A Labour of Love

The Indian State rarely does much to save the environment. Despite stringent laws being there, they are not implemented properly. Neither is there an attempt to increase the awareness of the population regarding environmental conservation. That is why it is mostly NGOs and individuals who have to act to get things done. Either on their own or sometimes through organisational lobbying they get the state machinery to do something. Some of these individuals and NGOs succeed immensely. One such is THE NATURE VOLUNTEERS (TNV) of Indore.

Essentially this is a group of lake conservationists and birdwatchers. Since a substantial number of local birds have their habitats in and around water bodies and migratory birds also come there, TNV began campaigning to save one major lake in the Sirpur area of Indore city which was constructed in the era of the Holkar Maharajas. Not only was sewage being emptied into the lake and plastic waste being dumped in it but its catchment was being encroached illegally and being converted into built up areas. They raised public awareness and were able to get enough pressure to bear on the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) to protect the lake and its catchment. So over time the lake regained its lost glory and became a haven for both local and migratory birds. So much so that Sirpur Lake has been named as an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) by Birdlife International. Their efforts have also led to a much larger lake created by a dam to supply water to Indore city, Yeshwant Sagar, also being protected by the IMC and this too has been designated as an IBA. TNV now has a centre at the Sirpur Lake where the nuances of bird watching and bird conservation are taught to enthusiasts. Thus, overall TNV has now become a well known conservation club and its members have won several awards for their efforts. This year the magnificent pink coloured Greater Flamingoes made an unexpected visit to the Sirpur Lake causing great excitement and pleasure to the conservationists of the city.

However, the point of this post is their latest effort of publishing the book "Birds of Indore". Since TNV has among its members avid bird watchers, top class photographers and qualified ornithologists, they have produced a superb compendium on the birds that have been sighted in Indore district including both the local species and those that migrate to the district during winter mostly and also at other times of the year. The book is thus both for amateurs and professionals. The photographs of the birds are scintillating with details giving the local, biological and common English names of the birds, their anatomical description, their conservation status and their habitats. The book starts off by explaining the nuances of bird watching followed by a description of the major birding sites both water bodies and land areas. The birds have been grouped in different categories like wetland birds, birds of prey, nocturnal birds, ground feeding birds etc and there is a detailed index of the common English names also so that one can search for them by category or by name. There is a glossary that explains the technical terms. It is thus a collector's item.

While I am a die hard natural resource conservationist, I must confess that I know very little about birds apart from admiring them when I see them. Therefore, I was very happy to read this book and find out that there are so many birds in Indore and if they are studied in a systematic way then our knowledge of their importance to us increases. This is the most important aspect of this book that it is so well produced that it will attract non birders to birding and conservation and so build up the popular movement for natural conservation even more and exert further pressure on the administration. Despite its top class production, the book costs only 500 rupees in soft cover and 700 rupees in hard cover plus postage charges when bought directly from TNV and so is not a very big drain on one's pocket. Kudos to all the members of TNV who have done so much for bird and lake conservation in Indore through their voluntary efforts. It is indeed a labour of love.