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…

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….

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…

A Tree Lost, A Tree Gained

Nearly two years after we set foot on Navilu Kaadu, we realized with much heartache that two full-grown banyan trees once adorned our land. Visiting farmhands described the trees they…

Drought, Deluge and the Death of a Tree

When a banyan is felled to make up for crop loss, who compensates the squirrels, the hornbills, barbets and the bee-eaters, parakeets, mynas, the wasps and the bees, and so many more beings for the colossal loss they suffer??