A Golden Harvest

Turmeric tubers being spread out for drying

On a sweltering summer’s afternoon, I drove around frantically, popping in and out of villages in Navilu Kaadu’s vicinity. A pair of boys barely out of their teens led the…

Of Books and Birdsong

Birds on a branch

The patio of our cottage at Navilu Kaadu is spacious, nearly the same size as the little cottage itself. An awning held in place by a lattice of hollow metal…

The Tree of Life

Image of a woodpecker pecking at a tree

An edited version of this post appeared as ‘A tree that longed for the sky’, an article for ‘Rooting For Nature,’ my monthly column in Deccan Herald. The published column…

Stargazing Dung Beetles

An edited version of this post appeared as ‘Life with the insect astronomer’ an article for ‘Rooting For Nature,’ my monthly column in Deccan Herald. The published column is linked here….

Cicada Summer

A cicada

An edited version of this post appeared as ‘A summer of shrieking cicadas’ an article for ‘Rooting For Nature,’ my monthly column in Deccan Herald. The published column is linked here….

Keeper turns Trapper

A bulbul's nest with purple-speckled eggs

This post originally appeared in ‘Rooting For Nature’, my monthly column in Deccan Herald. The published column is linked here. Most fields in Navilu Kaadu’s vicinity are rainfed and lie fallow…

A Tangy Harvest

Nest of a purple-rumped sunbird

This post appeared as ‘Tangy Tips from the Tamarind,’ an article for ‘Rooting For Nature,’ my monthly column in Deccan Herald. I am sharing it here with more images. The…

Finding Paradise

Slowly but surely, over annual harvests of sweet-sour tamarind, fragrant golden turmeric and plump yelakki baaLe, endless hassles with power supply and labour, many a gaffe and heartache, and eventful encounters with fellow-residents of the wild variety, Navilu Kaadu natural farm is morphing into our own little paradise.