Hunting animals used to be central to the survival of most human communities over most of human history, whether it be for food or medicines or to use their fur and skin as clothes and rugs. Communities had developed ways to hunt animals without overexploiting them, such that the animals and humans could survive together. While we try to inculcate the values of sustainability in people today through classes and lectures, such values used to be a matter of common sense. If you kill all the animals this year, what are you going to hunt next year?...
Mushrooms have always enthralled our imagination. Let’s step onto a captivating trail to understand them and the world they inhabit.
The Limca Book of Record holder, Rakesh Khatri, will offer an inspiring chitter-chatter on sparrow conservation.
Knock-knock, who’s there? The holy Brown Rock Chat. A holy who???... That’s how a timid bird perplexed me at 3:30am in the dark of dawn. It was February 2019 and I was calming the anxieties of my daughter, who was fearing her imminent exams. Persistently knocking my door—I hesitated to investigate any such visitor at an ungodly hour. So, I peeped out from an adjacent window to survey my doorway and was delightfully surprised to find a beautiful, winged creature.
“Mama, look who’s come to wish me luck!" My doll whispered in ecstasy...
From privileges for a few to rights for all
There was a time, not so long ago, when the so-called ‘civilised’ world was divided into free humans and slaves. Free humans were those who had the right to own property while the slaves were those who were considered as property. Free humans had the privilege to make decisions not only for themselves but also for their slaves.
As we learnt from others who we thought were less civilised than us...
We are passing through another wave of extinction of species, and even the tiniest insects are threatened. Join Sorit on an exploration of this apocalypse that has put a deep dark shadow over this seemingly teeming world.
India’s total forest cover is 21.71 per cent of its total geographical area and the target is to reach 33 per cent. The Forest Survey of India defines ‘forest cover’ as all land with minimum one hectare of tree patches and canopy density above 10 per cent... Read more.
Who wouldn’t have ever wished to fly high up in the sky? Ever wondered what birds really are; how they live, where and why. Spreading their wings and soaring by, birds have always fascinated our imagination. Join Gargi Mishra—a passionate, devoted birdwatcher—to unveil the enchanting avian world and cherish this mystic paradise.
Join Pranay Lal on an awe-inspiring exploration of the “invisible empire” of viruses. With the COVID scare freaking the world out, it is apt that we dig a little to unlock the myths and mysteries of these ‘kritters’. Unlearn the prejudices about viruses, relearn about their omnipotence, and learn more about their unmissable enigma.
You know Jackie Chan, right? Or was he a superstar when I was growing up? Yes, you are right, you probably do not know Jackie Chan, the greatest martial artist to have ever walked the earth. The world changes fast these days. Heroes of my childhood are not the heroes of your childhood. Jackie Chan was a household name in urban India when I was growing up. He was an action hero who did all of his stunts himself. Yes, that’s right, no stunt double, no CGI (Computer-Generated Imagery), nothing, and he got hurt, really hurt, while performing his stunts, but he just went on and on like a trooper...
At the outset, I want to thank the United Nations of Humans for giving us this opportunity to address all of humankind. I speak on behalf of the quintillion microbes of our planet.
I know that we are speaking to you in a time of great distress. Each of you present here has faced personal tragedies. We convey our deepest condolences...
In 1887, 18 years before they divided Bengal into two, the British laid down a railway line through the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, located on the south bank of the Brahmaputra river system in Jorhat district. While the railway line connected British tea plantations in Tinsukia with those in Jorhat and Dibrugarh, it divided the sanctuary into two unequal compartments—one roughly 150 hectares (370 acres), the rest roughly 1,950 hectares (4,820 acres)...
Join Pankaj Sekhsaria on a spellbinding sprint across Andaman & Nicobar Islands and explore one of their enigmatic inhabitants, the green sea turtle. Sekhsaria has recently released his first book for children, called Waiting for Turtles.
Honeybees are an integral part of mountain farming in Himachal Pradesh. They are a source of income, nutrition, and medicine for mountain communities. These tiny superorganisms help in the pollination of plants, which increases the productivity of crops and maintains the biodiversity of the region.
Traditionally, farmers in Himachal Pradesh keep the indigenous honeybee called...
Kendrapara is now a privileged district because it is the only one which hosts all three species of crocodilians found in India. Saltwater crocodiles have liked to hang around the area for some decades now. So, they are old news, nobody gets excited about them. Sort of a ghar ki murgi dal barabar situation. People get excited when new and unexpected things happen, when things happen that make us feel special.
Thus, news was made in 2016 when for the first time in the history...
