JOURNALISM GOT me into writing. Six years as a special correspondent with HT Wknd, and I came away with bylines I am supremely proud of.
Back then I reported extensively, and in depth, on India's wildlife, conservation and climate issues. I continue to do so as a freelancer.
Here I present a curated list of stories I am fond of. There's plenty more where that came from. The complete collection of my feature stories can be found on HT's website HERE.
A PURRFECT STORM | PDF
Why small cats in India—species such as the caracal, Eurasian lynx and rusty spotted cat—face a problem of too much love and too little
COUNTER STRIPE | PDF
What’s making our big cats flash new shades, and Indian wolves turn a rare all-black? The short answer could be: Us.
INSIDE THE FIGHT TO SAVE THE GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD | PDF
About 16 are dying every year, as they collide with high-voltage power lines that should not have been sanctioned in the Thar Desert. Can we save what might have been India’s national bird?
LIFE ON THE EDGE | PDF
From the Thar Desert to the poles and ice-covered oceans, here's how photographers and filmmakers are tracking the impact of the climate crisis on some of Earth’s most extreme environments
SETTING FRESH TRAPS: CARBON CAPTURES PROMISES AND PITFALLS | PDF
Giant fans are sucking carbon out of the air. There are plans to ‘re-ice’ the Arctic; use aerosols to bounce sunlight away. Will they work? At what cost?
WELCOME TO THE NEWEST INDIANS: MEET SOME OF THE SPECIES CHRISTENED IN 2020 | PDF
They’ve been around longer than we have. But we’ve only just got around to finding and naming them. India got 407 new species named in 2020 alone. Thousands more await
Writing for readers
PAYING WITH PLASTIC | PDF
The term microplastics was coined 20 years ago, but plastics have been flaking away for a lot longer than that. Are they in your salt and sugar? Are there things you can do to minimise exposure? Take a look
DOWN WITH THE MONARCHY! INSIDE INDIA'S CAMPAIGN FOR A NATIONAL BUTTERFLY | PDF
See how it was organised, which flutterers made it, and why everyone’s favourite didn’t even qualify
TURNING OVER A NEW REEF | PDF
What does it take to regenerate a bed of coral? A lot of patience, say activists working off the coasts of Goa, Gujarat and the Andamans, because reefs grow very slowly and the ocean is not the easiest workspace
BUTTERFLIES, BIRDS, WILDEBEEST: HOW THE WORLD'S GREAT MIGRATIONS ARE DWINDLING | PDF
As ancient routes are disrupted, animals are finding roads, homes, oil wells in their way. Butterflies are fading from forests. Giant fish are running into dams
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE | PDF
It’s a simple but radical approach: Buy plots of land, pull out exotics, plant natives, and let nature take over. Meet the mavericks who are rewilding India
WHAT'S IN STORE FOR INDIA'S COASTAL CITIES | PDF
What the latest IPCC report predicts for Mumbai, Surat, Kolkata, Chennai, Kochi, and see what these cities are doing to prepare
Profiles
TUSK MASTER: AN INTERVIEW WITH VIVEK MENON, WHO MADE HISTORY AT THE IUCN | PDF
To peers, he’s ‘the elephant guy’, for the years he spent undercover, tracking illegal trade. Menon is now the first Asian to head IUCN’s Species Survival Commission, which drafts the Red List of Endangered Species
OBITUARY: RADHESHYAM BISHNOI GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THE GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD | PDF
As a member of the Bishnoi community, Radheshyam lived by the tenets of his religion and died by them
WHAT'S MINE IS OURS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST ALOK SHUKLA | PDF
How much does coal cost? Shukla would argue no one has the real answer. See how he united Chhattisgarh to protect an ancient forest, keep out a host of mines
ON THE WILD SIDE: KRITHI KARANTH'S WORK WITH HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT WINS BIG | PDF
The 42-year-old conservationist has spent decades tracking encounters, helping people claim compensation, and educating residents living on the edges of forest reserves
VASANTH BOSCO IS GIVING GRASS ROOTS IN THE NILGIRIS | PDF
Less than 15% of the Nilgiri plateau remains in its natural state. Vasanth Bosco has made it his mission to restore as much of the vegetation as possible
SPOTTED IN THE WILD: AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SNOW LEOPARD MAN, CHARUDUTT MISHRA | PDF
He spent half his life buildng a network of residents, governments and ecologists to protect the elusive big cat. It's why he won his seond Whitley award (also called the Green Oscars) at 51
PRINT JOURNALISM
Writing for scrollers
CAROUSELS WITH clean, succinct, snappy text—using hallmarks and hooks—get people to stop scrolling and swipe left (that's a good thing on the Gram). Turns out, I am pretty good at that.
As a social media content creator for environmental- and nature-based organisations, I turn complex information into bite-sized chunks, using complementary visual elements.
Sure, I can jump onto fleeting trends. But I also create attractive originals that engage my audience and compel them to leave comment and share the post.
Find (almost) every carousel I've put online HERE.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Writing for questioning minds
WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, when it comes to the quiz, I'm asking the questions.
I wrote my first quiz in 2020, during the pandemic. The world needed a break from all the bad news, so my editor Rachel Lopez roped me in.
Maybe it was my sunny disposition, which I thought I had kept well hidden. Nevertheless, new skill unlocked! Thanks, Rachel!
It was a good news quiz for the Hindustan Times' Sunday paper. Full of trivia, tongue twisters, and terrible puns.
I still craft the news quiz. And have since expanded my repertoire to include themes and topics after my own heart, such as the plant quiz.
There's more to come. Excuse me while I go get a clue.
