let’s make our planet greener!
There is a growing interest for children’s literature on the environment and climate, that aims to tackle complex subjects while infusing them with hope and humour. While the genre is not new in India, teachers, librarians, and parents are increasingly recognising the need to have these conversations with children. Image credit – Children’s literature joins the climate conversation | Mongabay…
The uniqueness of India and its Indianness lies in its natural diversity. The ancient sages and saints made efforts to bind man with nature. Since ancient times, poets have composed verses in Telugu language with nature as the focal point. In Telugu literature, animals like snakes, spiders and elephants were shown crossing the boundaries of devotion. The epic Kalahastishwara Mahatmyam Kavya, written by Dhurjati, the court poet of Sri Krishna Devaraya, is an example. Humans learnt the form of Satvik Bhakti from Shri (Spider), Kaala (snake) and Hasti (elephant), which are not domestic creatures.
The Andaman Islands are an archipelago of around 300 islands with rich ecological and cultural diversity. Dr. Madhuri Ramesh, Associate Professor at Azim Premji University, has spent considerable time studying the food practices of the different communities in the islands. The food habits are heavily influenced by the customs, beliefs and cultural practices. In this talk organised by the Indian…
The Great Nicobar Island is the southernmost landmass in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. The mega infrastructure development proposed on the island will destroy the delicate ecosystem and the indigenous communities that have safeguarded the island for generations. This book is a compilation of articles and reports published in Frontline and other news platforms that examine the disaster this project is likely to create in one of the most biodiverse regions in India.
What does it mean for a literary work to have land as the protagonist? Can land be the towering presence through which art flows? Land and its accompanying tales have contributed to the social, mental and spiritual construction of space. What role did landscapes play in the journey of societies and their understanding? Poet and philologist Kanya explores the enchanting intricacies of land in fiction.
It is high time architects, builders, and city planners make nature an integral part of design. Urban decay is largely because nature is seen as an ornamental factor. Is it high time for Rewilding cities?
By Anandajit Goswami Francis Beacon once said to know the nature outside we need to know the nature within. As a child, my quest to understand the natural world outside started with the thirst to know the nature within. While the environment within was lost in multiple conflicts of genetics, culture, conditioning, and hereditarianism, the view outside, and a bond…
By Monisha Raman When doomsday strikes, will humans find an alternate world? Will genome banks come to our rescue? Will there be missions across space to find a suitable home? How will such societies on a perpetual search be structured? Gigi Ganguly’s Biopeculiar: Stories of an Uncertain World is a collection of speculative stories that depict humanity’s complex relationship with…
By Andal Srivatsan Nature and poetry have been linked for centuries before the genesis of the term romanticism. While the proverbial connotation of romance is rooted in love, attraction, and a deep sense of belonging, romantic poets wrote about striking rural landscapes as a source of joy. Alfred Tennyson’s The Brook quotes the brook itself. It is human, delicate, undaunted…
Lagoons throughout the world are threatened by the capitalistic ambitions of states and international territorial disputes, yet literature on them is missing an intimate portrayal akin to Nan Shepherd’s work on mountains or Roger Deakin’s portrayal of the British Isles.