VIZAG matters - Sohan Hatangadi's Blog

Recently in the hills near Vizag, a Blue Mormon butterfly feasted on the nectar of hibiscus. It flitted from flower to flower drinking for an hour or so. The Hibiscus gave the butterfly its nectar and in return the butterfly carried out its pollination duties diligently. It drank so much I wondered how it could still fly. I was hoping I had a bigger camera at hand but I did not. The sight was so pretty that I had to record it. I gave it a go with my phone camera and it seems to have come out all right. Thankfully the butterfly was quite focused on its task and did not bother to fly away even when I crept closer. As I left, I contemplated whether I would see this fluttering nectar guzzler again the next morning. What was its life span, as a butterfly, I wondered. Anyway I was overjoyed to watch this elegant little creature and am glad to share this little footage with you. SOHAN HATANGADI VIZAG

Share this - save our environment and save ourselves Pristine waterfall is treated as a bathroom

A few days ago I had written about the need to have a clear policy on waterfalls management. Please see the message that follows. I realise that for many this sounds like a far-fetched idea. "What impact could a waterfall in the Eastern ghats miles away from us have on us?" we may ask. We may feel that it is just an intellectual exercise with no real value. The fact is that it DOES IMPACT US in more ways than one but I will leave that to another occasion to expand. Coincidentally I visited several water flow sites in the hills some with waterfalls and others with water flowing over rocks. It was shocking to see that all these sites were filthy and in a few years will become unbearable to visit. The tourism department's objective is to show that they have developed a new tourist spot. They do not give a damn about how these spots can be maintained. A simple argument they have is "anyway visitors are coming here, all we are doing is making steps so...

Temples to be built in agency areas are a matter of concern. Even a decade ago Adivasis worshiped nature. They went to sacred groves to pray. The forest was their spiritual solace and it was naturally protected.  Recently religious competition was introduced. Buildings of different faiths mainly churches sprang up everywhere. The innocence of the tribal is getting compromised. It is becoming this faith against that. Their original respect for nature as a spiritual symbol is vanishing. To top it off thousands of folks from the plains go to some small temple in the ghats and have a huge eating out party leaving the entire area with tons of rubbish mainly plastic but also remnants of goat skaughter and chicken bones. The temple cleans up 10 ft around their perimeter. The left is left in the sun surrounded by dogs and crows. There is no way of removing the garbage and they lie there forever. Forget tribal tourism. The areas around temples are filthy. Now we have religious...

Day of dread We have been dreading this day since the last ten years. We finally got the notice today. It said simply “By the powers vested in me by the Girijan Government Land Acquisition Authority, you are hereby directed to vacate your house within 30 days of this notice and hand over your home and land to the representative of the Draconian Girijan Governor”. The small print went on to give details of the meager compensation that would be paid and the office we should contact for assistance in relocation and rehabilitation. We have lived in Pandurangapuram for half a century and this has come as a shock. My friends in MVP colony, Kirlmpudi, Daspalla Hills have all got similar notices. Not suitable for homes The past few decades have seen rampant mining of our hills and also massive acquisition of lands for industry in the foothills and rural areas. Land for growing food has become scarce. Much of the food is imported. Industrialists and big business have managed to dilu...

To read the article as it appeared in the Times of India, please click on this link Cultural genocide in our hills or read the original word document below Our children speak the language and imbibe the culture that we (and our living room flat TV) pass on to them, the same language and culture that we imbibed from our parents and grandparents. Along with language, each generation passes on knowledge of music, songs, folklore, traditions, religious practices and cuisine generation to generation and are kept alive for posterity. Cultural genocide at our doorstep We take this historical passing on of the cultural baton as a matter of routine. No one really gives it much thought. But imagine if our children were taken away from us at a young age of 8 or 9 and injected into a completely different environment where they get insulated from their parents, elders and their original way of life. If they were removed from the tapestry of their original culture and weaved into an al...

Dear Friends, Please read my article "An eco disaster called bauxite mining" which appeared in the Times of India on 31st August 2014 under Waltair Musings. I am pasting the scanned article as well as the word document below. Please feel free to comment. Vizag is surrounded on three sides by the gorgeous green Eastern Ghats. City folk driving through these hills are captivated by the scenery, the cool climate and the thick deciduous forest cover fed by rain bearing monsoon winds from the Bay of Bengal.  The Adivasis live here in perfect harmony with their surroundings, as they have done for thousands of years.  Many are now literate, send their kids to school, are immersed in agriculture and animal herding during the day and get a good night’s sleep after sundown. A life they do not want to exchange with any one of us. The curse of bauxite The curse of these hills is a reddish, porous, rock called “Bauxite” named after the village Les Baux in southern France where...