It has been quite a journey for me as a writer since the beginning of 2019.

2019 has truly been a year of growth as a writer and as a scientist. I joined the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, as a researcher in January 2019, and have found my place here in this wonderful environment where science and society meet and create something novel and exciting. Life has taken me through ups and downs but I have emerged stronger and happier than ever before. But working at ATREE and my new colleagues and friends have given me so much more fodder for writing articles. Apart from working on scientific publications and research, I have never felt so stimulated to discuss the research of my peers and write articles based on their and my experiences in this field. I have written 25 blog posts since January 2019 and been lucky enough to have 15 popular science articles published in media sources since the beginning of this year, and I consider this to be one of my biggest personal achievements.

As 2019 comes to an end, I thought I would share the links to my published works of the year. Thank you so much to those who have shared my work and encouraged me throughout this journey. This wouldn’t have been possible without your support!

Feb. 6, 2019 – “Ghosts of the Chambal” – a blog post for Wild Canids on my experience with wolves in the Chambal ravines during my Master’s research.

Feb. 9, 2019 – “A Bullet to the Lungs: Mumbai Set to Lose More Forest to High-Speed Railway Line” – an article published by Conservation India on the proposed bullet train project from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and its ecological implications.

Mar. 26, 2019 – “Life in the Hills: Anecdotes from the Garhwal Himalayas” – a blog post published by Saevus Magazine on some life-changing experiences from my time in the Garhwal Himalayas of Uttarakhand.

May 9, 2019 – “All for the perfect tiger shot: Unregulated tourism and its effects on wildlife” – a newspiece published in The News Minute regarding the negative side-effects of wildlife tourism on the wildlife and environment of our national parks in India.

May 21, 2019 – “To Skin a Cat: An Amateur Biologist’s First Autopsy” – A story of my first autopsy of a tiger when I was interning with WWF-India’s Western India Tiger Landscape, Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve.

Jun. 1, 2019 – “Monsoon Mountains: Field Notes from the Nilgiri Hills” – an article published in Saevus Magazine (print edition) on the beautiful Biligiriranganatha Swamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (BRT) nestled in the Nilgiri Hills of South India.

Jun. 24, 2019 – “Habitat loss and poaching threaten the survival of the elusive Nilgiri langur” – a newspiece published by The News Minute on the ecology and conservation threats to the Nilgiri langur, one of India’s rarest mammals.

Jul. 3, 2019 – “Caging the Wild: Maharashtra Government Approves Building of Zoo in Aarey Milk Colony Forest Land” – A newspiece published by Conservation India on the implications of the Mumbai government’s recent decision to build a zoo in Aarey Milk Colony, one of the few forest patches remaining in the city.

Oct. 11, 2019 – “Gandikota” (travel guide) – A travel guide published on Nature in Focus’s website about the Grand Canyon of India, Gandikota, a fort high on the cliffs above the Pennar River in Andhra Pradesh.

Oct. 26, 2019 – “Who will save the swamps?” – An article published by the Deccan Herald on India’s most endangered ecosystem, the Myristica swamps of the Western Ghats.

Oct. 26, 2019 – “One Last Dance: The Fate of Manipur’s Dancing Deer” – with wonderful illustrations by Labonie Roy, this article was taken up by Current Conservation, a Bangalore-based magazine, and highlights the conservation threats to the world’s most endangered wild deer species, the sangai (also known as the Manipuri brow-antlered deer or the dancing deer).

Dec. 14, 2019 – “India’s Disappearing Grasslands” – a newspiece published by the Deccan Herald on the vanishing grassland ecosystems of India and why we need grasslands as much as we need forests.

Three more articles are due for publication by early January, but I will not put them here..

Here’s to another year of writing and spreading the message of conservation and a love for wildlife! Thanks to you all for supporting me along the way. Without readers, a writer has no stronghold.