Right after the monsoon spell, the coastlines of India’s western states, from Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa to Karnataka, are lined with dark, sticky balls. These are tarballs, a “seasonal phenomena”…
Refinery prakalp, yei Kokanat ho, kara virodh virodh, kara virodha.(The refinery project that’s arriving in Konkan, let’s oppose, let’s oppose.) This was the festive chant ringing door-to-door across villages in…
Conservationists have raised concerns after the Maharashtra government gave a go-ahead for the translocation of tigers within the state, from Chandrapur district to the Navegaon Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR). This…
Sunil Patil, a farmer from Chikhali, a village in Maharashtra's Kolhapur has three buffaloes and seven cows, producing an average of 100 litres of milk per day. However, since 2018,…
In 2018, activist Gopal Jhaveri in Mumbai, discovered that four coconut trees in his area, Borivali, had been poisoned by miscreants to achieve a clear view for an advertisement hoarding.…
Dinesh Gole is an artisan working from Pen, a small town, around 110 kilometres away from Pune in Maharashtra, where he makes idols of the Hindu god Ganesha. These idols…
In the remote Gadchiroli district in eastern Maharashtra, residents curiously look up to the sky, as quadcopters, commonly known as drones, hover over their villages and surrounding forests. The drones…
The Konkan region, along India’s west coast, has been a tourist attraction for several years now. Nestled between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, this region has beaches, waterfalls,…
In recent years, the construction of crossing structures has been one of the key measures adopted in India to mitigate wildlife mortality and increase connectivity. Several projects, including nine overpasses…
With heatwaves setting in early, stretching on longer and with more intensity, heat action plans now need to account for the changing heat risks and differing vulnerability of exposed population…
The summer of 2022 has been particularly harsh all over India, with unrelenting heat spells signalling evolving climatic systems. With March being declared as the hottest in the India Meteorological…
Those familiar with Marathi pop culture were left enthralled by fireflies that featured in the iconic scene from Man Mandira, a song from the 2015 Marathi film Katyar Kaljat Ghusli.…
“How will we survive? What can we do now? What will we eat?” Hirabai Hugge, 65, spent a majority of her time over six months, thinking about these questions. In…
The Mula and Mutha rivers originate in the Western Ghats and flow towards each other meeting in Pune at Sangam Bridge, and then flow together towards the Bay of Bengal…
Every time Mahesh, a farmer in Karnataka, interacts with others over a suite of water and soil conservation technologies that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and enhance agricultural yields, the most…
Justin Sumit Kumar’s typical day is rather adventurous – he helps scientists track birds in dark caves, that are difficult to access, and surveys them. His work also requires him…
In June 2020, 20-year-old Arnav Gandhe was on a birding visit to Pune’s Mahatma hill, an offshoot of the biodiverse Western Ghats. He was about to wrap up for the…
Narayan Gaikwad, 74, never thought he would have to rethink farming — an occupation he has been practicing for over six decades. But, the rise in the price of chemical…
“Some have a broken leg, some a broken tail.” That’s how Mihir Godbole says he identifies wolves in Saswad, just 31 kms away from the bustling city of Pune. A…
Its loud call is distinctive. A series of yelps that almost sound like manic laughter upon reaching a crescendo. It can be heard from a distance, making the Malabar grey…