Essays on natural history

Straightforward, simple to understand and of the perfect length, this collection of short stories is filled with fascinating nuggets of information on our natural heritage, says RANJIT LAL.

WE have a mind-boggling variety of flora and fauna in the country but, alas, so few writers who are interested in natural history writing, and who can do it well. It is a matter for concern because the natural history writer is the important link between the Latin-and-Greek spewing zoologist, botanist, entomologist, environmentalist and so on, and the lay public who remains terrified of scientific names and jargon.

However, we do have S. Theodore Baskaran, a familiar by-line for readers of The Hindu, who has been admirably bridging this gap with a felicity and disarming simplicity that often makes you sit back and say, "Heck, of course! Why didn't I think of explaining it like that!"

This collection of short essays spans a quarter of a century and the articles have been neatly divided into several categories: "The Birds", "The Mammals", "The Habitats", "The Issues" and "The Domestic". Baskaran has travelled to wild and unusual places, from Arunachal Pradesh to the Kutch, from the "scrub of Madurai to the wetlands of Manipur", looking at birds, beasts, habitats, problems - and (a few!) people. By and large, the essays are straightforward, simple to understand and of perfect length, with short, clean sentences. And are as filled with fascinating nuggets of information as is a Christmas pudding with raisins.

For instance, did you know that flamingoes consume about one- tenth of their body weight in food every day? Or that the scientific name of the lesser flamingo - Phoenicanais minor - literally means "crimson water nymph"? That the Phoenician traders sold these feathers to the barbarians as feathers of the legendary bird phoenix? The barbarians willingly exchanged amber for the feathers believing that they could buy immortality ...

Or were you aware, that in the days when egret feathers were the height of fashion, they cost $32 per ounce, which was twice the price of gold at the time? That the dipper actually walks along the bottom of a stream, and remains submerged merely by tilting its body at an angle as the force of the current keeps it down? That Brahminy kites are always the first to disappear from a chemically polluted area? That elephants raid crops because crops are more nutritious? That Indian teak saved England during the war with Napolean?

Listed like this, it seems like a litany of trivia but every nugget tells us a great deal about the creature concerned and often, also, a lot about our role in the scheme of things.

Baskaran explains what set him off: "For me, the sight of a bull gaur emerging from the forest cover like an ebony carving on the move ... lit by the golden sun is a transcendental experience. That is what prompts me to learn more about them, and this is what moves me to write."

Really, it is as simple as that. With nature, there is no hocus- pocus, no jiggery-pokery, no mantras or incantations - the colours, the beauty, the action is there for all to see, enjoy and be spiritually moved by. And also to become seriously concerned about as we go about laying waste our natural treasures with suicidal recklessness and greed.

The essays that I particularly liked included, "The Private Life Of The Purple-rumped Sunbird", "A Creature Of The Rainforest", "The Monpas Of The Himalayas", "The Dipper" and "India's Canine Heritage".

What I missed was a dateline at the head of each essay, which would have enabled the reader to "fix" the article in time, before reading it. There is a complete list of dates and publications (where they first appeared) at the end, but then you have to flip back and look it up, and somehow it does not stick. Some of the essays, surprisingly, also appear to have escaped the copy editor's eye, and a few names have been misspelt (Gerald Durrell for example).

For lovers of nature, of course, this book is a must. For aspiring nature writers, a lesson in clarity and simplicity. For everyone else, a wonderful introduction to some of the marvels of, and issues concerning, our natural heritage.

The Dance Of The Saurus, S. Theodore Baskaran, Oxford University Press, p. 240, Rs. 295

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