Phayre’s leaf monkey (Trachypithecus phayrei), an endangered goggle-eyed primate species once widely distributed across many forests in northeast India, is now confined to small fragmented patches in the states of…
On a sunny winter afternoon in January, Kusum Bai (name changed), a 40-year-old diamond mine labourer from Kalyanpur village of the Panna district of Madhya Pradesh, had just returned from…
Meerasa’s story is one of displacement. The son of a boat maker and a resident of Dhonirevu (Karimanal island), one of many villages around the Pulicat lake, Meerasa and his…
In stories, in art, poetry and more, villages along rivers find a frequent mention. But far from the romanticism associated with life nadiya kinare (along the riverside), is Jagdish’s life…
From being a humble farmer to a confident leader, Ganga Rajput has come a long way. The 30-year-old is a resident of Chaudhary Khera, a village which lies in Madhya…
When young Arturo D’Souza and his friends would take their cows and buffaloes to the Bondvol lake to bathe, the melodic sounds of a multitude of birds filled the air.…
Scores of people have travelled past the Madhya Ganga barrage at Bijnour in western Uttar Pradesh over the last three decades, casually appreciating the birds and the Ganga river. But…
During his college days, Manish Rajankar was an avid birder. Ably guided by one of his professors, he further developed an interest in conservation and his home ground proved a…
It’s not uncommon in India to see cattle grazing in farms and backyards, ruminating by the road, or even causing a minor inconvenience to vehicles. Replace cattle with herds of…
For the people of Bori Budruk, the geological term ‘tephra’ is a local legend. The village, around 100 km from Pune city, is nestled along the banks of the Kukadi…
One of the five major rivers originating from Pune district, Mutha has lost its glory because of increasing water pollution and a lack of conservation efforts from the authorities. But…
Thirty-year-old Born Lang Blah from Mawphlang village has vivid memories of his childhood, when men, women, and children would walk downhill to Um Khlaw, the pond to collect water. The…
What started as a police complaint about the destruction of mangroves in 2016 turned into a passion for conserving wetlands for the Agarwals. This Navi Mumbai couple, both in their…
The Mandavi Creek in Vengurla had always been a place that drew wonder from Shweta Sachin Hule. She would gaze at the glistening waters under the clear blue skies and…
“Daily ke daily, daily ke daily (day-on-day, day-on-day).” That’s how Parvati Oraon of Hatiram Jote, a small village along the Mechi river on the India-Nepal border, recounts the damage caused…
As COVID-19 surged in the sweltering plains, Ooty, the headquarters of the Nilgiris district, had a safe summer. Infection numbers and rates were under control. Locked-down at my parents in…
Almost a decade ago, when Narayanji Choudhary first decided to work to save ponds, by creating awareness in his home region of north Bihar, he didn’t think that one day,…
Riverbank erosion along the Ganga is becoming a frequent affair in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. However, this year, the erosion also took place in villages that hadn’t seen such erosion…
Sankar grew up listening to stories of rain. For in Muthupet, where the 54-year-old’s family has been residing for about 250 years, it was the rainfall which nourished an extensive…
Every day after returning from school, young Ramveer Tanwar would quickly eat his lunch, pick up his school books and take a herd of cattle for grazing. While the livestock…