Hyderabad Floods

The Hyderabad floods come as a timely reminder to the Telangana Government that integrated conservation and not beautification, is what the rivers and lakes of the city need. 

Kakinada Mangroves

The Andhra Pradesh govt. is under fire for destroying ecologically sensitive mangrove forests in Kakinada for a housing scheme. Home not only to migratory and resident birds, fish, crustaceans but also the endangered Fishing Cat, Kakinada's mangroves are also a source of livelihood for coastal fishing communities. Students from the region have launched a Save Mangrove campaign to oppose the destruction of mangroves.

Uranium Mining in Nallamala

Nallamala forest in the Eastern Ghats of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh is under threat from the Departent of Atomic Energy, after its plan to mine Uranium here has been approved by the MoEF. Activists as well as members of the Chenchu tribes are protesting against the move. Among the myriad fauna that inhabits these forests, is the endangered and endemic Yellow-throated Bulbul.

Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Art for the Coringa Bird Festival

Macha the Fishing Cat, Coringa's official park mascot goes fishi... I mean birding today at the Coringa Bird Festival! The festival will bring together bird experts, photographers, artists and birders from different parts of the country and will give them a chance to explore one of India's most pristine mangrove forests together. 

Here are a couple of posters I created for the event, commissioned by the dynamic DFO Mr. Anant Shankar. The Indian Skimmer, a rather rare and threatened species finds a home in Coringa, along with the Fishing Cat! 

Macha the Fishing Cat - Mascot for Coringa WLS

Meet Macha the Fishing Cat, the official mascot for Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in Andhra Pradesh! ('Macha', Tamil,  means friend or 'bro' in colloquial parlance across Southern India). Coringa is one of India's largest contiguous stretch of mangrove forests and hosts the largest population of Fishing Cats in the country. DFO Mr. Anant Shankar commissioned a mascot design and a series of four posters in which Macha introduces his 'machas', YOU, to Coringa and mangroves. Read on- 

A big thanks to Mr. Shankar and the AP Forest Department for initiating this fun project! The posters are up at the interpretation centre in Coringa.

Macha the Fishing Cat now proudly endorses Coringa to visitors as a life-size sculpture! Thanks to the team of artists who worked on converting my character design into this magnificent sculpture.