let’s make our planet greener!
By Monisha Raman With inputs from Meghaa Gupta We do not have prose praising the deserts as Thoreau praised the woods or Hemingway the sea, nor do we find an Ode to the Sand by Wordsworth, Keats or Shelley. Yet in a way we do… ~ Rune Graulund There is no clear way to define a desert. What is construed…
Author-environmentalist Zai Whitaker shares some of her favourite monsoon memories and reminds us just what makes this season so magical.
By JoAnne Saldanha With inputs from Meghaa Gupta Out of the 38 cat species across the planet, only six have the distinction of being called ‘big cats’: lions, tigers, leopards, snow leopards, jaguars and cheetahs. While they may look like oversized kitty cats, one of the main differences, other than size, between big cats and their smaller cousins is the…
By Archana Natraj India is the world’s second-largest coal producer and a major producer of bauxite, iron, and zinc ore. Extracting these ores offers significant economic benefits, but it comes at a cost – land-use change, deforestation, erosion, contamination of wetlands and carbon emission that affect the environment, the livelihood and social fabric of local communities. The coal and lignite…
In a first, Meghaa Gupta, Editor (Youth) at Sustainabilitynext.in reflects on green books published for young people in India and despite the challenges, finds much to be pleased about. So little (relatively) is written about young people’s literature published in India, let alone green literature, that I would like to begin this column with the hope that the tide turns,…
By Archana Natraj “Some people feel the rain , others just get wet” ~ Bob Marley The pitter patter of raindrops, the fresh petrichor, the dance of the peacock… the sound, smell and sights of the monsoon usher in magic and have long been an inspiration for writers. Children’s literature abounds in prose and poetry drenched in various hues of…
By JoAnne Saldanha The German educator Friedrich Fröbel, known for his work in early childhood education, said “To climb a tree is for a child to discover a new world.” Perhaps, the same can be said about reading. Trees and books both offer scope for escapism, exploration and adventure. Maybe that is why we see a profusion of trees in…
Many writers are choosing to self-publish green books instead of going with known and established publishing houses By Rati Girish Often considered ‘niche’, books on the environment have been gradually gaining ground as concerns over climate change find greater traction worldwide. Many publishers acknowledge that this is potentially a huge market that needs to be developed. But information on readers…
Another sizzling summer is upon us. But, in a few months, the raging heat will give way to a thundering monsoon and eventually, the coldness of winter will close our year. With its varied landscapes, India enjoys a rich heritage of seasons and children’s literature offers a vibrant insight to this cyclical pattern of life. By Archana Natraj “Spring passes…
On 2 February, World Read Aloud Day (WRAD), a group of children’s book clubs and libraries all across India began a month-long programme on social media, reading books on the environment for children. Tagged #greenreads, this initiative is the brainchild of Archana Atri, who revolutionised children’s book clubs in India with AA’s Book Nerds, one of the earliest individual-led initiatives…