Mahua Season

It's Mahua season in Indian forests! Cartoon for The Hindu Sunday Magazine.

Fynbos

A cartoon on the Fynbos: a shrub biome endemic to the Cape region of South Africa, featuring a Fynbos endemic bird species: the Protea Canary. I am off to South Africa over an exciting assignment, and of course for some wildlife-watching (and my maiden visit to the African continent!). I will see you soon with more cartoons and comics in mid-June.

Khasi Pitcher

Meet India's only known pitcher plant: the Khasi Pitcher, which uses UV light to attract prey! Comic fro my Roundglass Sustain column.

Monkey faced Orchid

Have you started the new year by telling a loved one that they're good-looking? If you haven't yet, just share this comic with them! Meet the monkey-faced orchid from Ecuador, in my column with Sunday Mid-Day. 

Bats and Booze

Booze: one of the many things humanity owes bats deference and gratitude for! Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain. 

Ghost Tree

Meet the most sparkling tree of the Indian forest: the Ghost Tree (Sterculia urens)! Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Merchandise for Sikkim Forest Department

Some merchandise I designed for three parks in Sikkim: Fambonglho, Kyongnodsla and Pangolakha. These will be available as various souvenirs and collectibles at the three sanctuaries. A big thanks to the dynamic DFO Ms. Dechen Lachungpa for commissioning me!

Gangtok Urban Biodiversity Map

Presenting my third project with ICLEI: an illustrated urban biodiversity map of Gangtok, the capital of the Himalayan state of Sikkim. Situated in a once pristine landscape that is now subject to rapid change and degradation, Gangtok still boasts of an incredible range of fauna and flora, specially in its greenest pockets (such as forests around the Himalayan Zoological Park, the Governor's Bungalow, and Hanuman Tok to name a few). Its orchid diversity makes it next to none among Indian capital cities. But although it is surrounded by protected areas and sanctuaries like Fambonglho, Kyongnodsla and the Kanchenjunga National park, Gangtok today struggles to strike an equilibrium between rapid urbanization and nature conservation. 

The map pays tribute to Thangka art, an art style that has fascinated me for years, and is almost synonymous with art itself in Sikkim. The Directorate of Handloom and Handicraft at Gangtok has a Thangka art school, where I spent some time learning a few tips and tricks from both art teachers and students before working on this map.

Thanks once again to ICLEI for commissioning me for the project. I also extend my gratitude to the prolific Sikkim forester and my mentor Mrs. Usha Lachungpa (who features in the map!), and my friends Minla and Karmachoden for all their help with my orientation of Sikkim and Gangtok, and without whom this illustration would be impossible to execute.  

The illustration can be downloaded in high resolution on the Interactbio ICLEI website here.

Some snippets from the map are below (click on the images for a larger view):

New Discoveries of 2019

2019 was not exactly a good year for conservation in India, but India's conservation biologists have still made several breakthroughs. Here are just some of the newly discovered species of fauna and flora from 2019. And much like the Impatiens balsam, I too am already impatient about the discoveries that 2020 will bring!

Comic from my column with Pune Mirror today.

Friendly Neighbourhood Tree

How well do you know your friendly neighbourhood tree? The comic appears in my column with the Hindu Sunday

Join Seasonwatch's 'Spring Tree Quest' (15th to 18th March) and record casual observations of your favourite tree on the Seasonwatch app. While this is one great way of observing and learning more about your neighbourhood trees, it is also a unique citizen science programme that enables scientists to record seasonal changes in trees using your data!

Neighbourhood Trees of Delhi

Delhi has always been a tree lover's paradise. Its city parks, forests and green spaces host a wide variety, from mighty banyans to svelte acacias. Here are some of the most common ones seen around where I live, the Cheesewood being the most common species.

The comic appears in my column with Sunday Mid-day.

Death and Nature

My mother Sulabha Chakravarty, a lawyer, journalist, teacher and environmentalist died in a car accident on the 19th of August, 2018. My family and I thank everyone who sent help, love and prayers our way, and stood by us through this hard time, from the bottom of our hearts. Of course, this includes both human beings and fauna!

Neelakurinji Bloom at Munnar

Neelakurinji flowers (Strobilanthes kunthiana) bloom once in twelve years, and are blooming in Munnar, Kerala right now! Here's a comic celebrating this spectacle of nature from my column with Mid-Day today.

The Magnolia and the Molinillo

I recently had the opportunity to speak at the ATBC 2018 held in Kuching, where I met and interacted with biologists from around the world. One of them whose work really caught my attention was Ms. Melisa Ayala Joya from Colombia. Currently an Erasmus fellow pursuing her Masters, Melisa, a botanist, has worked extensively with local communities in Colombia on issues like land restoration and management of soil erosion. The research paper that she presented at the ATBC described one such exemplary initiative. 

Magnolia resupinatifolia is a critically endangered species of Magnolia endemic to Colombia, and has recently been described by Melisa and her team to science. Locals have been using the fruit of this species to make the 'Molinillo'- a kitchen tool used to stir hot chocolate. This comic, based on Melisa's campaign, speaks about this relationship between the people and the tree, and how the community is helping disperse and save the species from extinction, while reaping a few benefits from it for themselves. This mutually beneficial model if analyzed and planned, can very well be applied around the world!

The comic appears on my Gocomics page today. A big thanks to the lovely Melisa for collaborating me on this, and for guiding me through the comic. Thanks also to Zoraida Calle of the CIPAV Ecological Restoration Group for her comments and review. We've also created a Spanish version of the comic, translated by Zoraida and Melisa- my first comic in Spanish!

Sloth Bears and Mahua Flowers

A comic on the Sloth Bear's penchant for Mahua, from my column with Mid-Day today. Mahua isn't just a popular drink among bears, but also people! And Mahua's credentials include not just alcohol, but also medicine.

If you're going out drinking tonight, don't forget to try the Mahua Macarena!

Things Redder than the Blood Moon

The Hog Badger

Hog badgers possess an exceptional sense of olfaction, and use their pig-like snouts to detect worms and grubs in damp soil. Distributed throughout the Indo-Malayan region, hog badgers are found in India in the North-east. The comic appears in my column with Mid-Day today.

Kaas Plateau

Kaas is blooming! Drop everything and go witness this annual phenomenon!

From my column with Mid Day today.

Karvi flowers bloom in Mumbai

Hey Mumbaikars, do you know that as we speak, a rare flower endemic to the Western Ghats called 'Karvi' (Storbilanthes callosus) is in full bloom in your very city after 8 years? The karvi blooms only once every 8 years and turns the city's famous Sanjay Gandhi National Park into a carpet of lavender. The bloom lasts just for a few weeks, so make sure you drop everything and go witness it right now!

The comic appears in my column with Mid-Day today.