See you on the greener side

Valmik Thapar and Sunjoy Monga

December 2011. Naturalist Sunjoy Monga had released a book, Journeys through India's Last Wild Places, and was keen that mid-day feature it. A former columnist with the publication, I could sense the joy and pride in his voice when we spoke over the phone, and later in person, where he dropped by to hand over a copy; "Near the animal hospital?" he enquired, double-checking the newsroom's address at the time. That's how environmentalists remember directions, I thought. The interview offered insight into the Bird Races that he pioneered in Mumbai as well as his concern about the threatened habitat of flamingos at Sewri Creek. However, the one topic that I was keen to hear his thoughts on was environmental studies - an academic subject popularly referred to as ‘EVS' in our educational institutions.

He considered it futile; he felt that many children and parents didn't enjoy it, where it was approached as just another subject, adding more pressure on students who were already burdened with the rigours of the educational system. To quote from his reply, "Nature and environment needs to be ingrained into every facet of the system, as a part of life; there's no need to mug up for marks. While most of our cities and towns still have tremendous scope to inculcate good learning and values on the subject through field visits and interactions, unfortunately, the child seems busier than the busiest corporate executive: school, coaching classes, homework, entertainment, and the exhaustion of travel in urban areas takes a heavy toll on them, and hence on their growth process such that in the real sense, nature and the environment moves further away, despite the fact that it is a ‘subject'." He rued that while parents try to take their kids to wildlife sanctuaries, it all came down to one more holiday, one more subject. Telling words, given the challenges he would have personally faced while educating young minds about the environment across the length and breadth of the country.

With Valmik Thapar, it was a fascinating discovery of how he combined local talent with the environment, as we learnt while on a train trip in 2016, where we spotted a riot of colours and tiger-themed art welcoming us at Sawai Madhopur railway station. This heritage railway station is where thousands of Indian and international tourists, keen to catch a glimpse of the tiger at Ranthambhore, embark at, was converted into an art museum. Thapar was the driving force who encouraged local artists, and got them to celebrate the region's most famous icon, the tiger. I excitedly reached out to the conservationist who spent most of his time in Ranthambhore. He was happy that a Mumbai newspaper wanted to feature his labour of love. He recalled how the project received the full support of the then Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhu, and in no time, artists Gajanand Singh and Narayan Singh, took on the challenge of painting 7000 sq ft of Sawai Madhopur's railway station's walls, Thapar told me in the course of the interview that he had also created the Ranthambhore Foundation, a non-profit that seeks the natural integration of man, nature and wildlife. One of their many activities was income generation through art and craft. Back then, a colleague and he had spotted a few street painters who practised a hyper-realistic style of painted tiger art. They gathered a group and housed them; "I educated them on the tiger and its contours. In the decades that followed, they gradually turned into masters of the art form. Today, more than 100 painters sell their art to tourists, including these two artists who are at the forefront of Sawai Madhopur's transformation," he revealed at the time, shining a light on the public service activity.

A couple of years later, in August 2018, I reconnected with him after his then 16-year-old son Hamir had released a YouTube video. It was about a unique mating encounter between two tigers in Ranthambhore that drew praise from all quarters, including his dad. Hamir, also an automobile enthusiast, had credited his father for being the driving force. As any proud father would, he was elated, "It's the first time in 43 years that I saw mating tigers at such close quarters. His film is a unique record of some exceptional behaviour. He is devoted to the world of cars and racing but wildlife is also an integral part of his world." Hamir, we learnt, was named by his illustrious [his mother is theatre person Sanjna Kapoor] parents after a famous Rajput king of Ranthambhore, Hammiradeva.

Both Monga and Thapar, while being focused on the bigger picture, never failed to think of the little guy, the young mind and the small aspects that contribute towards not only protecting the environment, but also creating awareness in their trademark resilient style. Exactly the traits needed for battle-hardened eco warriors in our country.

Heaven will be a greener place with these two heroes.

mid-day's Features Editor Fiona Fernandez relishes the city's sights, sounds, smells and stones...wherever the ink and the inclination takes her.
She tweets @bombayana. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com