Call Of The Hill Myna...

Earlier this week I got a set of questions from Vyas Sivanand, a Bangalore based senior journo of The New Indian Express , a leading national daily. This was for a feature story on my journey in the field of conservation and travel. It made me walk down my thought lane and pen down the beautiful memories I have lived over the decades with family, friends and fellow conservationists from our Tumkur-based nature club, Wildlife Aware Nature Club (WANC) as well as other NGOs. I’m sharing the unedited answers with you. For the published feature story, please see the link towards the end of this post. 1) How and when did your passion towards nature begin? I grew up in Tumkur in late 70s and early 80s, when it was a very small town with the expansive Tumkur Amanikere lying in its heart. Our ancestral home is located a couple of minutes from this lake. After-school hours and weekends, particularly in monsoons, meant sprinting to this wetland and its surroundings. This beautiful lake

How to say your story - Story writing for South Asia's NGOs, CSR teams and Government agencies Friends, I am fortunate to have over two decades’ experience working with NGOs and Government agencies to communicate the various challenges staring at India today, ranging from environmental degradation to women’s rights. Among the organisations where I have worked paid, full time are WWF and Greenpeace. Over the years I have interacted with many professionals,  particularly from international agencies,  working in the non-profit sector in south Asia. This has helped me take a close look at the region’s problems and proposed solutions. Using my experience, I have authored an e-book ‘ How to Say Your Story - A manual for South Asia’s NGOs, CSR teams & Government agencies on communicating through written stories ’. This book, probably the first of its kind in South Asia, aims to help the region’s development sector create and use stories. Anyone interested in educa