Futala Lake in Nagpur

Futala Lake, among my hometown Nagpur's most famous landmarks, was once the wintering ground for migratory waterbirds and waders. Today it is marked by a concrete embankment, a musical fountain, and deforestation along its peripheries. Activists and environmentalists from the city have been campaigning against this transformation. 

Comic from my column with The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Urban Biodiversity Map of Nagpur - The Tiger Capital of the World

(Click on the images for a larger preview)

Being surrounded by tiger reserves, Nagpur has been popularly tagged the Tiger Capital of the World, owing to its record of having the most number of tigers within a 100 km radius for any city. But biodiversity within the city itself is exceptionally rich, and often neglected. Being the geographic centre of India, the city's lakes serve as spots for wintering, refueling and passage for several species of migratory waterfowl. Nagpur's scrub forests and dry deciduous landscape, which have been relatively undisturbed until recently, have ensured that the city peacefully coexists with mammals like leopards, pangolins, civets, wolves and even the rare Rusty Spotted Cat, existing well within its boundaries! Green pockets within the city offer refuge to a myriad insects, spiders and birds, hosting migrants all the way from Europe and Northern Asia, such as the Syke's Warbler and Rosy Starlings!

The map was commissioned by ICLEI South Asia and has just been released at the Nagpur Municipal Corporation office. Thanks to ICLEI for giving me the opportunity to draw my hometown. A special thanks to Tarique and Swati Sani, who have for years taken up the daunting task of documenting and curating the city's birdlife on their website Nagpurbirds.org, which is now merged with Bird Count India. A high resolution preview of the map is here, which will soon be up at some important public places in the city.

Nagpur and Nag River

A Nag (Spectacled Cobra), the municipal symbol of my hometown Nagpur, tells you the story of the river this city was named after, in my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Recommended reading: this article in Down To Earth on the Nag River by Aparna Pallavi.

Railway Line through Meghat

A proposal by the Central Government t expand the Akola-Khandwa Railway Line through Melghat Tiger Reserve could pose a threat to endangered wildlife like tigers and Melghat's flagship icon, the Forest Owlet, which was rediscovered from this forest. Fortunately, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra seems firm in his resolve to push for alternatives instead of expanding the line through the reserve and fragmenting wildlife habitat.

Comic from my column with The Hindu.

Home Biodiversity in Lockdown

Now that India is preparing to lift the COVID lockdown, here's looking back at how I spent the lockdown unearthing creatures from my backyard that were new to me, in collaboration with my pets Srishti and Sakshi. I have been illustrating some of these creatures as part of a self-assigned ongoing series called 'Home Biodiversity', which you can go through here. A special thanks to my friend Vena Kapoor for answering all spider-related queries with the patience and composure of a spider!

Comic from my column with The Hindu.