Whenever that sweet tinkling sound traverses through my balcony, my entire mood rejuvenates. I crane my neck, investigating its source, and scan my lushy green enclave for a soft jingling song. Tracing the tsee…tseer… notes, I rejoice with delight on spotting the chirpy, cute, bundle of joy—the Indian White-Eye.
“Why didn’t you spot the Tiha today, dear?” That’s what my mother used to remind me on the New Year eves, when I was a little child like you. The Indian Roller bird, or the Tiha in Odia, is a very good omen. Believed to be a harbinger of happiness, sighting it is considered auspicious, especially at the beginning of any major life event. In fact, such is the faith in its sanctity that its feathers are preserved as lucky charms. Do you know Odisha, Telangana, and Karnataka have also declared it as their state bird?
If there was ever a parliament of birds, then this avian would have delivered the most vociferous speeches. No doubt quirky artists caricatured it in their popular Angry Birds game. I’m sure you all must have enjoyed playing this viral pastime and gotten amused by the perpetual furious look on the birds' faces. Recognised as the most argumentative bird, the Jungle Babbler couldn’t be named more aptly...
A vision for rebuilding Mother Earth through ‘Harmony’ and ‘Students Solidarity’. ******************************* Imagine if I were the editor of Gobar Times! Could there be anything more exciting than working on a magazine that brings topics related to Nature to the notice of young environmentalists across the country? The first thing I would do is...
An accurate example of raising ‘Political Consciousness’ towards Environmentalism. ********************************************* If I were the editor of Gobar Times, I would like to look beyond the popular notion that climate activists are not fond of people with a capitalist mindset. The environment as we know is not fragmented—it is one entity on Mother Earth...
A vow from an environmentalist to pledge his duty to preserve Mother Earth. *********************************************** If I was the editor of Gobar Times, I would appreciate and highlight all those people in my magazine who try to keep our environment clean. This would include people who save and plant trees and conduct public programmes to spread awareness about environmental issues...
Recently, the mercury in many parts of northern India touched 48°C. Many records were broken by the rising temperature—March this year was marked as the hottest in the past 122 years! Public places, as a result, wore a deserted look as residents were forced to stay indoors.
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.