It was while I was studying in the College of Fine Arts that I began bird-watching on a serious note. With the encouragement of many senior birdwatchers in Bangalore, my little scribbles and doodles next to my bird notes turned into field sketches and I have since maintained a meticulous nature journal. In due course, my strongest passion, nature and art, came together to form an exciting career as a wildlife artist. I have worked on various projects and have steadily gathered a collection of art. I love traveling and have traveled to many National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries across India. During these trips, I have had the opportunity to observe nature and sketch in my journal. I welcome you on my journey through this wilderness translated on paper and canvas.

Click here for – Directions to the Venue 
Opening preview – 27th January 2012; 6:30 pm
On view till 30th January 2012; 10:30 to 7:30 pm

‘How did all this begin? When did my mind suddenly ponder on this travel plan.’ I wonder to myself. All I can remember is collecting bits of information about places that I had always wished to see. Probably, it was a strong urge to escape, to explore, to experience something new and to just be out there! Everything put together – it happened.

A journey into the high Himalaya… I finally set foot.
A stuffed backpack, myself and a landscape so extreme, vast and beautiful!

Pin river flowing through the Mudh landscape

I trudged along amidst the high mountains, rocky cliffs, deep gorges, valleys, streams, rivers and distant snow-clad peaks, admiring its enormity and grandeur with every step. A constant smile within me, a weird sense of fear that I cannot put into words and the sheer uncertainty of each passing day and each passing moment, is probably what made my trip all the more exciting. There was no rigid plan to follow nor had I booked any guesthouses prior, all I knew was the general direction in which I was headed.

The general idea was to start my journey from Shimla, follow the path into the mountains through the Kinnuar and Spiti regions and end at Manali. No matter where I stayed, I knew I had to be back in Delhi by the morning of August 6th to catch my flight back to Bangalore.

I took a night train from Delhi to Kalka and then hopped onto a lovely toy-train from there to Shimla. From here the rest of the journey was either by bus or by foot. A couple of times I even hitched rides to get to places. On most of my bus rides I occupied the very first seat of the bus next to the driver, and it definitely is the best seat on the bus. Its big wide windshield in front gives a good, clear, unobstructed view of the road and landscape ahead of you. The bus drivers’ mastery, patience and egoless driving skills on those narrow roads, will amaze anybody.
As the road cuts through the mountains; you have a cut rock on one side & a river running through the deep valley on the other side. There are only day buses that shuttle through these routes, not only because the roads are really narrow but also because they are prone to regular landslides. As I travelled further on from Shimla, to Sangla – Rakscham – Chitkul – Kalpa – Nako – Kaza – Kungri – Mudh – Kibber – Rohtang pass & finally to Manali, all thanks to the day travels, I could literally witness the landscape transform from green alpine forest regions in Kinnuar to rocky cliffs, dry-barren, cold-desert regions as I moved higher into Spiti Valley. It was simply spectacular!

As much as I wanted to sit-put and start sketching at every place I travelled to, there was so much to see… I wanted to look at everything around me. It was a new place after all!! Rakscham and its tall pine trees, mountains, distant waterfalls, many streams, wildflower blooms, flocks of birds & its variety of moths, made me stay there an extra day.

Nako gave a feeling of being on top of the world! The red, yellow, green, blue & white prayer flags fluttered against the backdrop of the vast blue sky. The etched prayer stones placed all around gave a very unique spiritual feel to Nako town. The sighting of a herd of about 15 Himalayan Ibex as I hiked up towards Mudh, made it all worth it and is definitely one of the highlights of my trip. Little Mudh- its village, pea fields, ridged-mountains and its changing hues n’ shades of shadows as the clouds floated by and the sun went down, made it an ideal place to just breathe, sit back and relax. Just knowing that I was in snow leopard country and listening to a few stories of the mighty cat, made me feel comfortable and satisfied! Though I knew I was highly unlikely to see the snow leopard here, during this time of the year… my eyes just wouldn’t stop searching. I was smitten by this little town, but could stay for just another day more. I was hoping to tuck-in a quick visit to Kibber into my trip as well. A stop-over at the famous Key Monastary and a long 8km slightly steep climb on foot, got me to Kibber by mid-afternoon. I guess,Kibber sure didn’t want me to leave the same day. I got lucky to bump into an NCF volunteer who was also leaving to Manali the next day by a shared taxi & I was more than happy to accept the offer to stay back at Kibber for the night and tag along the next day.

The drive from the cold-desert landscape back into high alpine forests was absolutely picturesque. I sat by the window and tried to soak in as much of the mountain-scape as i drove through them.The different terrains I passed, the many travelers I met on my journey, the little experiences I gathered and everything new that I encountered, made my trip complete. I am more than happy that my little mind pondered on such a spontaneous travel plan. I sure wouldn’t have traded it for anything! An experience that will linger on and remain forever!

(click on image to read)

A travelling Exhibition on the “Biodiversity of Western Ghats” organised by Ministry of Environment and Forest (Government of India), will be inuagurated by Jairam Ramesh on 4th June 2011, Saturday, at The Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST), Bengaluru.

The exhibit with be touring many parts of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Goa and Lakshadweep over the 6 months. It will be open to the public in Bengaluru on 4th and 5th June, 2011 at the above venue – IWST.

A special mention and thanks to Mandappa KC and Kartiki Gonsalves for contributing their time and effort, to make this exhibition happen !

Recently I had a great excuse to take a road-trip to Corbett Tiger Reserve in Northern India – a place I had always wanted to visit. In a quick chain of events, vehicles, safaris and accommodations were arranged for the weekend (thanks Chinmay) – and after a six hour car journey from Delhi I arrived. It was hot, still and dusty. I had arrived in Ramnagar – the main tourist entry point in to Corbett from the south side. It was already 4PM and I was dying to get inside and leave the bustling, dusty, hot city of Ramnagar behind. No sooner had we started towards the entry gate 18 Kms away, that the weather began to change. From still and hot it became cloudy and breezy. Then a few minutes later, the clouds burst. Large raindrops followed by even larger, marble-sized hailstones came pelting down on to the gypsy. I struggled to secure camera and laptop bags while Anwarda, our wonderful guide/driver navigated the road in the storm. The tarp was leaking, and there was no sign of the rain or hailstones stopping any time soon. I pulled out a rain Poncho and covered all the gear while I pondered my rocky welcome to Corbett.

For most folks in the field of natural history the name Corbett needs no introduction – for others just getting interested in the outdoors, Corbett’s books should be on the must-read list.
So who is Corbett? Wiki says – “Jim Corbett was a hunter, conservationist and naturalist, famous for slaying a large number of man-eating tigers and leopards in India.
His success in slaying the man-eaters earned him much respect and fame amongst the people residing in the villages of Kumaon, many of whom considered him a sadhu (saint).
Corbett was an avid photographer and after his retirement, authored the Man-Eaters of Kumaon, Jungle Lore and other books recounting his hunts and experiences, which enjoyed much critical acclaim and commercial success. Corbett spoke out for the need to protect India’s wildlife from extermination. The Jim Corbett National Park in Kumaon was named in his honour in 1957.”

Ten minutes into the park, a tiger crossed the road and walked down towards the storm filled nallah, or sots as they call it here. A few quick shots of the tigers back side was all i could manage. Time was running short and we had to reach our first night halt point at Ghairal. I’m glad we were running late. Just as we were getting close to camp, a magical sunset, embedded with lightning and thunder was a welcome ending to an otherwise stormy beginning.

The lovely stormy weekend brought out some incredible sunsets and sunrises over an amazing landscape.

On the second day I was joined by Priya Singh a Senior Researcher at the Wildlife Institute of India. Together we managed to bore the living daylights out of Anwarda by spending altogether too much time on creatures like, Brown Fish Owls, Tawny Fish Owls, River Lapwings etc.
Now cutting a long story short – we saw lots of cool creatures, Otters, Gharials, Crocs, Monitor lizards, Dollarbirds etc. etc. One afternoon was spent on a tower close to Dhikhala – fantastic spot to see dollarbirds and shy barking deer but little else. So after two nights in Dhikhala we moved to the Bijrani range the third day. Anwar was hell bent on showing us a tiger and took the help of one of the guides in Bijrani. In fifteen minutes we were parked on a high bank by a tiger peacefully sleeping along a deep nallah by the road. In this image the tiger looks as if he’s snarling at us baring his long canines, but in fact this is the last frame of a bored, long yawn as it occasionally glanced up at the ever-growing number of tourist vehicles that lined up to watch the resting tiger.

After a couple of hours we left unable to deal with the burgeoning crowd. We took a spin around the park and an hour later came back to the same spot. The tiger had been roused from his sleep and had left. As we listened intently for any signs of movement we heard a movement in the leaf litter – Priya quickly spotted the mid-body of a King Cobra – the longest venomous snake in the world! The king moved gently across the ground rustling tinder dry leaves under the weight of it’s ten-foot body. A daytime hunter, this snake was out foraging – looking for its next serpentine meal. That was excitement indeed! Coming across a King cobra while watching out for a tiger!

The next day we made a trip back to the same spot, and this time spotted the King cobra swimming along the stream back and forth foraging actively at around ten in the morning. After about fifteen minutes of swimming, it came and inspected the exact spot where the tiger slept the previous day. Hood raised and body sprawled across the rock, the king offered a majestic pose, although slightly obscured by a dead tree-trunk.

All in all, a fantastic four days spent in one of India’s most spectacular wildernesses

Very cool video about the growing population on Planet Earth -

With the worldwide population expected to exceed seven billion in 2011, National Geographic magazine offers a 7-part series examining specific challenges and solutions to the issues we face. The magazine introduces the series with its January cover story “7 Billion,” offering a broad overview of demographic trends that got us to today and will impact us all tomorrow. The first in-depth story will appear in the March issue, focusing on humans’ impact on the planet’s geology. Other stories will follow throughout 2011.

Editor’s update: in 2050, 70% of the population will be living in “urban areas,” not “megacities” as stated in an earlier version of this video.

The road was nearly impossible. The incessant rains had eroded the sides, making passage very challenging for our vehicle. Trees brought down by heavy gusts of wind lay across the road, which itself had turned into slush, part ravine, part bog. We had been forewarned about the road conditions but our only other option was to hire a hundred porters to lug all our equipment to Pange, our base camp. So we continued onwards – hacking, pushing, slipping and sliding our way precariously to Pange. We refused to consider the possibility that the continuous rain might prevent our return trip.

Expedition Talle Valley – Over seven days of sampling we encountered eight species of snakes, two lizards and ten amphibians!!

Here’s a short behind the scenes video clip of the expedition compiled and edited by Chinmay Rane.
If you’d like to visit the website please click here: http://felis.in/rave/
The Rave website was put together by Seth Patterson my colleague from the Gorgas Science Foundation who was also on the expedition.

In the December 2010 issue of Sanctuary Asia, an article about the expedition was featured. Will put up a link to that on the website shortly.

Do you want to help the future of lions in Africa – well, all you have to do is simply watch this video and National Geographic has pledged .10C for every time it’s viewed – Watch and Share!

Six years in the making, Beverly and Dereck Joubert’s moving film tells the story of an ostracized lioness who will stop at nothing to save her cubs. Not to be missed!

From the lush wetlands of Botswana’s Okavango Delta comes the suspense-filled tale of a determined lioness ready to try anything—and willing to risk everything—to keep her family alive. In the new wildlife adventure, The Last Lions, filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert follow the epic journey of a lioness named Ma di Tau (“Mother of Lions”) as she battles to protect her cubs against a daunting onslaught of enemies in order to ensure their survival.

About the Filmmakers:

Dereck and Beverly Joubert are award-winning filmmakers from Botswana who have been National Geographic explorers-in-residence for over four years. Their mission is the conservation and understanding of the large predators and key African wildlife species that determine the course of all conservation in Africa.

They have been filming, researching, and exploring in Africa for over 28 years. Their coverage of unique predator behavior has resulted in 22 films, 10 books, 6 scientific papers, and many articles for National Geographic magazine. This body of work has resulted in five Emmys, a Peabody, the World Ecology Award, and a recent induction into the American Academy of Achievement. They recently have been awarded the Presidential Order of Merit by the government of Botswana for their life’s work.

But it is the plight of big cats that attracts their major effort today. Dereck and Beverly established the Big Cats Initiative, a program with National Geographic designed as an emergency action fund to drive the world’s attention to big cats and to develop real solutions to stop the decline that has seen lion numbers drop from 450,000 to 20,000 in 50 years.

“We no longer have the luxury of time when it comes to big cats,” says Dereck. “They are in such a downward spiral that if we hesitate now, we will be responsible for extinctions across the globe. If there was ever a time to take action, it is now.”

If you are in the USofA, you can even watch the epic movie on the Big Screen here!

I picked a seat on the right-hand side of the flight. It was 3 in the afternoon and I was flying from Guwahati to Bagdogra – a short 45 min flight. Looking outside my window was the spectacular snow-capped mountain range of the Himalaya. From this aerial vantage point, not only could I see the flat floodplain of Assam, but I could look over ranges and ranges of foothills, all the way into the mountain kingdom of Bhutan where mysterious snow-capped peaks lay untouched by humans for millennia. I wondered what the name of the grand peak may be, and waited for the pilot to announce something… ten minutes later, the pilot announced from the cockpit – it was time to fasten our seat-belts in preparation for landing. We landed in Bagdogra ten minutes ahead of schedule. That was fine by me, I was eager to get into Bhutan!

An aerial view of the floodplains of Assam to the snow-capped peaks of Bhutan

I was in Bhutan to present my work along with other members in the region who had received grants from The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (www.cepf.net) – a fund that was established to help foster awareness of critical conservation issues and gather further knowledge of flora and fauna in the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. I’ve been working here since early 2009 developing a coffee-table book very similar to the Western Ghats book, that was completed a few years prior. It was now that the grant was coming to an end and time to present our findings to the committee, guests and hosts from around the world. I’m very glad that Paro, Bhutan was chosen as a venue. I only need the slightest excuse to head to this beautiful country.

Soon after the workshops, presentations, dinners, drinks, dances, meetings etc. I joined a group of delegates from www.atree.org and other organisations up to Takstang Monastery – Tiger’s Nest. It takes about 2 to 3 hours to get here and is not a terribly difficult hike. It’s a good warm up hike to get you used to the elevation and get your muscles back into shape. I had been here a year before and had photographs of the monks to return to them. Upon reaching the Machi phu Monastery a little further and away from the main Takstang monastery and seeing that my beloved monk friend was not there, I left the pictures under the door to his house. Hope he gets a good surprise on his return.

Takstang or Tiger's Nest Monastery near Paro

Later we headed to Thimpu after a delicious lunch of momo’s and beer at a local restaurant in Paro. The next day I was to head back to India. I had hardly done any birding or photography other than conference stuff. So it was disappointing to have to head back so early after coming out so far. There were still many things for me to cover from the Bhutan region, especially the birds!
To my pleasant surprise the next day I found out that it’s not necessary for me to head back, as some meetings had been cancelled. In the last minute thanks hugely to Chopel at WWF, Bhutan, my permits and vehicle (a Toyota Hi-lux) were organized to travel for the next week across the country to the key birding hotspots. It was a Friday, and we headed straight to Punakha to see the White-bellied Heron, a critically endangered bird. So endangered that Rebecca Pradhan at RSPN is planning a project to hand-feed young ones to maturity in a captive facility. On our way there we stopped at DochuLa, just outside Thimpu and spent time with Rebecca and Tshewang. They told us where the birds are most likely going to be the next day and offered other tips and advice as to where to go to see some other specialties.

To cut a long story short, as I am now in Guwahati and need to head to Kaziranga, we did manage to see a good fifty plus species of birds. A very humble list for a bird hotspot like Bhutan that harbours nearly 700 species of birds! But the important thing was that I was able to photograph and spend time with some of the key birds – like the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in Phobjikha, the White-bellied Heron (Ardea insignis) in Punakha, the blood-pheasants (Ithaginis cruentus) in Trumshingla and a bird I had always wanted to see – the Ibisbill (Ibidorhyncha struthersii).

A covey of blood pheasants along the road at TrumshingLa

I will probably expand on this blog post a little later and fill in the details of locations and birds. It’s most likely never to happen, but a bit of wishful thinking never hurts.
I’d like to thank the various individuals and organizations that helped make this trip happen, especially Chopel, Kinsang, Jigme at http://www.wwfbhutan.org.bt/, and Rebecca Pradhan, Tshewang at http://www.rspnbhutan.org/ and Suman and Samuel Thomas at www.atree.org. I would also like to thank Pema Dorji, who patiently drove me across many mountain miles with care and precision. He also knew where to find the birds, which helped greatly! Oh, and I almost forgot, we spotted leopard cats twice on the road to Trumshingla – once on the way there, and once on the way back – both times under the cover of darkness!

A lady along Dochu La - happy to have her picture back

I know it’s been very quiet on the blog front, (not that it was very active earlier anyways..) but quiet on the blog front means that it’s been crazily busy on the travel front. There’s been a lot of traveling lately and not much time to spare to upload images or videos. But that will happen again soon…

Recently I was interviewed by Rowena Staff at Wildfilmcast about conservation filmmaking and how I got into it and all that. If you are into listening to Podcasts, then please download it here: http://wildfilmcast.com/podcasts/ep2.html
It’s also a great website with tips for aspiring filmmakers.

I also spent a good bit of time in Tadoba recently and saw a lot of cool things, including this Rusty-spotted cat. I’ve always wanted to get a good picture of this little fellow. The cat- known as the smallest cat in the world lives through most of central and peninsular India in areas ranging from dry scrubland to open forest areas This one was up on a tree when it was first spotted. I couldn’t get my camera focused on him at first, but wen he landed on the ground in the grass I thought he disappeared and we wouldn’t see him again, but a few moments later he came out into the open and leisurely walked along the main road in Tadoba.

Rusty-spotted cat in Tadoba

I was also fortunate to witness Tiger cubs playing with a huge porcupine. That picture later.
I’d like to thank Shalik Jogwe for helping make my stay in Tadoba happen. Do check out his blog for exciting images from Tadoba!

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive by email or Facebook is, “How do I become a Wildlife Photographer?”, “How do I become a documentary filmmaker?”. I’m not sure I can answer that question or am even qualified enough to answer the question in the direct manner in which it’s been asked. That’s probably because there is no direct path to getting there. One thing for sure is that, whatever the path, it’s up to the individual and their dogged persistence combined with undying passion that will get them through the bumpy, muddy, arduous jungle road that is the path towards becoming a wildlife photographer or filmmaker.

But what I can do is point towards two premier events that can help fuel the passion and perhaps even jump-start one’s career. The first is – Wildscreen – the Mecca for Wildlife Filmmakers. Every two years filmmakers from around the world gather at this Gala event to celebrate and applaud the very best in filmmaking, exchange ideas and pitch stories. Attending this festival, as a volunteer or a newcomer, must be top on your list of priorities if you’d like to be associated with Wildlife Filmmaking in any manner!

So what is it that you can possibly expect to get out of attending the festival:

* the opportunity to network with individuals from every corner of the industry
* pitching opportunities in a crucial marketplace, where films are bought and sold, and where new commissions and contracts are awarded
* inspirational, and sometimes controversial, discussion panels
* in depth filmmaker masterclasses and a unique programme of training workshops
* access to hundreds of the world’s best wildlife and environmental films from the past two years

The other major Photography event is – Wildphotos – a Nature Photgraphy Symposium that brings together people from around the world to talk about new technology, innovative ideas and share their experiences as wildlife photographers. I’ve been to a couple of them in the past and it’s simply inspiring to listen to talks and mingle with like-minded Nature Photographers. This year I’ll be giving a talk about ‘The documentary power of mixing stills and video‘ – which also goes into the new breed of Canon HD-DSLR cameras that i’ve been using to shoot documentaries.

Another very important step is to buy a copy of the book by Piers Warren titled: Careers in Wildlife Filmmaking. This book is a fabulous resource that is packed with advice to aspiring filmmakers who want to get a toehold in the industry. I just found this book available at www.flipkart.com for Rs. 800.