The mud path abruptly narrows and we brake sharply. Looks like the car won't go any further. We park it off the path in some shrubby vegetation, narrowly avoiding an army of procession ants (never ever let these little guys bite you; you'll be itching for days) as we climb out and tie on our…
Birds on the Brain: Green Imperial Pigeon
Dry leaves crunch beneath my sandals as I swerve to narrowly avoid the prickly bladed fronds of Pinanga dicksonii, a plant that frequently impedes my expeditions into Myristica swamps. A spine snags my shift regardless, nipping my skin through the woven material, and I yelp irritably. The loud 'trrrrrick' of the Indian bullfrog echoes through…
Venkateshteertha: The God Beside the Road
A swamp at the edge of a road leaves Priya with a sense of urgency. Explore Venkateshteertha through her eyes as she learns more about this sacred swamp...
Malemane: Where Plastic Pollution Meets Primeval Forest
Just a few kilometers ahead of Kathalekan along the Siddapur-Honnavar highway, a hidden swamp wallows in the low-lying dense forests of the Sharavathi. Malemane (literally "forest-house" or "house in the forest") falls along the Kathalekan belt of swamps, an interconnected series of Myristica swamps along a perennial stream. Each successive swamp collects runoff from the…
Kathalekan: Paradise (Nearly) Lost
Learn about the dark forest, Kathalekan, and how this paradise may soon vanish with encroaching human land use in the wild heart of Karnataka...
The Lonely Schoolboy
Meet the whistling schoolboy in the depths of a mysterious forest of the Western Ghats
Chaare: The Home of the Tiger God
Sacrality is a fascinating concept to explore, and many swamps in my study area of Uttara Kannada are considered sacred by local communities. One of these swamps is Chaare, a lovely, fenced swamp nestled in the crook of wet evergreen forest and (surprise, surprise) an arecanut plantation. Named for the small village that borders it,…
Torme: A Swamp Under Threat
Deep in the heart of lion-tailed macaque country lie multiple hidden Myristica swamps. Rohan and I spent hours driving the (surprisingly) well-maintained roads, past faded signposts and countless towering arecanut plantations, past colourful houses and dry brown paddy fields, past patches of dry deciduous forest interspersed by cool, wet evergreen forests, until we finally reached…
A Slice of history: Who will save India’s Myristica swamps?
The longer version (with pictures!) of my article in the Deccan Spectrum about India's endangered Myristica swamps