A mother walks with her baby past hutments along a narrow road that leads to the Candolim Beach.

The photograph was taken in the month of March, towards the end. The skies are very hot and clear. surprisingly, as a local development, it rained in the afternoon. when the clouds finally cleared around sunset [...]]]>

A mother walks with her baby past hutments along a narrow road that leads to the Candolim Beach.

The photograph was taken in the month of March, towards the end. The skies are very hot and clear. surprisingly, as a local development, it rained in the afternoon. when the clouds finally cleared around sunset – what I saw was a crimson red sky. It was quite an unusual sight in Goa for the month of March.

I happened to come across a news item on TIMES NOW news channel which is as disturbing as the carnage that shook this city a month back. In the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh a leopard accidently strayed into a village (presumably on the [...]]]>  

Tiger, Tiger!

I happened to come across a news item on TIMES NOW news channel which is as disturbing as the carnage that shook this city a month back. In the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh a leopard accidently strayed into a village (presumably on the periphery of a sanctuary) in search of livestock or water. The animal after it was confronted with human populace was beaten by villagers till it lay dead. Then someone pumped in a bullet on a dead leopard just to make sure the poor ‘beast’ doesn’t get up and walk again.  This is not the first instance. Last year, a horned deer waded through the paddy fields of western U.P, ruining some crops. The villagers surrounded the animal and fired at him rounds after rounds till he died. The forest officials on all occasion stood helpless in a mob like build up that generally takes place whenever a wild animal encroaches into a human area. Sorry, I would like to use a milder word – stray, instead of encroach as animals are not driven by volition of greed and profit.

Here is the link to see the savagery the villagers indulged into.

http://www.timesnow.tv/frmVideoDialog.aspx?VName=NV25172.wmv

 Wild cats are by large shy animals. They avoid contact with human population sensing well that they are a superior and therefore a dangerous race to get into confrontation with.  Having said so that cats are shy and would be happier in their sanctuary confines why would they venture out to risk their lives? Desperation of some kind, I guess.

One fact is well established here that apart from poaching another danger that could lead to extinction of wildlife is the confrontational mode the human race is getting into with animals and nature on the whole. In this context, the villages surrounding the periphery of wildlife sanctuaries therefore pose a grievous challenge for the co-existence of endangered species. It is often debated that these tigers enter villages in search of livestocks because there are no deers in the jungles! One must realize that the presence of excess human population near sanctuaries disturb the nature’s food chain system. What happens when there are too many people – deforestation takes place to prepare land for agriculture and other development in addition to requirement of plenty of water. When deforestation takes place, herbivores disappear soon because there aren’t enough quiet and safe grazing lands. If deers and wild bisons are forced to migrate, then what would a tiger do sitting in a jungle? The nature’s food chain system is very fragile. There is no room for laxity.

Deforestation also causes erosion of soil. Lack of soil fixation can lead to flash floods or rivers to deviate from their natural course of flow. Erosion, if naturally occurring can take hundreds of years to change or alter the topography and other related changes but if the erosion is manmade propelled by greed in the name of self development then I must say that process of erosion is converted into a process of destruction which can be accelerated to epic proportions with tragic consequences within decades.

The above paragraph is not out of context to the killing of leopard. It has happened in Nepal that villagers have reduced forests into patches of barren lands in their continuous search for firewood. These way rivers have been lost, and when forests lose watering holes these animals have no option but to migrate or enter our house seeking replenishment!

Another point I would like to throw open for debate is the nature of role these villages surrounding the wild life sanctuaries should (be forced to) adopt in safeguarding the natural flora and fauna in close co-ordination with forest officials.

The ministry of forest and environment should be proactive in arming itself to the teeth. They should rope in the local population to utilize their expertise and knowledge of the jungles and terrain and also train them as ‘animal rescuers’.

picture courtesy  and video link – TIMES NOW channel

Leopold is where the mayhem seems to have started on the fateful night of 26th Nov. The terrorists fired indiscriminately before hurling a grenade in the popular joint frequented by westerners, the office crowd, and the youngsters.  The terrorists left the scene creating chaos and panic on [...]]]>

Café Leopold

Leopold is where the mayhem seems to have started on the fateful night of 26^th Nov. The terrorists fired indiscriminately before hurling a grenade in the popular joint frequented by westerners, the office crowd, and the youngsters.  The terrorists left the scene creating chaos and panic on the streets and dead bodies strewn around in the café.

No sooner had the carnage ended in Mumbai, Leopold was back in action. No alterations or changes were done in its otherwise simple décor or style – it opened just the same way as it was on the night of 26/11 with the embellishments of bullet marks on the wooden pillars & shattered glass panes.

When I arrived there in the evening around eight the café was almost packed.  I somehow managed to get hold of a table. Everything seemed normal. The crowd was mostly Indian; having beer after office. Initially I noticed nothing amiss. As I settled down and glanced around I noticed the bullet marks and the two round holes on the Café’s glass façade.

Everyone who was present there seemed to have just one resolve – get the fear out of their mind.  The place looked lively, contrary to what I expected before I stepped in. it was an encouraging sight because collectively we managed to defeat the purpose which the terrorists wanted – fear.

As I pulled my haversack aside to take my camera there were few curious glances. With the permission of the café staff I took few pictures. A group seated few tables away waved and called me over. I was wondering if something had irked them. They lifted the table cloth and showed me a small pit right under the table. I looked on – blank. ‘Grenade!’ one of them pointed. This is the spot where the grenade had exploded after being lobbed in. With a sense of defiantness they raised their beer mugs and drank. It was a moment of fearlessness – an antidote to the venom of terror.