tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64307212024-03-08T04:11:44.488+05:30Hmm...Beyond Reason and emotionPrashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-69589559680523873002009-10-26T10:27:00.003+05:302009-10-26T10:29:32.979+05:30I have moved!Have moved lock, stock and barrel to my own site at <a href="http://daktre.com">daktre.com</a>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-26792163754118006822009-07-19T17:50:00.003+05:302009-07-19T18:09:32.791+05:30Questionable Intelligence in Wildlife Crime Bureau<p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The <a href="http://www.pannatigerreserve.in/" target="_blank" title="Official Website of the Panna Tiger Reserve" id="cdn7">website of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Panna</span> Tiger Reserve</a> greets you with the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pug marks</span> of a tiger on its homepage. It carries a nice news ticker about one of the many recent awards it got from the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of India for being the best maintained and tourist-friendly national parks of the country. With over 90 staff managing the Tiger Reserve and being on the tourism circuit, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Panna</span> is a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">fairly</span> small park among the National Parks in the country. A park like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Namdapha</span> in remote North-east India has eleven field staff to manage nearly 2000 sq. km of difficult terrain. Even as the <a href="http://projecttiger.nic.in/namdapha.htm" target="_blank" title="Namdapha Tiger Reserve on Project Tiger Website" id="k81o">project tiger website proclaims 60 tigers</a> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Namdapha</span> Tiger Reserve, India's largest Tiger Reserve, <a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/Full6.asp?FolderName=20050915&FileNAme=news&sid=28&sec_id=50" target="_blank" title="Down To Earth Article on Namdapha" id="qmhs">others who have actually worked there have their reservations</a>. A <a title="recent paper" href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V5X-4S9R896-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=961639802&_rerunOrigin=scholar.google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=64beae5a72c79909c73fa6124f4468e4" id="rw.q">recent paper</a> in fact uses extensive camera-trapping data to estimate a maximum of TWO tigers in this park! But, it is easy to overlook news from such rarely and difficult-to-visit parks such as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Namdapha</span>. That is not the case with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Panna</span> though. It has been one of the sought after places to see tigers in the country. One would have thought it must be easier to manage a 500 sq. km well connected park in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Madhya</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Pradesh</span> with over seventy field staff and a smattering of IFS officers with sustained tourist presence and some radio-collared tigers. One is obviously wrong!<br /><br />Last month, the <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/the-great-tiger-cover-up-no-big-cats-left-in-panna/95174-3.html" target="_blank" title="CNN-IBN report on lack of tigers in Panna" id="e.c:">media reported</a> what has been doing rounds in wildlife circles and local villages near <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Panna</span> Tiger Reserve; that the tiger whose marks the website bears, are not found in the park anymore. Following a <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/survey-finds-no-signs-of-tigers-in-panna/430526/" target="_blank" title="Indian Express Article on No Tigers found in survey" id="h2po">survey conducted in December 2008</a> by the Wildlife Institute of India and <a href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/no-tigers-in-panna-national-park-fear-conseravtionists/86618-3.html" target="_blank" title="CNN-IBN report speculating No Tigers at Panna" id="fl5.">several reports in March</a> about the possibility of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Panna</span> <a title="Sariska" target="_blank" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8150382.stm" id="b8yl">doing a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Sariska</span></a>, the <a href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tigers-in-panna-killed-probe-report/480342/" target="_blank" title="Indian Express article on NTCA probe finding no tigers" id="lcg-">National Tiger Conservation Authority sent a team to investigate</a> what the State Government had been attributing to natural deaths of tigers (not appearing unnatural to them that scores of tigers could be dying naturally!). All this even while the State Government denied all possibilities of tiger being locally extinct in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Panna</span>. It was only in June this year that the <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health-Science/Earth/Flora-Fauna/Its-official-Panna-reserve-has-no-tiger/articleshow/4653794.cms" target="_blank" title="Times of India article on the official acceptance of Tigerless Panna" id="l6n_"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">tigerlessness</span> of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Panna</span> was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">officialised</span></a>.<br /><br />Day before yesterday, <a href="http://www.dailypioneer.com/DisplayContent.aspx?ContentID=189636&URLName=Tiger-deaths-at-Panna-blamed-on-radio-collaring-of-big-cats" target="_blank" title="Pioneer article on Radio collaring causing Tiger deaths" id="t_x7">an article in the Pioneer enlightened us</a> about the reason for the tiger deaths in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Panna</span> - Radio collaring! A report by the <a href="http://wccb.gov.in/" target="_blank" title="Official Website of WCB" id="qowq">Wildlife Crime <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Bureau</span></a> attributed the tiger deaths in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Panna</span> to radio collaring, the article said. It found that 80 per cent of tigers killed in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Panna</span> have met their deadly fate at the hands of poachers after they were radio collared, glossing over the fact that we could know about their fates ONLY because they were radio-collared. The article said that that the report termed itself "interesting". Definitely, I must say - very interesting that the report makes a scapegoat of science. Radio tracking of wildlife is widely used for scientific studies, management and conservation of several species across the world - from <a href="http://www.csl.gov.uk/aboutCsl/scienceGroupsAndTeams/ebg/gooseProject/tagging.cfm" target="_blank" title="birds" id="rezn">birds</a> to camels and from turtles to tigers, of course. In fact, critical questions on behaviour and ecology of large mammals are evident only through such methods. Tracking tigers by radio collaring has given us an understanding on important questions such as <a title="home ranges" href="http://journals.cambridge.org/production/action/cjoGetFulltext?fulltextid=40766" id="z70r">home ranges</a> of tigers, <a title="carrying capacity of tigers" href="http://www.savethetigerfund.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Riding_The_Tiger1&template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=3045" id="z0ms">carrying capacity of tigers</a> in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">continuously</span> shrinking tiger reserves, <a title="causes of mortality" href="http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120123582/abstract" id="tetl">causes of mortality</a> and dealing with the reasons and consequences of conflict with people, especially so with elephants. These answers are exactly what a wildlife manager of a tiger reserve 'should' be looking for. And recent conservation literature from India has started answering such questions. While it is legitimate to further investigate the type of collars used and safety of tranquilizers used, it is quite an illogical conclusion that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">WCB</span> report seems to be coming to. Obviously, each and every tiger was not radio-collared. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Shouldn't</span> scientists with experience in radio collaring have been involved in this exercise? Was there a thorough analysis on the equipment and data of radio-collaring in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Panna</span> and elsewhere done by the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">WCB</span>? Of course, not. Irresponsibly declaring radio-collaring as a reason in a report belittles the report as well as the huge body of scientific literature about this technique worldwide.One only wonders if the intention of the report is to investigate the crime or blame the ones detecting and reporting the crime!<br /><br />Two issues come to my mind as I read the developments at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Panna</span>, the lack of an information culture and poor scientific temper in State institutions. Take for example the case of infant mortality reporting in the health sector. It's all a number game - blaming infant deaths on first line health workers results in under-reporting of infant deaths. Who would report infant deaths or tiger numbers truthfully it if retribution rather than help is what you receive from above? The net result of this is that the information reported <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">through</span> the public health system is so poor that if we were to rely purely on health centre data, we would have infant mortality rates of USA or UK! Similar is the case with the tiger numbers - if the usual reaction to smaller tiger numbers reported by scientists outside the system or from watchers on the field is going to be retribution, then we shall always have tiger numbers of the 18<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">th</span> century! Such an attitude in the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">bureaucracy</span> destroys the innate nature of the field staff to truthfully report information and act on them. Instead, routine institutional data <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">focuses</span> merely on portraying a sense of status-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">quot</span> or sometimes improvements rather than providing actionable information that should then feed back into management. The other issue of lack of scientific temper is quite evident in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">WCB</span> report, which has the audacity to term itself, 'interesting' while drawing vicarious temporal associations between tiger deaths and radio-collaring. Let's face the facts -<br /><br />Fact 1: <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Panna</span> lost its tigers - not on the day when the Minister accepted it, but over months (or perhaps years) of poaching.<br /></span> </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">Fact 2: Radio-collaring as a technique for conservation and management with well-established safety guidelines is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">widely</span> accepted.<br /><br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Viewing</span> the tiger extinction in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Panna</span> as yet another isolated event with simple reasons like an errant forest guard or radio collaring rather than understanding the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">socio</span>-political, economic and biological reasons is the most illogical thing to do. For a tiger to survive in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">Panna</span> like in most of India's tiger reserves is the result of a complex inter-play between protection, human-animal conflict, irresponsible tourism, poverty and access to eduction, employment and health care in the villages around and not the least of all, political will. Transferring forest officers, suspending guards and blaming radio-collaring are non-solutions. Responsible tourism and conservation research in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">additon</span> to bringing in revenue, awareness and greater understanding of conservation are also a way of having more eyes and ears in the forests. As long as we continue to produce poor quality data within the Government, it is only logical for the Government – be it health or forest, to encourage applied research and act quickly on the issues that the scientific community brings up. Unfortunately, the forest department is much more closed to science and research than any other department today. Permissions to work in protected areas on important conservation activities is rarely based on the merit of the proposal but on whether it will report poor tiger numbers or dwindling of habitat. And where researchers have been <a title="candid with their findings" target="_blank" href="http://ibnlive.in.com/news/the-great-tiger-cover-up-no-big-cats-left-in-panna/95174-3.html" id="k8v4">candid with their findings</a>, they have only been <a title="CNN-IBN article on treatment meted out to researchers" target="_blank" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/83163/" id="v3m9">faced with cancellation of permits</a>! I am still waiting for the day when a young forest officer in a protected area is empowered enough to publicly discuss issues in his park and network strongly with the scientific community, rather than play hide-and-seek with numbers till there is no other option. We saw this with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Sariska</span> and now with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Panna</span>. And these are the parks we know about due to the reporting in media, not because they came up in any Government report where we should ideally have been reading about them.<br /></span> </p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span> </div>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-11598140647756559562008-09-16T15:39:00.003+05:302008-09-16T15:46:08.179+05:30Delhibirding at OkhlaI was in Delhi over the weekend on work and I was able to catch up on some Sunday birding with <span class="nfakPe">Delhibird</span> members. Just thought of sharing my experience with them, this being my first birding outing in Delhi. Due thanks to Gopi Sundar, Anshu, KB Singh and a diverse group of members from <span class="nfakPe">Delhibird</span> well represented in age, gender and profession!<br /><br />A particularly hot Sunday morning, the stench of the Yamuna and the recent disquiet from yesterday's tragic blasts did not deter the Sunday outing of <span class="nfakPe">Delhibird</span> to Okhla Bird Sanctuary, geographically in Uttar Pradesh, but only about half hour drive from the national capital.<br /><br />A chance meeting with Gopi Sundar who studies Sarus Cranes and a co-incidental phone call from Anshu of Delhibirds regarding the outing made it possible for me to join the group to Okhla. We left Delhi at 5.40 AM and reached Okhla at 6 AM. The twitching of the Lesser Whitethroat and the ammoniacal odours of the Yamuna welcomed us (For those who think I am overstenching the Yamuna, see quote of the day below). We parked within Okhla and walked down the trail with agricultural fields on one side and dry marsh land with tall grass on the other with the 'pie' of male bushchats every few metres apart. A lone Common Babbler on the trail ahead excited me quite a bit, we southerners not having this 'common' cousin of our babblers.<br />We reached the end of the trail overlooks the Yamuna waters with tall grass, a few settlements and stray cattle separating us from the water. Somebody pointed out a large bird perched at a distance and the day started. Even as the scope was being set up, several binocs went up and a tentative diagnosis of a hepatic female cuckoo was announced. The barring on the upper tail, its<br />large size and the very fine nature of the barring on the underparts was bringing Eurasian Cuckoo in my mind. The scope brought some clarity - the yellowish bill and the plumage indicated that it was a juvenile. The throat had relatively lesser streaking and the underparts were also quite dark with the fine barring. With a lingering doubt in everyone's mind, we settled for juv. Greybellied Cuckoo. A few record shots from the photgrapher friends will settle the id soon perhaps.<br /><br />A courageous group of delhibirders turned waders and waded through some water, vegetation and whatnot to reach the water. They were rewarded with Blacktailed Godwits, Ruffs and several other waterbirds. Just then, we all had seen a female Marsh Harrier and even as I was about to mention Migrantwatch, KB Singh informed me that he would be logging it into MW<br />today! The other group which stayed put were witness to an Rufousbacked Shrikes, an oriole in flight, red munias and black drongos. On the other bank, meanwhile were over a hundred terns, mostly whiskered with some river terns fishing. As we returned, Gopi scoped a few Spotted Owlets roosting in a Banyan tree nearby. A Greater Spotted Eagle and a Pariah kite circling<br />together as we walked back was another highlight of the morning.<br /><br />It was a great opportunity to meet some birders from Delhi. It's amazing how many of them have heard so much about BR Hills. The recent photographs from BR Hills had made it even more of a top destination for many of them. Between the harriers and the munias, the conversation moved from Migrantwatch to the top-ten photographers announced by Kolkatabirds and slowly strayed away to idlis and dosas, and at some point, we all dispersed<br />to Sagar restaurant in Noida, where I gulped down the most expensive idlis of my life. As all breakfast convos go, this one too was unmatched in its width of topics - conservation policy, judiciary, ethics, choice of 'spirits' and what not!<br /><br />A morning well spent with <span class="nfakPe">delhibird</span> members and I look forward to birding again with them whenever I visit Delhi.<br /><br />Quote of the day (Heard over breakfast :)<br /><br />"I saw a Small Blue Kingfisher once. It dived into the Yamuna.....it then turned Pied"<br /><br />List of birds seen<br /><br />1) Grey Francolin - <span style="font-style: italic;">Francolinus pondicerianus</span><br />2) Lesser Whistling Duck - <span style="font-style: italic;">Dendrocygna javanica</span><br />3) Spotbilled Duck - <span style="font-style: italic;">Anas poecilorhyncha</span> - Hundreds!<br />4) Northern Shoveler - <span style="font-style: italic;">A. clypeata</span> - 2 females among the spotbilled ducks<br />5) Green Bee-eater - <span style="font-style: italic;">Merops orientalis</span><br />6) Juv. Cuckoo - Possibly Greybellied?<br />7) Greater Coucal - <span style="font-style: italic;">Centropus sinensis</span><br />8) Roseringed Parakeet - <span style="font-style: italic;">Psittacula kramerii</span><br />9) Spotted Owlet - <span style="font-style: italic;">Athene brama</span><br />10) Laughing Dove - <span style="font-style: italic;">Streptopelia senegalensis</span><br />11) Eurasian Collored Dove - <span style="font-style: italic;">Streptopelia decaocto</span><br />12) Yellowfooted Green Pigeon - <span style="font-style: italic;">Treron phoenicoptera </span>3 different flocks of<br />approx 12-15 pigeons<br />13) Whitebreasted Waterhen - <span style="font-style: italic;">Amaurornis phoenicurus</span> - heard only<br />14) Purple Moorhen - <span style="font-style: italic;">Porphyrio porphyrio</span><br />15) Ruff - <span style="font-style: italic;">Philomachus pugnax</span> - 4 in flight<br />16) River Tern - <span style="font-style: italic;">Sterna aurantia</span><br />17) Whiskered Tern - <span style="font-style: italic;">Chlidonias hybridus</span><br />18) Pariah Kite - <span style="font-style: italic;">Milvus migrans</span><br />19) Marsh Harrier - <span style="font-style: italic;">Circus a. aeruginosus</span><br />20) Greater Spotted Eagle - <span style="font-style: italic;">Aquila clanga</span><br />21) Little Cormorant - <span style="font-style: italic;">Phalacrocorax niger</span><br />22) Little Egret - <span style="font-style: italic;">Egretta garzetta</span><br />23) Cattle Egret - <span style="font-style: italic;">Bubulcus ibis</span><br />24) Grey Heron - <span style="font-style: italic;">Ardea cinerea</span><br />25) Purple Heron - <span style="font-style: italic;">Ardea purpurea</span><br />26) Night Heron - <span style="font-style: italic;">Nycticorax nycticorax</span><br />27) Painted Stork - <span style="font-style: italic;">Mycteria leucocephala</span><br />28) Rufousbacked Shrike - <span style="font-style: italic;">Lanius schach</span><br />29) Rufous Treepie - <span style="font-style: italic;">Dendrocitta vagabunda</span><br />30) House Crow - <span style="font-style: italic;">Corvus splendens</span><br />31) Eurasian Golden Oriole - <span style="font-style: italic;">Oriolus oriolus</span> - seen in flight<br />32) Black Drongo - <span style="font-style: italic;">Dicrurus macrocercus</span><br />33) Whirring call of Common Iora?? <span style="font-style: italic;">Aegithina tiphia</span> - Not confirmed<br />34) Redvented Bulbul - <span style="font-style: italic;">Pycnonotus cafer</span> - outnumbered its whiskered cousin<br />35) Redwhiskered Bulbul - <span style="font-style: italic;">P. jocosus</span><br />36) Ashy Prinia - <span style="font-style: italic;">Prinia socialis</span><br />37) Lesser Whitethroat - <span style="font-style: italic;">Sylvia curruca</span><br />38) Tailorbird - <span style="font-style: italic;">Orthotomus sutorius</span><br />39) Common Babbler - <span style="font-style: italic;">Turdoides caudatus</span><br />40) Purple Sunbird - <span style="font-style: italic;">Nectarinia asiatica</span><br />41) Red Munia - <span style="font-style: italic;">Amandava amandava</span><br />42) Silverbill - <span style="font-style: italic;">Lonchura malabarica</span><br />43) Scalybreasted Munia - <span style="font-style: italic;">L. punctulata</span>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-20539813442243833672008-07-14T12:37:00.004+05:302008-07-14T12:49:50.779+05:30Healthy forests and healthy people – A problem of First among equals<div style="text-align: justify;">Aphu was a young man in his twenties when he passed away. In the hinterland of India's largest tiger reserve, few people keep track of their age, for nobody here registers them for social welfare, nor do they have a doctor who asks them their age to fill up a column on a case sheet. Aphu's home was in Gandhigram, a remote tribal village in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in North-east India, where he lived a little more than 20 years. His village is surrounded on one side by one of India's largest tiger reserves, Namdapha Tiger Reserve, and on the other are vast stretches of Myanmar's Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve, perhaps the world's largest protected area spanning close to 6000 square kilometers.<br /><br />Late last year, Aphu died. A healthy young man, he was among the people hired to carry luggage and supplies for a group of people. We were visiting the village to see how we could address their health care needs. Cystic fibrosis did not dry up his lungs. Neither was it any of those eponymous autosomal diseases that strike the young, of which we learn so much in medical school. These diseases were very interesting, with articles about them in journals describing correlations to genes with numbers like the latest version of MS Windows. They all had their "Disability adjusted Life Years"(DALYs) that were screaming out their importance to be taken up in any of the new programs that the State might decide to launch. But, these rare and publishable afflictions were not among those that Aphu was ever afflicted with. He died, quite simply, of malaria. Quite ironic, that a country with nuclear power still has anaemic mothers and malaria deaths!<br /><br />I have been to Aphu's village a few times with the wildlife scientists who work here. His village happens to be surrounded by one of the northernmost primary rainforests in the world. The place teems with biodiversity and the forests of Arunachal Pradesh have witnessed descriptions of a new species of bird and even a new primate, all in the past few years. Although, it is the tiger that has given this area its protected status, it is not for the tiger that this national park and many of the forests in Arunachal Pradesh are known. They are famous for their rich biodiversity including several endemic insects, butterflies, birds and plants. Such rainforests play a central role in wildlife conservation and climate change. However, climate change and global warming are distant issues for the Lisu and other tribal people living in and around these forests. Strangely, tigers aren’t.<br /><br />In India today, there is a public debate on tiger deaths. Tigers and tribal people are being pitted against each other in conferences and in hallowed policy-making chambers. Co-existence of tigers and tribals is being questioned. In an environment where health care is financed literally out of people's pockets, a tiger's fate and people's health can get intertwined easily. And hunting becomes a means of averting any unplanned and sudden catastrophic expenditure. It is invariably health costs that crop up in the category of unforeseen expenses. With poor access to primary health care or even to community health workers, people in such remote regions often find that hunting can finance their long journeys to towns. And it does not help matters that private providers with expensive secondary level care and irrational practices become the first line health providers for these people. The Lisus travel through about 150 km of thick forests interspersed with rivers often in spate, to reach 'civilization'. From here, they take a 6 hour bus journey to reach a town where they invariably see a private provider. Roads, understandably are a bigger concern than chloroquine.<br /><br />I work in an NGO in South India, with another indigenous tribal people, called the Soligas. The forests have shrunken around the Soligas, leaving a 540 sq. km area, still remaining, due to its legal protection by the State. The Soligas were semi-nomadic people, until they were forced to settle due in part to the shrinking forests and the legal protection accorded to their forests. They couldn't hunt anymore. However, a doctor who settled in these hills 25 years ago, began to provide health care to them. He went further to education and livelihood, as just providing health care was helping their health! This NGO today provides health care, education and livelihood to these tribal people. Today, the elderly Soligas talk about how climate has changed. They do not question it and do not need evidence. They know it and also see how their forests are getting choked from the outside.<br /><br />These two glaring examples from South India and Arunachal Pradesh in North-east India typify the problems faced by people living in and around forests in India. However, the key is in access to basic health care and livelihoods. Wildlife scientists today see this connection between people's basic needs and their conservation ethic. In fact, it was a group of wildlife biologists that started a community health care program and an education initiative among the Lisus. I went there to train a group of tribal youth in basic health care. Among other things, I wanted these youth to be able to identify and institute treatment against malaria. It was indeed a satisfying experience for me, to see how wildlife biologists had looked beyond their paradigm of biodiversity conservation, and had looked for solutions outside ‘their box’. We, in health care, sadly are yet to make this connection. A glance at our curricula reveals the level of medicalisation that we undergo. A glance at our policy shows how fragmented and restricted it is.<br /><br />Shrinking forests are an important reason for climate change, and so are empty forests; forests devoid of their biodiversity. While hunting empties forests in some places, it is firewood needs and fires in other places. It is after all people, who are to blame for this. People living in and around forest areas depend on them for their livelihood and daily needs. And when there are financial pressures for any of their needs, they turn to their resources - forests. Thus, they find themselves being the villains accelerating deforestation and emptying the forests. Isn’t this the same thing that our forefathers did, that we find ourselves in this position today? Can we blame them for being late in destroying their forests, just because, we thought of legal protection for it now, and we have climate change now! As population pressures and urbanization increase in India, rural and tribal India face a different problem; one of access - both physical and financial. It is time for health planners to consider the special needs and contextual factors affecting tribal<br />people and those living or affected by forests. It would be presumptuous to imagine that national programs for any of the diseases will change the situation with these people. Lisus or Soligas and for that matter any individual is not asking for malaria control programs or early cancer detection programs. They are asking for plain health care - financial and physical access to a person who can cure them of their illness and can help them live a healthier life. A malaria program for them is even lower in priority than a road or a source of livelihood, simply because, they have accepted malaria deaths as their destiny. It is perhaps time to think beyond programs and address health as a need in itself rather than health as a consequence of our programs.<br /><br />Aphu died of malaria in his early 20s only because he was born in a place where climate change and the biodiversity mattered more than his life. In many areas the world over, where man-wildlife conflicts occur, the situation is similar. How are we going to prioritize between biodiversity conservation and people's needs? Are our politicians and policy-makers even seeing this problem of 'First among equals’? The global health research agenda needs to gear up to answer these difficult questions; questions that matter to people dying of malaria in this age, when in many countries, research is addressing carpal tunnel syndrome.</div>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-72069925640983454882008-03-31T23:12:00.003+05:302008-03-31T23:30:10.765+05:30Bird flu - Birds editionIt's an interesting puzzle, this bird flu. On one side, while birdwatchers are all disturbed about even the suggestion of wild bird culling as a control measure to prevent spread of bird flu by migratory birds, on the other hand, for the public health professionals, it is just among various available 'vector-control' measure.....kinda like control mosquitoes to prevent malaria. Who would listen if for whatever reason, 'mosquito-rights' activists want to prevent any such measure!!<br /><br />Anyways, neither are there any mosquito-rights activists, nor are things as simple as taking a leaf from malaria vector control and applying it in bird flu. Understandably, things are much more complex than that. In two posts to two different groups, I have shared my opinions with both interest groups - birdwatchers and public health professionals.......here is the birds edition, and soon to come the public health edition.<br /><br />Just a few comments of mine especially in view of several discussions that I have been witness to in course of my study here. I just share below some of my thoughts for the general reader and may be writing on topics way out of the purview of our discussion group in hope that many birdwatchers would be interested in topics related to bird flu - an interesting situation that calls for a lot of inter-disciplinary work and understanding of concepts in biology, epidemiology, public health and veterinary science.<br /><br />Sudheendra's mail and Krishna's and Deepa's subsequent replies about Avian flu bring up many issues on avian flu that are hardly being considered. Sudheendra rightly points out the serious economic consequences of mass culling being undertaken in response to 'declared' cases of the flu in Orissa and Bengal. Many of the people involved here are small poultry owners for whom livelihood is a much more proximate concern than an unheard 'flu'.<br /><br />Flu is definitely not something to be taken lightly. As Krishna points out, if the virus does 'cross-over' to humans, the chances are only among the animal handlers, and that is exactly where the public health authorities must focus. It is also to be noted that until recently bird-human infection was not yet reported and it was only spreading among birds. But, the worldwide panic is because IF there is such a mutation that enables the flu to spread among people, it could take up the pandemic proportions that the world has seen before.<br /><br />The thing about flu is that it is clinically....well...so insignificant! Fever, feeling of weakness, body pain, red eyes are symptoms that dont get reported. MOre so in the health system landscape that India has with a zillion private clinics, quacks, traditional healers and disgruntled and frustrated public health system. The reports we are getting now are the ones we could detect.<br /><br />Flu viruses have the uncanny ability of sweeping across the world bringing about widespread deaths and then, suddenly disappearing. This has happened many times before. The classical example quoted is that of the Swine Flu epidemic in the US which is supposed to have killed over 20 million people over 4 months just in the US! Of course, the pandemic was worldwide, but you<br />can get numbers only for the US, UK and some other countries which did have such systems. Over 200,000 people are supposed to have died in this pandemic in UK. It took more lives than in the First world war. And then, suddenly Swine Flu vanished into thin air. Poof! I say this to emphasize the point that flu is a very real danger. The reason why it flares up so suddenly is<br />attributed to mutations.<br /><br />Influenza is caused by a virus which are comparable to "a bad xerox machine inside a protein cover", the xerox machine in this case referring to its genetic material. I call it bad because it lacks a particular 'proof-reading' mechanism that other living things have and hence there are<br />no 'errors' when for example our own skin cells multiply in a healing wound. If our cells did not have a good way of keeping our genetic material intact during division, then we would all be doomed! But, for the virus this is quite an advantage, and hence through mechanisms called drifts and shifts, the virus keeps changing its protein clothing, which is what enables our immune system to identify them. So, how does the human immune system grapple with a virus that keeps changing its appearance......It cant!...which is why, HIV and many other such viruses pose a great threat for vaccines. We would have to keep making vaccines for every new dominant appearance (strain) of the virus. IN simple language what I spoke about here is recognized as Genetic drifts and Genetic shifts. Drifts are minor changes occuring in the protein coat of the virus that leads to failure of vaccines and sometimes, major catastrophes, such as the Spanish Influenza Pandemic in the spring of 1918 which is supposed to have killed anywhwere between 40-100 million people! Get ready for this one - The Spanish Flu strain was supposed to have been an avian virus that underwent a shift!<br /><br />Coming back to avian flu, the present strain finds it very difficult to get transmitted from human to human. Still, over 300 worldwide deaths that have been reported today are mostly bird-human transmissions with a few rare 'within family' transmissions reported mostly again, within the family of the animal/poultry handlers. The virus strain causing the flu is called H5N1<br />which is the standard name for naming influenza viruses. H stands for one of the surface proteins on the virus that enables entry into cells, and N stands for an enzyme that enables the new virus particles to break out of the dying cell. Now, 4 sub-types of the avian flu virus are recognized. All<br />of them are deadly to birds, and can cause disease and death among humans. It is important to remember here that the virus presently is an AVIAN FLU virus and is being incidentally passed on to humans because of the way in which we have organized our poultry system! Wild birds, especially waterfowl are natural carriers of the virus, although, they are not as susceptible to<br />the disease as are the domestic birds. For eg. Russian vets are supposed to have drawn over 4000 samples of blood in Siberia with around 50 showing antibodies, which indicates active infection or past infection.<br /><br />It is quite evident that migrant birds can carry these strains. But, it is important to note the following:<br /><br />1) Birds carry several kinds of flu viruses and they have been doing so for zillions of years.<br /><br />2) Wild birds themselves pose NO THREAT to any person directly. The only way is for them to pass on their infection to poultry birds, where the flu could spread like wildfire.<br /><br />What we need to focus on is the situation within our poultry industry, handling of dead birds and a surveillance system that reports bird deaths in poultry houses. Moreover, awareness on this for animal handlers is extremely important. I find it quite ridiculous that may international bodies are calling for culling of wild birds. Such measures are not only scientifically untenable, they are also quite a schoolboy solution, I must say....a bit like trying to kill all mosquitoes to eradicate malaria!<br /><br />What we must concentrate on is surveillance systems, awareness on animal handling and vaccine research. Prototypes of the vaccines are being reported. If the virus does acquire mutations that enable human-human transmission, it could definitely be catastrophic, else, it could just go away into the thin air like a million other strains of flu that we in the third world could never ever find document, let alone naming them after their surface proteins. India must've seen so many other previous outbreaks that were never documented.<br /><br />Just a final word, Avian Flu is a disease that presents a lot of research opportunities. There could be many PhDs created. It creates good business opportunities, many patents, awards, paper presentations, conferences and well, sales of the vaccine will rake in millions.......it's not the same<br />situation for diseases like Malaria, Kala-azar, Tuberculosis etc. which continue to kill millions of people across millennia....these are the neglected diseases that no one ever bothers about. There are no new vaccines being tried, and no new drug being developed for these diseases....there is<br />simply no 'market'!!! An irony that avian flu gets so much attention.<br /><br />Wonder how many of you got this far into my long rant at the end of a busy week here in cold, birdless Antwerp....most of the birds around my house are around where most of you are sitting. Who knows, maybe some of them carried the flu!!! I started the mail saying "...just a few comments"......<br /><br /><br />Some references for those who are interested:<br /><br />Johnson, NP; Mueller, J (2002 Spring). "Updating the accounts: global<br />mortality of the 1918-1920 "Spanish" influenza pandemic.<br /><br />J. D. Earn, J. Dushoff, S. A. Levin (2002). "Ecology and Evolution of the<br />Flu". *Trends in Ecology and Evolution* 17: 334-340.<br /><br />Bill Bryson (2003) A Short History of Nearly Everything. pp. 386-388Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-89510618870026387082008-01-14T00:46:00.000+05:302008-01-15T03:11:12.028+05:30BR Hills - My home away from home....<span style="font-family: arial;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >My friend Sunil, once remarked that nostalgia is a sign of old age, and if that is what I am suffering from, may it be so......As I sit in my ill-lit room in Antwerp, eating microwave heated, yesterday cooked, lemon rice, I think about those wonderful days in the hills.....and my heard dances with BR Hills (No Daffodils there... :)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >As you enter the sanctuary, you start with scrub jungle with regular sightings of Baybacked Shrikes and Peafowl. As you then pass the first waterhole on your right, if you dont see 'party dudes' from Mysore listening to Backstreet Boys, you will see sometimes Dholes. If the summer gets real bad, Elephants too, for this is quite a good lake.</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />As you ascend, you see the towns of Yelandur and nearby villages onyour right from the watchpost, as the road curves to the left. Now theforest slowly turns greener, and trees replace the shrubs. The Laughing Dove turns into the Spotted one. This is where you will see that the trees are all of the same height and one-storeyed almost like a plantation. But, this only indicates the result of 'protection', for this is the area of extension of the sanctuary and most of the trees here came up together once the hills got legal protection.</span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><p style="text-align: left; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">You continue walking up, and you will definitely see Gaurs if it is fairly late in the day. Most of the days, as I returned from my clinics at the foothills, I could see Garus, and on 'good' days, bears. Monitors are also seen sometimes. As you go up, you reach the Purani area, which is where the 'Purani tiger' frequently hangs around. Curiously, he is sighted more frequently by busloads of uninterested pilgrims, rather than our kinds! This guy can get quite nasty a little later in the year, post-december, when he starts lifting a cattle or two. In fact, one late evening, I saw this guy resting on a rock on a valley across, quite not bothering about us watching him!</span></p><p style="text-align: left; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">You ascend up and you can really feel the air cooling down.....heres' where the Drongos become smaller and shinier...we start seeing the Bronzed Drongo. The first of the Wagtails you start seeing, especially the Grey Wagtail, in the winters, all along the road! In fact, it is quite a pattern...once the Greys arrive, the Whites seem to go downstairs! And so, do the White-bellied Drongos which go further down..</span></p><p style="text-align: left; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">After this of course, is the town of BR Hills with its own charm and beauty! If you continue down the road, as I see you have, the Drongos become racquet-tailed, the minivets turn scarlet and the Pigeons become green, emerald and imperial! I can go on and on..but, gotta stop somewhere, right..so here goes...STOP......hmm.....getting old is fun!<br /></span></p>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-17353520310659437992007-11-24T22:23:00.001+05:302007-11-25T04:49:11.657+05:30Diclofenac and Vulture deaths - From naivity to reality<p>Diclofenac is one of the most commonly used Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude, I take the human example. Although, I really dont know to what extend 'human diclo cycle' touches birds, as an example, it would be good. There are about 1600 odd government health centres in Karnataka - just one state. A govt. PHC on an average dispenses 30 tablets of diclo daily. That amounts to about 50000 tablets daily in Karnataka on ONE DAY!</p><p>The wonder of this drug is that it is much sought after for the various kinds of pains, most often, arthritic pain. Moreover, recent precription practices of doctors show a remarkable bias towards diclo as compared to traditional painkillers. But, most importantly, it is quite inexpensive when compared to many others.<br /></p><p>Changing prescription practices among doctors is a sisyphean task! Trust me, public health professionals have been trying for ages to bring in rational and evidence-based drug use, but to no avail. Unless, safer, and more importantly, more economical alternatives to vets is proposed and ACTIVELY pushed the ground situation is not likely to change at all. And this pushing has to happen, NOT THROUGH conservation groups but through medical reps! Catch any medical<br />professional listening to conservation groups!</p><p>Of course, all this is assuming that Diclo truely is the reason for the 'vulture decline'. I really dont know if it is safe to assume that banning diclo would be of any help in Africa at all! Is there evidence for this?<br /></p><p>If the future of vulture in India rests in fact on the effectiveness of the ban on diclofenac, then God save the Vulture! If at all, the vultures do manage to fight back a few years after the ban, we can rest assured that diclofenac never was the reason anyways! Cos, rarely have we ever achieved any ban in reality. ( Go to the nearest pharmacy to purchase any of the following 'banned drugs' - Analgin, Cisapride, Droperidol, Furazolidone, Piperazine etc...)</p>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-77967777748071018042007-11-02T02:41:00.001+05:302007-11-02T02:46:56.504+05:30<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZzfiEy53K4ssB0WERx7Rwb7BlEPzkL-xg7KSRrkATl06r4RE2shisrQ9DIbnCioex_9G45Wdr5TRa2k5laa3zSApEQdGcdvwe9G2VBP1Rz8qjo4CQAPNPRWfO36eew9asqXzqg/s1600-h/n780310452_9857.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmZzfiEy53K4ssB0WERx7Rwb7BlEPzkL-xg7KSRrkATl06r4RE2shisrQ9DIbnCioex_9G45Wdr5TRa2k5laa3zSApEQdGcdvwe9G2VBP1Rz8qjo4CQAPNPRWfO36eew9asqXzqg/s400/n780310452_9857.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5127982759499089682" border="0" /></a>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-11430653191356268402007-11-02T02:36:00.001+05:302007-11-14T20:17:11.706+05:30The artist clarifies!In the winter of 2004, from my abode in BR Hills, where I was dwelling then, I had all the time in the world to philosophize! I was writing about the artist-scientist 'polarities' and one of my senior colleagues in BR Hills, responded to my turmoil by throwing some light. Stephen Jay Gould is a wonderful companion through such confusions on lonely nights.......I am myself quite surprised on what I have just said, but if you ever go to a place like Belgium, after living for a few years in a forest in the Western Ghats, you will know what I am saying!<br /><p> There is some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. I have pasted below the reply of the 'artist' I referred to in my earlier mail. The artist here is the doctor I work with, and he has been 'seeing' birds for a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">coupla</span>' decades now. I presume his mail will more appropriately confuse <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Sudhee</span>! As Guru adds, the mind-body problem is what I had in my mind (!) when I penned my reply. The seat of the mind has been quite a mystery for years. The realm of the answer has been classically left to philosophers and artists. However, it is those scientists who have stood at the shores of 'science' and looked beyond the oceans of art, that have seen the answer to everything.<br />I was just pondering on how science is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">relevant</span> to the 'artist birdwatcher'? Is it just enough then if we enjoy the whistle of a thrush and the cackle of a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">bulbul</span> while not wondering on the hows, whys and whithers?<br /></p><p>Consider an artist. A 20 year old man with a lot of ambition, and skilled as well (defining 'skill' is altogether another discussion!). He wants to take up landscape painting. Having been in Bangalore all his life, he does not get too much of the natural landscapes he likes. He initially wants some 'mountain with sunset' kind of subject to paint. A friend suggests BR hills and he goes there. He spends a day there and goes back to Bangalore with a painting. Which painting would be a true work of art (as they say!)...</p><p> 1) Mountains with trees, and sun setting: Mountains are portrayed with a diffuse growth of trees and a huge expanse of forest is shown. While the painting itself is beautiful showing a vast expanse of forest, a magnifying glass would only show 'trees with green leaves'!<br /></p><p>2) The same mountains and trees and the expanse but, with an attention to detail...the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Lianas</span> hanging, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">racquet</span>-tailed <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">drongos</span> flying, the spot of the road (a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">nightjar</span> for a trained eye!), the shadow of the cloud over the canopy, string of trees on the mountains with a plusher green(where the streams flow!), trees with bare bark near the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">water body</span> (debarked by elephants!), a huge group of swifts overhead (strong monsoon winds are blowing!). This artist may not at all know what I have indicated in brackets, but his 'work of art' incorporates it. It is here that science meets art!<br /></p><p>The artist here is like the tern we see or the cow that the doctor saw (refer the article below!) Where the cow or the tern never involve themselves in any '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">bheja</span> fry' like us, the true scientist-artist would. (Like it or not, we have a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">neo</span>-cortex); And it is here that we see the meaning of birdwatching. Such should be our observations. In trying to see the angered tern or a 'single <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">racqueted</span>' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">drongo</span>, all of us have to look for a satisfying explanation. It is only that for some, this explanation lies in art and for others in science! And of course, the tern or the cow never really bothered, because they were the problem itself! (It is not the problem, but the solution that bothers us)</p><p>NB: I looked to S J Gould for some clarity. (Art Meets Science in The Heart of the Andes: Church Paints, Humboldt Dies, Darwin writes, and Nature Blinks in the Fateful Year of 1859 Pp 90-109 from "I Have Landed - The End of a Beginning in Natural History", Stephan Jay Gould, 2002)<br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;">Dr. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Sridhar's</span> reply:<br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;">Dear <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Prashanth</span>,<br /><br />//snip...Now let me add to the confusion. The word emotion is derived from its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Latin</span> ancestor '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">emovere</span>' which means 'to be disturbed'. So literally speaking, the bird was disturbed. To be disturbed is one of the essential qualities of "life". In addition, emotion is the body's response to life situations, preparing it to be "responsible"! Again, Responsibility literally means Ability to Respond adequately and appropriately from moment to moment. Coming back to emotions, it is a much earlier manifestation in evolutionary scheme, as the chemicals are released from the primitive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">reptalian</span> brain and not from the much junior <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">neo</span> cortex. What the birds probably don't do is to name the various emotions as we do . Our <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">neo</span> cortex constantly tries to name, find meaning where there they are probably not needed.We seem to complicate things in trying to find meaning.( philosophical ? uh?) So "life is constant Disturbance" and the beauty lies in constant Responsibility to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">never ending</span> Disturbance !!<br /><br />I would like to tell you about a certain event that happened a few years ago, which has left a deep impression in my mind. When I was in the clinic, a herd of cows came into the campus. Soon they were being driven away. One of them while trying to get out, got entangled in the barbed wire fence and came down with a thud. I wanted to help it extricate its leg . When I went<br />near it , it started struggling more vigorously and the leg started bleeding. Hence I withdrew. The cow lay there helplessly, frothing from the mouth and the eyes were upturned and pitiable. Soon, another cow on the other side of the fence came near the 'fallen' cow, sniffed it and started<br />licking. Within a few seconds, the cow came alive and got up smoothly extricating its trapped leg and went away. Probably , I noticed a wide cascade of emotional expressions in the cows, raging from fear, helplessness and love and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">thankfulness</span>. The animals did not take the trouble to name the emotions, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">nor</span> did they care to thank! Who knows, after a while they might have locked horns over an inviting bull!<br /><br />I can only marvel at nature and I think I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">will</span> be a terrible failure to explain everything . I would rather be an artist!<br /></p>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-18976563466948877122007-11-02T02:35:00.001+05:302007-11-02T03:41:14.801+05:30River Terns, Emotions and Confusing answers!This post is in response to some very 'hazy' topics in the 'grey zone' between science and philosophy! The following post by my friend Sudheendra about Black-bellied Terns triggered this response, which led to a wonderful discussion on the same.<p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sudhee asked</span> "...<span style="font-style: italic;">During my regular birding sessions......i encountered </span><span style="font-style: italic;">many water birds....encountered 3 River terns and One blackbellied </span><span style="font-style: italic;">tern...the river terns "tried to attack" me by making harsh screeching </span><span style="font-style: italic;">calls in flight, coming very close and taking sudden upflight, </span><span style="font-style: italic;">everytime i tried to go near the water body....the blackbellied tern </span><span style="font-style: italic;">was attacking the river tern without reasons..like the river tern was </span><span style="font-style: italic;">taking rest on the bank..this blackbellied tern tried to attack it </span><span style="font-style: italic;">from above..it did that several times! later when the river tern also </span><span style="font-style: italic;">got angry they had a chase where blackbellied tern with enormous speed </span><span style="font-style: italic;">was able to attack the river tern more fearlessly.....the river tern's </span><span style="font-style: italic;">attitude of territory(?)awareness..or breeding resposiblities have </span><span style="font-style: italic;">not been given in salim ali...i even observed once a red wattled </span><span style="font-style: italic;">lapwing trying to attack a DOG when it was approaching (? ) its </span><span style="font-style: italic;">nest..the blackbellied terns' attitude ignited a question in me ...do </span><span style="font-style: italic;">birds have emotions..very basic emotions..like caring(love)..Fear..and </span><span style="font-style: italic;">Anger or those are only reflexes? can anybody enlight me more...NS</span>?"</p><p>Your description is more indicative of a nesting colony of River Terns rather than 'plain territoriality'. However, I wonder if the lake you talk about can accomodate breeding colonies of River Terns. Does it have open sand banks. Is it a perennial lake and was it big enough. The terns prefer sandy 'river' banks for nesting and they may be found nesting in colonies with Pratincoles or with other species of terns. Both the River and the Blackbellied being resident terns occupying almost similar niches, conflict over resource(nesting site, feeding site etc) would be a common occurence. Now coming to your Question on emotions and birds...Hmm...I think it is a question most asked and never adequately answered. Not answered adequately, not because of lack of information to answer them, but because of lack of belief. Such is our hobby (profession??) that it comes somewhere in the grey zone between art and science. I would divide birdwatchers into those with predominant artistic traits and those with predominant scientific traits. Where one says "Blessed are we to be able to appreciate natures beauty", the other would attribute it to his trained eye! Where one experiences wonder and awe at the Peacock's tail or the Minivet's scarlet, the other sees Sexual Selection! Where one sees a remarkable plan and purpose in and eagle's hunt, the other sees survival! Where one sees 'love' when two bulbuls cuddle, the other sees 'breeding record'! Where one sees anger, the other sees 'territorialiity' And like you saw passion and aggresssion in the tern's action, somebody else will see evidence of a nest and "nothing else"! And so, is the scientist better, because he knows so much more about the whys, hows and what nots? Well, that would be like comparing Alexander and Buddha! (There are no common standards for this comparison)<br />Yesterday evening during a walk, I was asked by somebody who has been watching(seeing!) birds for 11 years, whether, I could just look at them and not name them. It was then that I realised that I had compromised a lot on the artist front in arming myself scientifically. I realised that my mind said "Scarlet Minivet" when I saw one of the most wonderful birds flitting around and whistling. It will probably take some time to reawaken the part of me which does not conclude anything on seeing. So here is a lot of mumbo-jumbo instead of the answer to your question. Trust me, I have been there and have not found any answers. I am sure the above will help you in your journey to find the answer. Science is one route. It will give you all the explanations that perfectly fit your observations. But does that satisfy you. If you are now told that the terns are mere survival machines which are programmed to react the way they did under particular circumstances, would you be happy to take that answer, just because it is scientific?<br /></p><p>Art is another. Just read a poem (I am sure somebody has 'poetried' on terns) and you will see that the artist is able to attribute numerous purposes and emotions to the tern's actions. Read Jonathan Livingston Seagull and you will see how there can be a whole world of gulls with their<br />own beliefs and traditions. But, how can you prove it, you mind will ask! So, the question rings back. Did the tern have emotion? All we can do is only conjecture or write poetry. The truth is with the tern, and it does not want to tell you!<br /><br /></p>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1141915298976593192006-03-09T19:40:00.001+05:302006-05-16T10:38:11.990+05:30Less ramble, some birds<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5726/344/1600/100_0614.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5726/344/320/100_0614.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I have just returned to Itanagar from Jenging, Upper Siang dt. I camped here for 2 days and visited one of the sub-centres of the PHC at Jenging. Most of the journey by vehicle and on foot to the sub-centre were spent birding.<br /><br /><br />Heavy rains have already begun in Arunachal and the skies were overcast even as I drove through N Lakhimpur and Dhemaji dts of Assam. Meanwhile, the higher peaks have seen some good snowfall, and I am told that Tawang has recieved fair amounts of snow. The drive from Itanagar to Jenging was great. After leaving Arunachal at Bandardeo checkgate and a 100 km drive through Assam, I re-entered Arunachal at the Likhabali checkgate. The road passes through the district of West Siang and winds around the hills northwards to the district of Upper<br />Siang. The district HQ of West Siang is at Along. After the town of Boleng, which is one of the first towns of Upper Siang, the road for some distance passes alongside the Siang river, the largest of the 3 rivers that make up the Brahmaputra. For a long distance, the road zig-zags on the hills along the river offering some breathtaking views of the 'turquoise' waters of the river. At many places, there are hanging bridges across the river. The road then divides, one leading<br />to Jenging and the other leading to the district HQ of Yingkyong. Incidentally, Yingkyong was fully submerged by the Siang in 2000 when a mining related mishap on the banks of Siang upstream in China caused 'welling up' of water, which later burst to deluge some large towns downstream. The whole town was submerged then.<br /><br />The drive thereafter offers wonderful views of the Mouling National Park. The hills here lack the classic 'jhum' facies of the other hills I have been seeing till now. Bird calls were heard more frequently, and number of bird sightings (not on heads, but in the air!) were more. Also, this being an area with a majority of Adi tribal population, the 'hornbills on the heads' was not a feature. Unfortunately, I did not see any in the air either!<br /><br />The road has been taken up by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and is in all-weather condition. Moreover, Jenging being the constituency of the Chief Minister himself seems to be well-served. The town also enjoys 24 hr power from the hydel project nearby.<br /><br />Weather conditions were more or less cloudy all through and bird sightings were a precious few. One of the subcentres, I visited is within the Mouling NP (28° 33' N, 94° 46' E). It was declared so in 1986 and covers nearly 500 sq. km. Most of the habitat was wet evergreen and semi-evergreen hill forests with many patches of secondary growth. Most of the hills were covered cloud covered, and fast flowing hill streams draining into the Siang were a common feature.<br /><br />Missing conspicuosly from the list are waterbirds, raptors and gamebirds! Any reason I can give would be merely speculative but......hunting, cloudy weather, number of field hours, and closed<br />habitat???<br /><br />But, what I did see are as follows:<br /><br />1) Mallard Anas platyrhynchos - plenty in waterbodies in Assam<br />2) Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis - after Boleng<br />3) Himalayan Swiftlet Collocalia brevirostris - common<br />4) Ashy Swallow-shrike Artamus fuscus<br />5) Lesser Racquet-tailed Drongo Dicrurus remifer - Jenging<br />6) Bronzed Drongo D. aeneus - I saw the largest number of these in<br />flight, numbering approx 100 crossing the Siang noisily<br />7) Greater Racquet-tailed Drongo D. paradiseus<br />8) Large Woodshirke Tephrodornis gularis - before Along<br />9) Rufous-backed Shrike (Black headed race) - Lanius schach tricolor -<br />Common<br />10) Asian Pied Starling Sturnus contra and Jungle Myna Acridotheres<br />fuscus- Common in Assam plains<br />11) Scarlet Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus<br />12) Black Bulbul Hypsipetes leucocephalus in large flocks - Jenging<br />13) Black-eared Shrike Babbler Pteruthius melanotis- 65th mile on<br />Along-Jenging road. 3 individuals seen at eye level overlooking the valley<br />14) Long-tailed Sibia Heterophasia picaoides<br />15) Striated Yuhina Yuhina castaniceps<br />16) White-naped Yuhina Y. bakeri<br />17) Whiskered Yuhina Y. flavicollis - All Yuhinas seen in large flocks<br />quite common in the Jenging and Ramsingh area<br />18) Yellow-bellied Fantail Rhipidura hypoxantha<br />19) Black-backed Forktail Enicurus immaculatus<br />20) Spotted Forktail E. maculatus<br />21) Little Forktail scouleri - Was thrilled to see this bird.<br />Initially, I mistook it for a Magpie-Robin, but the stance and the<br />white tuft over the forehead forced a re-think. The bird flew into a<br />higher perch, when I disturbed it from the bottom of a small stream.<br />Jenging<br />22) White-capped Water Redstart Chaimarrornis leucocephalus Common<br />23) Blue-capped Rock Thrush Monticola cinclorhynchus<br />24) Chestnut-bellied Rock Thrush M. rufiventris Jenging<br />25) Blue Whistling Thrush Myophonus caeruleus<br />26) Chestnut-bellied Nuthatch Sitta castanea. I have been looking out<br />for the Beautiful Nuthatch Sitta formosa. No luck till now.<br />27) Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsonii yunnanensis Jenging<br />28) Large Pied Wagtail Motacilla maderaspatensis<br />29) Grey Wagtail M. cinerea<br />30) White Wagtail M. alba leucopsis & one of the grey-backed races (?<br />personata)<br />31) Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus Very commonPrashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1141752560586948272006-03-07T22:54:00.000+05:302006-03-09T19:23:54.553+05:30Ramblings from Arunachal<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5726/344/1600/100_0584.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5726/344/320/100_0584.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span id="st" name="st" class="st"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Arunachal</span> Pradesh has been really exciting till now. I have got internet access after a long time, and decided to write about it. It seems to be one of the more peaceful of the states here in the<br />north-east. The transition from the plains of Assam to the hills of <span id="st" name="st" class="st">Arunachal</span> is quite drastic if one travels on road. The demarcation between these two states is both physiographic and ethnic. While Assam suffers from very regular bandhs, strikes and 'chakka jaams', <span id="st" name="st" class="st">Arunachal</span> is mostly peaceful. However, most of travel between towns in <span id="st" name="st" class="st">Arunachal</span> happens through Assam and all strikes there have an effect on movement here. Most of the roads that have been constructed are of excellet quality, having been constructed by the Border Roads Organisation. Also, the districts on China border are being connected by good roads for strategic reasons.<br /><br />People here strike one as very fiercely independent. Tribal identity is very strong, and people are proud of their tribe and community. The entry of outsiders is allowed only after obtaining at Inner line permit. This can be obtained at Guwahati and the document is to be produced while entering <span id="st" name="st" class="st">Arunachal</span>. It feels almost like crossing a border. I guess Nepal must be easier to get into. However, this one concept has probably preserved the identity and culture and has limited interventions from outside. At the same time however, there is no private player in any sector - telecom, insurance, banking - and this slows down everything here.<br /><br /><script><!-- D(["mb","is secondary growth of bamboo and banana. Of course, there are still<br />large stretches of \'pristine\' jungle at many places. But, seeing jhum<br />to such a large extent is definitely disturbing to an outsider.<br /><br />Since reports from this part of the country are few, I thought I will<br />share whatever little I have been seeing. I have tried to make up for<br />the low number of bird sightings by sharing some info about the places!<br /><br />I saw my first Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemidaisicus) Sangram in Kurung<br />Kumey district. This district is a new one and gets its name from two<br />large rivers, Kurung and Kumey. The district borders China, and one<br />can reach the nearest Chinese village by 3 days walk from the district<br />HQ of Koloriang. The PHC at Sangram which I visited is located on the<br />tip of a cliff overlooking the valley of the river Kurung. The Buzzard<br />was gliding above the hills on the other side of the river, and<br />\'hovered\' for a few seconds, much like a Kestrel.<br /><br />Grey-cheeked Warblers (Siecircus poliogenys) were quite a few around<br />the PHC.<br /><br />I have seen countless hornbills till now - on people\'s heads!! The<br />Nyishi tribal elders wear a hat which is decorated with the \'casque\'<br />of the hornbill. It even has a feather or two - either of hornbills or<br />the racquets of the racquet tailed drongo. Almost all the tribals<br />carry a \'dao\'. It is kept in a bamboo case, which is hung around the<br />trunk in a belt made of bear hide. Youth carrying air guns for hunting<br />were also frequently seen.<br /><br />Forktails (Slaty backed and black backed) and Blue whistling thrushes<br />were common near hill streams.<br /><br />On the whole, I am travelling a lot. I have visited 2 districts. I am<br />leaving for Jenging which is in Upper Siang district and within<br />Mouling WLS and will proceed to Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district.<br /><br />Hope I will be able to write from Roing......<br /><br />Regards,<br />Prashanth<br />Itanagar<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />*****End of forwarded message*****<br /><br />--- End forwarded message ---<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>",0] ); //--></script>But, what disturbs me most is the emptiness of the forests here. Thick verdant forests clothe the hills.....on entering them, one is hit by their emptiness. Also, most of what is seen outside of protected areas is secondary growth of bamboo and banana. Of course, there are still large stretches of 'pristine' jungle at many places. But, seeing jhum to such a large extent is definitely disturbing to an outsider.<br /><br />Since reports from this part of the country are few, I thought I will share whatever little I have been seeing. I have tried to make up for the low number of bird sightings by sharing some info about the places!<br /><br />I saw my first Upland Buzzard (Buteo hemidaisicus) Sangram in Kurung Kumey district. This district is a new one and gets its name from two large rivers, Kurung and Kumey. The district borders China, and one can reach the nearest Chinese village by 3 days walk from the district<br />HQ of Koloriang. The PHC at Sangram which I visited is located on the tip of a cliff overlooking the valley of the river Kurung. The Buzzard was gliding above the hills on the other side of the river, and 'hovered' for a few seconds, much like a Kestrel.<br /><br />Grey-cheeked Warblers (Siecircus poliogenys) were quite a few around the PHC.<br /><br />I have seen countless hornbills till now - on people's heads!! The Nyishi tribal elders wear a hat which is decorated with the 'casque' of the hornbill. It even has a feather or two - either of hornbills or the racquets of the racquet tailed drongo. Almost all the tribals carry a 'dao'. It is kept in a bamboo case, which is hung around the trunk in a belt made of bear hide. Youth carrying air guns for hunting were also frequently seen.<br /><br />Forktails (Slaty backed and black backed) and Blue whistling thrushes were common near hill streams.<br /><br />On the whole, I am travelling a lot. I have visited 2 districts. I am leaving for Jenging which is in Upper Siang district and within Mouling WLS and will proceed to Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district.<br /><br />Hope I will be able to write from Roing......Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1137173279773257942006-01-13T22:57:00.000+05:302006-01-13T22:57:59.803+05:30Ramble on...<p class="MsoNormal">A lone male child was born to a lady in a nondescript hospital in a small town in South India. The mother as was, and as has been ‘traditional’ to any Indian Family, had gone to her mother’s place for ‘safe confinement’ of her first pregnancy – quite complacent of the fact that a new life was burgeoning inside of her. Of course, no reason for her to be overawed, as this was the routine. In fact, her giving birth gave a new meaning to ‘fulfillment’ or ‘consummation’ of her married life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thus was born a new child that day, the 7<sup>th</sup> of December, 1979 bringing joy and supposedly a harbinger of prosperity to the whole family. (No special moment for this child, as it shared its moment of arrival with at least 6 others in this planet!)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It has been nearly 24 long years for me in this sojourn called ‘Life’, a long way since the naked, wordless, crying child that the above narrative talks about. The child was blessed with coming into a family that already had a shelter and could afford much more than just food and clothing. (Although, the same cannot be said about many other unfortunate children that entered this world, that very same moment). Words were put in its mouth, and the child was rewarded for doing things in a certain way, and punished for certain other things. The child was on the path to becoming a ‘cultured’ member of the society. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">This is where the reference to the child in the ‘third person’ stops because, somewhere around this time, the child’s consciousness matured, and lasting memory became a part of his mental capabilities. This is when, the ‘I’ comes into the picture.</p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">I remember going to school. My favorite and high-scoring subject was General Knowledge and Social Studies. The school was a long journey. And friends made in high school were here to stay. The same continued through college, this one being St. Joseph’s College of Arts & Science. (I always nursed a sense of admiration towards Christian Missionary run, educational institutions – for the sense of ‘disciplined freedom’ – if there is any such thing). From there, good academic grades sent me to a Medical college (Govt. Medical College, Mysore), which I entered with a sense of fulfillment. Fulfillment, it was not to be. I realised that the best of sciences will not give me all the answers I seek. My belief that being a doctor will help me to connect with a lot of people proved to be an illusion</p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">Disillusioned though I was, disheartened I wasn’t. I became a student leader in my college. I have learnt to relate to so many different kind of people and connect with different cultural backgrounds. Right from participating in a host of speaking events and debates, to addressing the college in capacity of the General Secretary of the College, connecting to people has been an enjoyable experience for me.</p> <p class="MsoBodyTextIndent" style="margin-left: 0in; text-indent: 0in;">So this is my account of myself – a medical student, at the fag end of his student life, with a great academic and extra-curricular background, with a deep understanding of Hinduism and its cultures, with learnt understanding of Christianity, an immense interest to find answers and with a lot of <span style=""> </span>unanswered questions!</p>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1107849972812568222005-02-08T14:30:00.000+05:302005-02-08T13:36:12.813+05:30I have now become something of an information freak. Really am getting to love this open-source thing, withoout all the gibberish about copyright and all. mmmmm....hey.....Intellectual property is a wholly different story, and I dont want to be a party to any kind of information piracy, theft etc. That explains the legalesse upstairs here.
<br />
<br />Well, I have decided to put up my wiki articles here also. Of course, I dont have copyright to all the future edited versions, but the ones who edit seem to be bound by this licence I have acquired to be able to share it too.
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<br />Anyway, Wikipeida is a great place, and I hope to contribute a lot more.
<br />Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1107852044579453312005-02-08T14:10:00.000+05:302005-02-08T14:43:57.100+05:30Shola - My work on wikipedia<p>'Shola' is a habitat - high altitude stunted 'evergreen' forest patches with large undulating grasslands in between. This together forms the shola-grassland complex or Mosaic, and is a habitat exclusive to the southern part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats" title="Western Ghats">Western Ghats</a>. It is probably derived from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil" title="Tamil">Tamil</a> word Solai - 'thicket' or 'Bamboo clump'.</p> <p>Due to its altitude and evergreen character, it is house to some of the most threatened and endemic species. Some of the speicies seen here may have their close relatives only in the distant evergreen forests of North-East India or those in South-east Asia. Some others are found nowhere else in the world.</p> <p>The Western Ghats are one of the globally recogized "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity_hotspot" title="Biodiversity hotspot">biodiversity hotspots</a>". Among the many larger animals inhabiting a shola-grassland mosaic are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger" title="Tiger">Tigers</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard" title="Leopard">Leopards</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant" title="Elephant">Elephants</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaur" title="Gaur">Gaur</a>, Spotted Deer etc. The endangered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Tahr" title="Nilgiri Tahr">Nilgiri Tahr</a> (an Asian Goat-antelope) endemic to the shola-grassland is now having a very restricted range 400-km stretch of shola-grassland mosaic, from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Hills" title="Nilgiri Hills">Nilgiri Hills</a> to the Ashambu Hills (Mishra and Johnsingh 1998). Hornbills, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nilgiri_Woodpigeon" title="Nilgiri Woodpigeon">Nilgiri Woodpigeons</a>, Trogons and some of the endemic flycatchers ( Brownbreasted, Rustytailed, Nilgiri Verditer etc.) are some of the 300+ birds that inhabit this area. The area shows high endemicity and is rivalled only by the forests in North-east India - 35 percent of the plants, 42 percent of the fishes, 48 percent of the reptiles, and 75 percent of the amphibians that live in these rain forests are endemic species. [1]</p> <p>Although generally said to occur in the vicinity of 2000 MSL altitude, many hill ranges throw up sholas even at 1600 MSL + (eg. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biligirirangan_Hills" title="Biligirirangan Hills">Biligirirangan Hills</a>)[3]</p> <p>Periodic brush <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildfire" title="Wildfire">wildfires</a> are a key part of the ecosystem, helping to maintain the patchwork of grassland and forest that characterizes the sholas, and preventing the buildup of large amounts of flammable debris. However, some shola areas have suffered from excessive amounts of burning, leading to the shrinkage of forest patches and the growth of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasive_species" title="Invasive species">invasive species</a>.[4]</p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">References
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<br /></span>[1] - Govt. of India 1997
<br />[2] - Misra & Johnsingh 1998
<br />[3] - Personal Observaiton
<br />[4] - Rawat, G.S, P.V. Karunakaran, and V.K Uniyal. 2003. Shola grasslands of the Western Ghats: conservation status and management needs. <i>ENVIS Bulletin on Grassland Ecosystems and Agroforestry</i> 1(1):57-64. <a href="http://envis.iifm.ac.in/EB/Sholagrass.pdf" class="external" title="http://envis.iifm.ac.in/EB/Sholagrass.pdf" rel="nofollow">112 kB PDF</a>
<br />
<br />From Wikipedia Contributors Shola [Internet] Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; 06:52, 7 Feb 2005 [Cited 9th Feb. 2005] Available at www.wikipedia.com/en/wiki/shola
<br />Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1107851965530168542005-02-08T14:08:00.000+05:302005-02-08T14:49:50.860+05:30Indian Contributions to Science - My work on wikipedia<h2>Indian contributions to the sciences</h2> <p>"<i>The Indian way of life</i> provides the vision of the natural, real way of life. We veil ourselves with unnatural masks. On the face of India are the tender expressions which carry the mark of the Creator’s hand. <i>"</i></p> <p>- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Bernard_Shaw" title="George Bernard Shaw">George Bernard Shaw</a>, Famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British" title="British">British</a> Author</p> <p><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India">India</a></b> - this was how the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks" title="Greeks">Greeks</a> referred to people on the other side of the Indus (Sindhu). This civilization that the Greeks were referring had seen the light of day, and had made great strides in Science and Technology, long before the Greeks and Romans came by.</p> <p>The so-called Indus Valley Civilization situated suitably, with a lot of resources, was a lesson in city planning and sanitation. One of the first examples of closed 'gutters', public baths, granaries etc. are seen here.</p> <p>The ancient Indian texts - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedas" title="Vedas">Vedas</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upanishads" title="Upanishads">Upanishads</a>, and various other treatises (Siddhantas) are replete with definitions, derivaitons etc. For eg. one of the books, the "Pancha-siddhantika" talks about the calculation of eclipses. The ancient Indian culture has always been diverse in its choice of spices, condiments, ornamental items, and hence India was the origin of palm and coconut oil, indigo and other vegetable dyes and pigments like cinnabar. Many of the dyes were used in art and sculpture which surivive even today. Perfumes and their variety in Indian history demonstrate a deep knowledge and application in chemistry, particularly in distillation and purification processes.</p> <p>The Greek historian Ktesias who lived in the 4th century B.C. has observed that "Among the Indians are found certain insects about the size of beetles and of a colour so red that at first sight one might mistake them for cinnabar. Their legs are of extraordinary length and soft to the touch. They grow upon trees which produce amber, and subsist upon their fruit. The Indians collect them for the sake of the purple dye, which they yield when crushed. This dye is used for tinting with purple not only their outer and under-garments, but also any other substance where a purple hue is required. Robes tinted with this purple are sent to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian" title="Persian">Persian</a> King, for Indian purple is thought by the Persians be marvellously beautiful and far superior to their own." Ktesias also says that the Indian dye is deeper and more brilliant than the renowned Lydian Purple.</p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandalwood" title="Sandalwood">Sandalwood</a> tree is native to India. Sandalwood has been a known item of export from India since ancient times.</p> <p>The earliest recorded use of copperware in India has been around 3000 B.C.</p> <p>"<i>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindus" title="Hindus">Hindus</a> excel in the manufacture of iron. They have also workshops wherein are forged the most famous sabres in the world. It is impossible to find anything to surpass the edge that you get from Indian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel" title="Steel">Steel</a></i>". This passage which has been quoted in the notes to the Periplus on page 71 proves beyond doubt, in the words of a foreign historian, that the art of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smelting" title="Smelting">smelting</a> and casting iron was well developed in ancient India.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shipping" title="Shipping">Shipping</a> was another active area, and there were treatises and manual on shipbuilding widely available around the 5th century AD itself. There are also references to ships in the remains of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_Valley_Civilization" title="Indus Valley Civilization">Indus Valley Civilization</a>, indicating shipping knowledge earlier than 2000 BC.</p> <p>A panel found at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohenjodaro" title="Mohenjodaro">Mohenjodaro</a>, depicting a sailing craft. Vessels were of many types. Their construction is vividly described in the Yukti Kalpa Taru, an ancient Indian text on Ship-building. Sanskrit and Pali literature has innumerable references to the maritime activity of Indians in ancient times. There is also one treatise in Sanskrit, named Yukti Kalpa Taru which has been compiled by a person called Bhoja Narapati. (The Yukti Kalpa Taru (YKT) had been translated and published by Prof. Aufrecht in his 'Catalogue of Sanskrit Manu scripts. An excellent study of the YKT had been undertaken by Dr. Radha Kumud Mookerji entitled 'Indian Shipping'. Published by Orient Longman, Bombay in 1912.)</p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excavations" title="Excavations">excavations</a> of the ruins at Mohenjodaro and Harrappa (today in Pakistan) proved the existence of a developed Urban civilisation in India. The indus valley civilization is dated around 3000 B.C. Thus since the last 5000 years. India has had an urban civilisation. The existence of an urban civilization presumes the existence of well devel oped techniques of architecture and construction. Indian construction and architecture has been the most dynamic of technologies. The original contribution in this field was by the Indians to have a separate science with principles, laws and plans for every type of building. This science called as '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaastu_Shastra" title="Vaastu Shastra">Vaastu Shastra</a>' offered details and plans based on very scientific principles like Strength of Materials, ideal height of construction, presence of adequate sources of water, light hence preserving hygiene. It is one of the first building science to be so all-inclusive. Later on, Indian rulers adopted anything that appealed to them, and incorporated this in our buildings. Hence we see many historical monuments in India with strong Greek, Scythian, Mongol and of course, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic" title="Islamic">Islamic</a> influences. Having incorportated these aspects from other cultures, the output is something unique, and seen nowhere else in the world.</p> <p>In India, mathematics has its roots in Vedic literature which is nearly 4000 years old. Between 1000 B.C. and 1000 A.D. various treatises on mathematics were authored by Indian mathematicians in which were set forth for the first time, the concept of zero, the techniques of algebra and algorithm, square root and cube root. Vedic Mathematics, as it is referred to today, is a separate field of study and courses are offered even in foreign universities.</p> <p>It was from this translation of an Indian text on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics" title="Mathematics">Mathematics</a> that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab" title="Arab">Arab</a> mathematicians perfected the decimal system and gave the world its current system of enumeration which we call the Hindu-Arabic numerals. The concept of '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero" title="Zero">Zero</a>' seems to have been a contribution of ancient Indian thought. Every ancient Indian language has multiple words to refer to this concept of 'Void' or 'nothing' - 'Shunya' in Sanskrit. In Brahma-Phuta-Siddhanta of Brahmagupta (7th century), the Zero is lucidly explained and was rendered into Arabic books around 770 AD. From these it was carried to Europe in the 8th century. However, the concept of Zero is referred to as Shunya in the early Sanskrit texts of the 4th century BC and clearly explained in Pingala’s Sutra of the 2nd century. Mathematicians like Aryabhata, Bhaskara wrote works that still stand out for their originality, and timelessnes. Aryabhatta in 499 AD worked the value of Pi to the fourth decimal place as 3.1416. Centuries later, in 825 AD, Arab mathematician Mohammed Ibna Musa says that "This value has been given by the Hindus (Indians)".</p> <p>The Nalanda University, established somewhere in 700 BC once housed 9 million books.It was the center of education for scholars from all over Asia. Many Greek, Persian and Chinese students studied here under great scholors - Kautilya, Panini, Jivaka, Vishnu Sharma. THe vast complex that remains today stands testimony to the fact that a great centere of learning stood here, and it was probably one of the first examples of a University-based education system. The university was burnt down by pillaging invaders who overran India in the 11th century</p> <p>
<br />"<i>India was the motherland of our race</i> and Sanskrit the mother of Europe's languages. India was the mother of our philosophy, of much of our mathematics, of the ideals embodied in Christianity... of self-government and democracy.javascript:insertTags('<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%27%2C%27&action=edit" class="new" title="','">','</a>','Link title'); Internal link In many ways, Mother India is the mother of us all<i>."</i></p> <p>- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Durant" title="Will Durant">Will Durant</a> - American Historian 1885-1981
<br /></p> <p>From Wikipedia Contributors <span style="font-style: italic;">I</span><em><span class="autocomment">ndian contributions to the sciences (History of Science and Technology) [Internet] Wikipedia, the free encyclopeida; </span></em>05:30, 8 Feb 2005 [cited on 9th Feb. 2005] Available from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_science_and_technology
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<br /></p>Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1096047387142083692004-09-24T23:05:00.000+05:302004-09-24T23:06:27.143+05:30The best things in life come free. But, why does one have to insist on paying??!!
<br />
<br />Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1077381669084855162004-02-21T22:11:00.000+05:302004-02-21T22:13:52.543+05:30Anticipation
<br />A word full of future in it. What a word, I was thinking, this is!
<br />Hmm....more the anticipation, more the uncertainty, scientifically and experience-wise. Of course, anticipation is an indulgence.
<br />Wonderful Jungle cats today
<br />Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1077299136872173562004-02-20T23:15:00.000+05:302004-02-20T23:18:19.123+05:30Hmm....
<br />Thats all I can say. Wonderful evening walk today. As usual, about 3 km into the forest, in one of the turns, Bonnet macaques gave loud alarm calls on seeing my two dogs. 4 members of a bison herd, lots of barking deer, Sambhar, one huge spotted deer herd giving alarm calls, and while coming back, in the dark, a coupla bisons ran across, a few feet ahead of me.
<br />A day filled with wildlife. Hmm....
<br />Have run outta provisions. Too lazy to purchase. Hmm...
<br />Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1076867815391119592004-02-15T23:26:00.000+05:302004-02-15T23:29:30.483+05:30Too much talking.....
<br />Some more talking
<br />Is somebody watching?
<br />How am I coping?
<br />Where am I going?
<br />This time, ..I am not cooking!Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1076509875877671632004-02-11T20:01:00.000+05:302004-02-11T20:14:55.496+05:30Hmm....
<br />My favourite phrase. It signifies nothing, yet tis the beginning of thought. Tis what you say, when you are tired or exasperated or are coming to terms with things, hmm...well, you didnt wanna come to terms with...there you see. It is a wonderful phrase. So much it stands for, so little it is and nothing that stands for is it.
<br />Theres the usual muddle of nonsense I like to write. Like you guessed, I HAVE BEEN COOKING!!!Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1076165494254707422004-02-07T20:21:00.000+05:302004-02-07T20:23:58.140+05:30Cooking sucks!
<br />I think the most unscientific thing in the world is cooking. If there is any place that resembles and incorportes 'chaos' completely, it is the 'kitchen'. It is so much like the weather. You never really know the consequences of any seemingly benign act till you have seen some catastrophic result. It is so without pattern and predictability../.....()*^*(^&)*(
<br />As you must've figured, I have been cooking and I live alone and well, things haven't been cooking well!!Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1075992574733085292004-02-05T20:19:00.000+05:302004-02-05T20:21:55.890+05:30Elephant Elephant standing tall
<br />Whos the dumbest of us all
<br />
<br />"Bush", said the elephant, gay and tall
<br />He has one big idiotic bladder, gall
<br />to have pillaged countries fine and small,
<br />cant he get a life at allPrashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1075920037461652232004-02-05T00:10:00.000+05:302004-02-05T00:12:57.826+05:30Yuck....
<br />I am getting to hate ads. Ads in all forms - banners, billboards, TV, radio.......Hell, nowadays, even people are behaving like walking, talking advertisements. Meet somebody and he declares his name, and all the things he's good at. Like I am going to purchase him or something.
<br />.......even my blog sounds like an ad......
<br />my blog page has an ad.....
<br />Atleast, the forests and wildlife are without this bane.......or is it? Are the animals also having a secret world of advertising?!
<br />Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6430721.post-1075918068656115872004-02-04T23:37:00.000+05:302004-02-04T23:40:09.233+05:30Tis getting late
<br />Never have liked to wait
<br />Realised then, did I
<br />That time just rolls and rolls by
<br />Like or 'don't like'!
<br />
<br />Once, I did try
<br />to make time wait for I
<br />Realised then, did I
<br />that Einstein had already given it a try!!
<br />Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03505610316357460454noreply@blogger.com0