ‘lip’. This lower-lip pout is put to effective use by deftly flying parallel to the water surface and ploughing the water to snap up fish. A specialist feeder, the skimmer needs clean, calm waters of slow-moving rivers like the tranquil Chambal to survive.
A temple of silence amid chaos of Hyderabad
White Lotus Day is observed on 8th May, as a commemoration within the Theosophical Society across 70 countries, honouring Helena Blavatsky who passed away on this date in 1891. The 120-year-old inspiring structure of the Hyderabad Theosophical Society was gifted to the society by Pestonji Dossa. At the sacred crossroads where Abids folds into Koti, Hyderabad’s bustling artery of trade and memory, there stands a hushed sentinel at Hanuman Tekdi, overlooking the city’s unfolding narrative. Here, cradled between time-worn streets and the urgency of modernity, the 120-year-old building of the Theosophical Society rests like a hidden prayer. This is no ordinary structure of stone and lime — it is a sanctum, a vessel of spirit, echoing with the footsteps of seekers and sages, and the ageless murmur of truth.
Rewind: Saving Sarus
Will the non-migratory sarus crane, which now mostly survives by the scruff of the neck, thrive together with the rustic folk? Located a mere 70 km from the Delhi border, the Dhanauri Wetlands in NCR-Greater Noida offer a conducive habitat for the tallest flying birds in the world, the sarus cranes. If one is lucky, on any given day on a hot summer evening, there can be over 100 sarus cranes in a communal roost jostling for space in the lake waters, a rare but splendid spectacle of crane culture.
Rewind: Riddle of the Ridleys
The just-gone-by World Turtle Day on May 23 was a reminder to get our act together and protect the gentle giants of the ocean. She was sweet seventeen, pregnant but she floated effortlessly, adrift in the warm waters off the east coast of India. In the slanting rays of the sinking sun, oblivious to the sky that was ablaze with a golden glow, the olive ridleysea turtle was eagerly waiting for darkness to envelop her. She was going to be a mother for the first time and would breed many more times in her life span of over 100 years. Stealth was not her intention as she waited in the sea waters 700 yards from the sandy beach at the mouth of the Rushikulya River in Odisha. A few yards away, another female turtle joined her, then a third, followed by a dozen, then hundreds and thousands. They gradually gathered in the Bay of Bengal for a colossal hen party, instinctively following an uncanny ritual that happens in the dead of the night.
Rewind: Living with Leopards
The diminishing population of leopards serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between nature and human development. In the dying daylight, a dazzling delight developed as slanting sunrays lit up the dappled pelt of a female leopard. The golden glow on the leopard’s healthy hide was enhanced as she lay sprawled atop a rocky outcrop surrounded by the lush green jungles of Bandipur National Park in Karnataka. By the time, I positioned and pointed my heavy zoom lens camera towards the animal, it swiftly slithered away into the jungle. A few years ago too in Ranthambore National Park of Rajasthan, just as our gypsy entered Zone-4, a leopard was basking in the warm winter sun, lethargically resting and perfectly camouflaged on a large boulder. This time, I managed to take a few high-speed shots before it detected my presence and vanished into the bushes.
Rewind: Tiger, Tiger burning bright …in Ranthambore
Tracking and tackling the big cat in its kingdom on undulating topography is often a game of immense patience. Tracking the tiger in the wild timberland is a tantalising task and with tenacity to see the big cat in the jungles, we set out for an adrenaline-rush adventure to the Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR). The scorching tropical Indian summer heat was hovering at 44 degrees celsius as if the forest was on fire.
