A Day of Lovely Sightings and One Unforgettable Scare ❤️

The Brainfever Bird, the Brahminy Kite, and the Bear That Stopped Our Hearts

#intothewildwithrufus

One of the first sightings today was a bevy of the Yellow-footed Green Pigeons.

The Yellow-footed Green Pigeon is the state bird of Maharashtra. It is a popular arboreal species known for its distinct yellow legs, green plumage, and for foraging in flocks, often seen sitting on treetops, especially in well-wooded areas.

And well, these beautiful birds are indeed real masters of camouflage, you see! When my friends were pointing to me the birds perching so gracefully on the top of the tree branches, I should admit it took me some real hard time to spot them. Such is their way with camouflage! If you look closely at the photo, you can spot the distinctive bright yellow legs that give this bird its name!

Then we spotted the cute Malabar Starlings, one of my personal favourites of all time! 😊

Also known as Blyth’s Starlings, these elegant birds are indeed a visual treat to spot.

Nope, I’m not being sexist when I say this, but as is normal with birds, it is quite easy to differentiate the sexes by looking at their coloration!

The male is perched on top right (with his mini tiffin in beak) featuring a brilliantly white head and nape, while the female is perched on the bottom left, and has a noticeably duller, greyer head.

Our third pitstop was at a huge tree that housed the lovely Spotted Owlet. We managed to catch a glimpse of this Spotted Owlet comfortably roosting in its favourite daytime hideout - a natural tree hollow. These small, greyish-brown owls are heavily spotted with white. Even when trying to rest, they often keep one eye open, peeking out to keep a watchful gaze on their surroundings.

Then we chanced upon the common Spotted Doves, gracefully foraging near a muddy puddle for their quota of water. These Spotted Doves are a classic and charming sight, and they can be easily identified  by the beautiful, chess-board-like black and white patch adorning the back of their necks.

This stunning male Grey Junglefowl that we spotted next, is a wild and distant relative of the domestic chicken, and endemic to India. He practically glows with his meticulously patterned feathers on his neck!

We then spotted the Common Hawk-Cuckoo, often called the “Brainfever Bird!” This bird is indeed a real master of disguise and quite a shy one, like the crow pheasant. They are also known for their mimicry skills! They can skilfully mimic the call of the predatory hawk (like the Shikra), which helps them scare other birds away from their nests!

Then we chanced upon the Ruddy Mongoose, scurrying through the dry vegetation! They are easily distinguished by their reddish-brown fur, and their upward-curving tail. Moreover, they are incredibly agile and active hunters of the forests!

Next in our birding pitstop, we spotted the colourful Indian Roller seen perched on an exposed branch, waiting to swoop down on insects.

We then landed upon a real regal sighting of a Brahminy Kite resting on a dead branch. This medium-sized bird of prey is often found near water bodies, constantly on the lookout for fish or crabs.

Then came the icing on the cake!

Yes! we were lucky enough to spot a Sloth Bear!

Through the foliage emerged a shape you don’t quite see every day. With its shaggy, dusty-black coat, it was walking menacingly towards us! 

It was a Sloth Bear!!!

Seeing a sloth bear in the wild is exciting enough to make any wildlife enthusiast’s day!

But we had no idea just how close an encounter we were about to get.

Without warning, the bear dropped its casual demeanour and came charging straight towards us.

I am told that, Sloth Bears are known for being highly protective of their space and can be notoriously unpredictable, often choosing to charge when startled rather than retreat!

Thankfully, we were at a safe enough distance (and in a secure enough position) to let the bear make its point and veer off, leaving us with our hearts hammering against our ribs! ☹

And thus it was, that we walked away with the ultimate safari tale today!

From Hale-Bopp to Godot | Humanity's Dialogue with the Void ❤️

‘Graduation’ from the Human Level

Revisiting the Weird Heaven’s Gate ‘Cult’ Tragedy

#memoriesfromdiaries

29th March 1997

I was recently leafing through some of my old diary entries of almost three decades ago, when I stumbled upon an entry that I had written on 29th March 1997.

It transported me right back to the bizarre and the most shocking news that I had read thus far on mass suicides!

A bit of a flashback as a background to the news –

Well, Comet Hale-Bopp, is a long-period comet that became one of the brightest and most widely observed comets of the 20th century. It was discovered independently on 23rd July 1995, by two amateur astronomers in the United States, Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp.

Quite surprisingly, they were able to spot it when it was still incredibly far from the Sun (between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn). This early discovery gave professional astronomers and the public a lot of time to prepare for its arrival. This comet - Hale-Bopp - holds the record for the longest period of naked-eye visibility.

The comet could be seen without a telescope for an astonishing duration of 18 months - double the previous record set by the Great Comet of 1811. At its peak in April 1997, it was easily visible even from brightly lit, light-polluted cities.

As it approached the Sun, Hale-Bopp put on a brilliant display, exhibiting distinct tails.

Now coming back to the specific news –

Yes! while Hale-Bopp was indeed a scientific marvel of sorts that had inspired awe and admiration worldwide, its arrival also had a dark and seamier side to it!

A cult from San Diego, USA (named the Heaven’s Gate cult) believed that an alien spacecraft was trailing the comet. In a 2014 book on the event, titled, Heaven’s Gate, Benjamin E. Zeller describes in detail, the trigger for the cult! He had also got vital info from Robert W. Balch who had ‘infiltrated’ the group ever since 1975.

Robert W. Balch says -

In 1975, a core belief was that humans did not have to die to enter heaven; rather, possession of a living, physical body was required to board the spacecraft. But, by 1997, this belief had undergone a dramatic change. Now, the only way members could get to heaven was by leaving their bodies, or, as they put it, “exiting” their human “vehicles.”

The most important of these is the theme of separation from all things human. From the beginning, the group was based on the idea of cutting ties with the past, overcoming human attachments, and ultimately leaving Earth altogether. Eventually, suicide came to be seen as nothing more than the final act of separation!

My diary entry goes on to document the exact wording the group used on their early web page as well! What strikes me now, looking back at these handwritten notes, is how the cult’s rhetoric appropriated everyday, pedagogical language to justify the unthinkable. They viewed their twenty-two years on Earth merely as a “classroom.”

The cult, as the entry notes, was founded in the 70s by Marshall Applewhite (who called himself ‘Do’) and his wife (‘Ti’).

My entry conclude with the stark, logistical facts of the tragedy: thirty-nine lives lost, carried out in three staggered batches over a period of three days.

Ultimately, it was a belief system built on a profound detachment from the body. As I wrote at the very end of the page: “According to them, Bodies are physical vehicles / containers.”

Decades later, revisiting this text proves to be a haunting reminder of the profound vulnerability of the human search for meaning!

To end this post on a slightly philosophical note –

Well, to search for meaning is to admit that we don’t already have all the answers!

When people look for purpose – be it in art, or the work they do – they realise the meaninglessness of it all!  

Thinkers like Viktor Frankl, who found meaning even in the darkest of human conditions, or Albert Camus, who embraced the absurdity of the search itself, built their philosophies on this exact vulnerability. It is the core of the human condition.

In analysing centuries of human literature, history, and art, we can see clearly that this fragile, relentless search for meaning is the driving force behind almost everything beautiful and tragic humanity has ever created!

In fact, literature could be called, humanity’s ongoing, documented dialogue with the void or meaninglessness!

Almost all writers of fiction indulge in this documentation with the void!

And literature across ages, has striven to capture and to document this fragile, relentless pursuit of meaning!

Firstly, let’s take the example of Frankenstein’s monster, ‘created’ by Mary Shelley. Thrust into the world without his consent, abandoned by his creator, and violently rejected by society, he is forced to figure out his own purpose. His agonizing question to Victor Frankenstein - demanding to know why he was made only to suffer - is the ultimate existential cry! It perfectly captures the fragility of needing a reason for being, and the terrifying silence when the “creator” has no good answer.

Secondly, let’s take Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett – a play that strips the search for meaning down to its barest bones. Vladimir and Estragon spend the entire narrative waiting on a desolate road for someone named Godot, who never arrives. They don’t even know exactly who Godot is or what he will do for them, but they are terrified to leave in case they miss him.

Thirdly, let’s analyse Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, in which Captain Ahab’s obsessive hunt for the white whale isn’t just about revenge; it’s a desperate attempt to force the universe to make sense. The whale is just an animal - blank, indifferent, and acting on instinct.

However, Ahab cannot accept an indifferent universe. He projects purpose, and profound meaning onto the whale because it is easier to fight a demon than to accept that the world is random and chaotic. The fragility here is Ahab’s mind breaking under the weight of an unanswerable universe.

In all of these works, the search isn’t a triumphant quest; it is a profound struggle to make sense of the human condition.

In the end then, whether we are looking for a spaceship behind a comet or waiting for Godot, it ain’t the answers that make us human! It’s the search! the quest - that makes us human beings or rather… literary beings! 😊

Beyond the Examination Hall: Finding Real Victory in the Process of Skill Building ❤️

The Greatest Paradox in Academia!

There is a distinct, quiet joy in receiving a phone call from a former student who has just landed on their own feet.

Well, this past week, I had the privilege of receiving not just one, but three such calls. Three different students had reached out to share the good news that they had been placed in highly reputed institutions.

Naturally, as their professors, hearing that our students are stepping confidently into the next chapter of their lives is immensely gratifying for us!

But wait! it wasn’t just the fact that they got the jobs - that made me happy; it was one common thread of thought that echoed through all three conversations.

Almost verbatim, each of them said some variation of this: “Sir, they didn’t even ask us for our Degree certificates or for our CGPA scores. They just asked us about the skills that we had honed thus far, that we can bring to their institution.”

For years, we watch students sit in lecture halls and examination rooms, gripped by the anxiety of securing the highest possible marks. We see the frantic anxieties writ large in their faces, the stress over missing out on half a mark, 😊 and the deeply ingrained belief that a transcript is the ultimate measure of their worth!

However, the professional world out there is operating on a different rubric nay metric, entirely!

Institutions and employers are no longer looking for your mark statements! Or your huge haul of degrees! They are eagerly looking out for your skills!

And this I guess is the most puzzling paradox in all of academia!

Students focus all their time and energy in writing their examinations, while they are hesitant to devote even a fraction of that time to hone their skills!

It would be sagacious to know that, an examination is just a ‘Performance’ while Skill Development is a ‘Process’.

Examinations offer immediate, tangible validation. They provide a clear quantifiable score! However, skill development, is not a performance. it is a process! Sometimes the process is quite frustrating, and entirely devoid of instant gratification. Cultivating a lasting skill also requires patience and consistency!

This disparity between performance and process results in a disconnect which ultimately highlights a challenge in our modern pedagogical landscape!

We have inadvertently trained students to ‘sprint’ for the test rather than train them to face the ‘marathon’ of consistent skill development!

Personally, I feel that, the skills students actually need to cultivate cannot be evaluated by a continuous internal assessment test at all!

The goal, then, is to bridge this gap.

And this requires a paradigm shift in narrative!

This can happen only when we teach our students to move the focus away from just chasing the marks! When the college becomes a living laboratory for developing lifelong competencies!

We need to help our students realise that the most profound victories aren’t found in the frantic scribbling of an exam answer, but in the quiet, uncelebrated moments where a difficult skill finally begins to be cultivated or mastered!

In this regard, I am so happy to note that, many of our students are taking their time out to find the right internships, volunteering projects, or hone their writing skills, interviewing skills, music skills, designing skills, singing skills, interacting skills, reading skills, speaking skills, etc., and more!

As eminent critic Scupin Richard rightly points out,

Marks are for the moment! Skills are what you carry with you out into the world! 

Happy Skilling! 

Have you ever thought about the first thing you do, when you receive a new book from a friend? ❤️

Catching Lightning in a Book!

The Ecstatic Experience in Unboxing The Power of Moments

#lovelyreads

Have you ever thought about the first thing you do, when you receive a new book from a friend?

Well, the initial engagement with a gifted book is often an ecstatic experience, ain’t it?

The first thing I usually do is - to carefully analyse nay scrutinise the paratextual elements to the book!

It includes the ‘classic ritual’ 😉 of a quick fanning through of the pages to catch the unique scent of the book - the crisp, sharp smell of newly bound paper and ink! 😊

Then I start feeling the weight of the book! Then I am so tempted to run my fingers over the dust jacket and the spine! The next thing I do, is to look up the first few pages, to see if there’s any personalised note for me in the book – something that instantly transforms the book from a mass-produced object into a unique, personalised monument of sorts!

Then I look out for the architecture of the book – including the epigraph (if any), the foreword, the dedication, to understand the quotes or the people the author chooses to foreground!

I personally feel that these paratextual features are real tuning forks that set the much-needed emotional vibes that help us connect with the rest of the book – its content!

Next comes the cover art and the blurb, which are vital parameters in my checklist, that help me to decipher the visual cues and clues, and the promised premise! 😊

Now to the icing on the cake –

Well, I felt so happy when Dr. Amirthavalli, the IQAC Dean of our College, gave a book to me three days ago. The book is titled, The Power of Moments, and it’s written by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.

Indeed, the cover art is a brilliant and masterful work of art in itself, conveying the proverbial, “Catching lightning in a bottle”, mantra!

Lightning is sudden, powerful, illuminating, and bubbling with energy, creating an “extraordinary impact” - an epiphany, a thrill, or a sudden burst of profound connection! Lightning contained in the jar could mean that, this extraordinary energy can be intentionally engineered, captured, and harnessed by us!

The blurb to the book specific mentions the transformation of a scrappy school into one of the best loved schools in America, and an utterly mediocre hotel into one of the best loved destinations in Los Angeles, through defining moments, which I’m sure would feel particularly relevant for all of us educators – who are looking to shape student experiences!

On this vein, what makes this book truly unique is its core premise - defining moments don’t just happen to us by chance - they can be engineered!

Instead of just observing why we remember certain things, the Heath brothers provide a practical book for actively creating memorable, impactful experiences.

Most organisations and individuals spend their time trying to fix problems - what the authors call “filling potholes.” However, you get a higher return on investment by creating “peaks” - elevating a neutral experience! It argues that people don’t demand perfection; they just want moments of genuine delight!

The first few pages, I should confess – proved real gripping reading!

Page five especially, dismantles the common myth that defining moments are purely the product of fate, luck, or a higher power’s interventions.

Instead, it argues that we can be the authors of our own defining moments.

“What if a teacher could design a lesson that students were still reflecting on years later? What if a manager knew exactly how to turn an employee's moment of failure into a moment of growth?”, thereby suggesting that profound experiences don’t just happen serendipitously in a classroom or a workplace; they can be engineered.

Secondly, what, specifically, makes a particular experience memorable and meaningful?

I guess this page acts as the thesis statement for the book’s argument in toto! 😊

In short, the book gives us the blueprint to build those experiences all by ourselves, whether to enrich our own life, connect with others, or elevate the people we teach!

The reading journey with The Power of Moments continues…

Why the World is Finally Waking up to Logging Off Our Kids ❤️

Scrolling Away Survival Skills & The Robust Brew of Change!!

#newspaperinlearning

27th March 2026

Picture this situation where a child who is barely four years old, is holding a smartphone in hand, and with the nuanced precision of a seasoned pro, their tiny thumb swipes through a maze of reels, again and again and again!

This is quite a common scene we see every single day of our lives! Ain’t we?

Now, let’s take a minute to picture yet another situation! Where you as an adult - indulge yourself in doom-scrolling through Instagram or YouTube, only to realise – albeit with a deep sense of guilt – that two or three golden hours have vanished and vapourised into thin air?

Wait! You aren’t alone in this! But what if that compulsive need to keep scrolling isn’t a lack of willpower on your part, but a carefully engineered bait that’s meant to trap and chain you for hours without end?

Well, that’s where the hard truth is laid bare!

Social media algorithms are not designed to educate; they are designed to captivate! Yes! They are meant to take us captive!

And the sad thing here is that, when a child as young as four years old, is spending hours lost in the dopamine maze of social media, they aren’t just losing time! They are sacrificing the crucial, foundational survival skills they need to navigate the real world.

Some of the foundational survival skills they need to navigate the real world are -

Firstly, Reading and Writing! Well, reading requires sustained focus and patience - two things short-form videos actively destroy. When a child’s brain is wired for instant entertainment reels, sitting down to read, or write down a sentence feels agonisingly slow and unrewarding.

Secondly, the Art of Conversation! The child loses out on the gentle art of conversation – a huge people skill that’s high in demand today! Talking to people requires reading body language, understanding vocal tone, and practicing the messy, beautiful rhythm of human interaction.

Thirdly, the ability to listen to people in real world situations! – to pay attention, and truly process what another person is saying to them!

Finally, they lose the power of empathy! Real-life interaction almost always involves some kind of friction or the other. Kids need to argue over toys, negotiate rules in games, and figure out how to apologise when they are wrong! They cannot learn empathy from emojis!

In the midst of this sordid state of affairs, there seems to be a ray of hope! A kinda light at the end of the tunnel at last!

I happened to read a highly pertinent article in today’s The Economic Times, that highlights two recent landmark legal verdicts in the US holding tech giants Meta and Google accountable for the grave mental harm caused to a 20-year old woman (she had been using YouTube since age 6 and Instagram since age 9).

Just a day earlier, the same jury in Los Angeles had also ordered Meta to pay a staggering $375 million for misleading users about children’s safety regarding sexual predators.

Well, bespeaks a lot to the fact that governments the world over are at last waking up to the urgency of the situation!

To understand why the jury found these platforms negligent, we have to look at neuroscience for a while!

So what do social media platforms and slot machines have in common? Guess! 😊

Yes! Rewards that stimulate the brain into yearning for more!

Every time the child gets a like, a comment, or an algorithmically tweaked video, their brain’s reward centre releases a hit of dopamine. Scientists call this “dopa-mining”.

In teenagers, whose prefrontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for judgment and impulse control) is still developing, it can be devastating, thereby dulling the brain’s pleasure response to the “real world out there”.

As a result, all of a sudden, studying, sleeping, and hanging out with friends feel boring compared to the high-speed dopamine hits of personalised prompts, constant notifications and fine-tuned feeds.

Perhaps the most chilling part of the LA trial was the unearthing of internal documents from Meta. The memos revealed that the company fully understood this neuroscience and actively strategised to hook kids young, directing an army of trained teams to “bring them in as tweens”.

The question is no longer if social media is engineering addiction in our youth. The question is whether our laws are capable enough and fast enough to protect them.

And thankfully, lawmakers are at last waking up!

It is so heartening to note that, we are witnessing a rapid, global wave of legislation. Australia has just enacted a national minimum age of 16 for social media, backed by massive fines. Similarly, France has also banned social media for kids under 15. Spain, the UK, and New Zealand are currently drafting similar legislations.

In India, with over 49 crore social media users and a massive youth population, the nation is at a critical juncture. Recent surveys show that nearly half of urban Indian parents report their children spending three+ hours daily on social media. The human cost is real and tragic, with recent reports of youth self-harm linked to screen-time restrictions.

Karnataka recently became the first Indian state to announce a ban on social media for under-16s, with Andhra Pradesh following closely behind for under-13s. Moreover, the Union IT Ministry is now in active discussions regarding age-based compliance.

Change is indeed brewing!

And a ‘robust’ brew indeed!! 😊

PS: One lovely alternative to de-addiction and digital detox that I tell my students is – the importance of engaging in tree walks or bird walks!

If social media algorithms are designed for instant, effortless gratification, the natural world of birds, trees and forests, demands exactly the opposite.

Engaging ourselves in tree walks, nature walks or bird walks are real antidotes to the harmful effects of scrolling!

Birdwatching is considered an exercise in patience, and it helps in rebuilding sustained focus. You can’t swipe a branch to make a bird appear faster. 😊

Waiting quietly for a sunbird or a barbet to reveal itself requires a sustained attention that helps rewire brains accustomed to 30-second thrills. It replaces the exhausting overstimulation of screens with what psychologists would call “soft fascination” - allowing the exhausted prefrontal cortex to rest, recover, and heal!

On a bird walk, listening is just as crucial as looking. Distinguishing between the rustle of the wind and the specific call of a local species forces young minds to tune in, filter out background noise, and be entirely present in the moment, thus rebuilding the gentle art of listening!

Moreover, stepping into a forest makes us aware of the fact that we are part of a larger, interconnected ecosystem – thus fostering a  deep sense of ecological empathy and stewardship!

So happy to note that we had quite a lot of tree walks, bird walks and forest walks this academic year, where our students were happily immersed in paying attention to the tunes of nature!

This blogger, while on a bird walking trek deep into the forests! 😊

And yes! If you’re interested in nature trails that run deep into the forests, do ping me! Shall add you to our vibrant band of bird walkers! 😊  

You may want to read our past blogpost HERE for a glimpse into an immersive Green Walk in our campus with the vibrant II MA English Class.

Skills First, Degree Next: Rethinking Youth Employment in India ❤️

The “Degree” Mirage: Why Industry Today Demands Skills Over Certificates

#newspaperinlearning

I happened to read an article in today’s The Times of India Chennai Edition, on “How soon do unemployed young men find jobs in India?”

The infographic data based on the State of Working Report 2026, is a shocker of sorts!

There seems to be a stark contrast between finding work and securing quality, stable employment for young men in India.

Yes, the article focusses on young men’s employment! Kinda sexist, but I hope they want to make a point!

So what on earth does this statistics reveal?

While a seemingly positive 50% of unemployed youth find some form of employment within a year, the vast majority of these jobs are likely informal, temporary, or blue-collar.

The concept of job security or secure employment has hence become a mirage of sorts, today!

The data also highlights a severe shortage of high-quality jobs. Only 10.4% of graduates manage to secure permanent, salaried, or white-collar roles within a year.

Interestingly, holding a degree decreases the probability of finding “any employment” quickly! That means, there seems to be a “waiting” period, where graduates have to keep waiting for better roles or are overqualified for the informal jobs which are readily available to 12th-pass individuals.

For higher educational institutions guiding students from the classroom to the workforce, these figures highlight a huge challenge ahead!

If nearly 90% of graduates miss out on secure, permanent roles within their first year, it becomes clear that academic degrees alone are often not enough.

This brings us to the takeaway part from this blogpost –

That a Degree alone is no longer enough to secure the job or guarantee career progression; Rather, it is the skill-set that dictates the trajectory!

Looking beyond a student’s degree, Industry has a simple question – “What can you actually do with what you’ve learned?”

If skills are the modern currency, employers are currently paying a premium for a blend of high-tech fluency and human-centric adaptability.

Industries need minds that can question assumptions, weigh trade-offs, and frame problems before jumping to solutions.

Firstly, Problem-solving Skills - the ability to navigate from a state of confusion or conflict to a state of resolution. It is not just about fixing what is broken; it is the systematic process of identifying an obstacle, and engineering a viable way forward.

Secondly, Cross-Cultural Communication Skills - The capacity to communicate clearly and collaborate across different cultural contexts and international frameworks is a massive skill that industries vie for in candidates!

Thirdly, Emotional Intelligence – While technical skills are essential for doing the work, Emotional Intelligence is essential for working with the people. A brilliant analyst who alienates their team is ultimately a liability, while on the other hand, a competent analyst who elevates the team’s spirits and morale is considered an asset. As routine technical tasks are automated, the work left for humans involves navigating relationships, resolving conflicts, and guiding people; and for this, one needs adaptability and flexibility!

The challenge for modern academia is not to replace the core curriculum with corporate training, but to help students translate academic rigour into practical application. Bridging this gap often happens best outside the traditional lecture hall. Getting students into practical environments - perhaps by tapping and honing their skills and channelising them in the right way, and also by providing volunteering activities, projects, SLPs, internships, etc, gives them the appropriate playfield needed to pressure-test these skills in the real world!

To sum it up, then –

A degree is not the ultimate proxy for competency!

Rather, it’s Skills first! Degree next!!

Sylvan Melodies in the Woods | A Birding Diary 💚

Of Wings, Wattles, and World Sparrow Day

The Brahminy Startling | The did-he-do-it bird | The Chessboard-Collared Dove | The Mysterious Male Koel | The Chatak | World Sparrow Day

#intothewildwithrufus

Today we managed to capture some beautiful shots of the Brahminy Starlings – a bevy of lively, vocal birds!

Then we saw a lovely female Sunbird, with her unique, deeply curved bill used for extracting nectar from tubular flowers. The action shot - capturing a sunbird mid-flutter as it investigates a hanging vine was indeed a monumental feat in itself, trueproving their cute hovering nature.

A wonderful portrait of a Spotted Dove follows next. Perched quite stoically on a weathered brick wall, this shot beautifully showcases the distinctive “chessboard” collar of black and white spots on its hindneck.

Then we had the delight of capturing the House Sparrow, which for years was on the wane in this part of India. 

Interestingly, Bihar and Delhi have made the House Sparrow as their State Birds, to raise awareness about its conservation. And yes, coincidentally, 20th March is World Sparrow Day!

The first shot shows the female sparrow, beautifully camouflaged against the green acacia leaves. Then follows the silhouette-style shot on the wire featuring the male sparrow.

Then comes the prize-catch of the mysterious male Asian Koel, peering out from the dense, green foliage! It feels very nice, capturing the often elusive bird we usually hear long before we see them!

We then spotted the Jacobin Cuckoo or the Pied Cuckoo, quite easily identifiable by its crisp black-and-white plumage and its prominent, rakish crest. It is also called the Chatak in Indian mythology.

Then we chanced to get a crisp shot of a Red-wattled Lapwing striding gracefully through the low vegetation! Known as the loud and vigilant watchmen of open habitats, they are unique for their frantic “did-he-do-it” alarm calls!