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My 2nd book: Siboo's first day in the forest: Siboo and Simi, the 6 month old tiger cubs are taken for a forest walk by their mother for the first time

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  Children are often very curious about animals and love seeing and interacting with them. However, as they start going to school, our educational system slowly takes them away from this natural world and somewhere along the way, their minds lose this curiosity about animals. When we take them to zoos or animal parks, we rarely teach them to be sensitive to animals or tell them anything about how life is for these animals in the wild. Through this book, the kids will see and learn through the eyes of Siboo the 6-month-old tiger cub, who steps out of the den and into the wild for the first time with his mother and sister. They come across different other animals and the mother teaches them the ways of survival. Through an absorbing narration and an edge-of-the-seat story accompanied by pictures, the book also subtly gives children an insight into animal behavior. The narrative is written in a style that children would love reading, again and again, thus also creating in them an interest
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My first book: Nature and people stories: Travel essays and images from different forests in India

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These are stories and images straight from the heart of nature. Join me in my sojourns through the beautiful forests......let's feel the adrenaline rush in anticipation of seeing the Royal Bengal tiger on some days, and chasing the beautiful and colorful birds on others. Let's meet some simple locals and get awed by the simplicity of their lives and thoughts. Reawaken your soul as we travel through forests and mountains, relishing the life away from the hustle and bustle of cities, and getting awed by the landscapes, birds, and other animals. Forget the stress of the daily grind and soak in some fresh air from nature......pure, unpolluted and refreshing!!! The book is available here: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07Y6LB42R  You can see a short video of the book below.
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Some of my artworks

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Life in Sikkim - Part 2

So finally we reached Bagdogra airport in Siliguri on 8th April. Our driver had arrived at Siliguri on the previous night itself and had reached the airport well 2 hrs in advance before our flight. That certainly was not a sign of coldness towards Indians. We met him at the airport and we started off for Ravangla, a distance of approx 5 hrs. Siliguri has changed a lot in 2 yrs and the traffic worse than a metro city. It took about 2 hrs to reach Sevoke, which was just a 30 min drive 2 yrs ago. Those 2 hrs gave us ample time to interact with the driver. He was a smart, young and we found him amiable. He was a local of Sikkim (Ravangla to be precise) and seemed to be a pleasant and cheerful person. By the time we reached Sevoke, we were sure we would like to have him drive us for any futire visits to Sikkim and he readily agreed as well. He said he can also get the permits done for us from Gangtok should we want to travel to North or East Sikkim. If there was any truth about the Sikkim
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Life in Sikkim- Part 1

Sikkim- as a school kid this was just one of the names of the 22 states in India (back then). Schooling during our times was boring- learning by rote, no computers or internet, no field trips, no activity based learning, no videos or graphics. Rote wasn't certainly my cup of tea as by temperament, i hate boundaries. So geography was my most hated subject- there was no logic to use and facts were facts and you could do nothing but learn by rote. So i excelled in languages and science where i could use my thoughts, logic and expression and geography felt like a jail. Thankfully, after schooling geography exited my life. The many years were spent completely focused on professional studies - yes, i was too boringly studious. When i now look back, i feel stupid about myself for having missed out on the best years of my life. Who said academic excellence is the key to success? Rather, what is the definition of success And which is the right one? Then somewhere in early 2000s
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In search of the lesser florican

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So finally, here is the write-up. After my previous post on 'the glimpse of Rajasthan' where I mentioned about the purpose of this special visit to Sonkhaliya, many asked me 'So did u see the florican after all'?  Before I describe this visit in search of the lesser florican, I must go back to 2010. That was the first time I saw people post pics of this magnificient bird. Of course nobody disclosed the exact location. But it was Kutch that's all I knew. When I got Kalpana Malani and Rajashree Khalap to see the pics, all 3 of us were clear......2011 monsoon had to be in search of this bird. I don't recall how and where we got the info but we were told it is Little Rann of Kutch. Since I knew the guide at LRK, I asked him. I now think I don't know if he understood then, but he said yes. So the 3 of us went to LRK in July 2011. Now most birders reading this will laugh at us. Who goes birding to Kutch in monsoon? Yes, but wildlife enthusaists are know
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A glimpse of rural Rajasthan

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'Padharo mhare desh' - We have been exposed to various glimpses of Rajasthan tourism through the media. The forts, palaces, sand dunes, the ghumar dance, sweets, rich tradtitonal crafts and costumes etc. How about looking at a different perspective? Rural Rajasthan. Haven't we all heard, 'India lives in villages' ? Rajasthan is my native state but like most Mumbaiites or should I say urbanites, I have been exposed to Rajasthan only as a tourist or wildlife enthusiast and have seen the popular glimpses as depicted in the media. This time my journey to Rajasthan in search of the elusive and magnificient bird, the Lesser florican, took me to rural Rajasthan. I have often written on my wildlife sojourns across India, but this time I feel like sharing the story of the rural life that I saw, as we travelled through fields in search of our bird. This is a critically endangered bird and only a few hundred are alive. It is usually seen during the breeding season in the
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