Bittu Sahgal

The last of the Inheritance series procured by me, and one of the best written. Especially impressive was Sumit Sen's crisp and well-grounded retelling of the history of this tract. It makes for painful reading, as it evokes a bitter feeling of what could have been- a pristine wilderness with such exotic species as the Great Indian and the Javan rhinoceros, wild buffalo, and the usual complement of big cats, gaur, and deer. Also well brought out is the colonial perception of wild nature as somehow evil and deserving to be extirpated, especially in these swampy tropical formation. As usual, the visuals are outstanding, and coverage of all aspects complete.… (plus d'informations)

Another outstanding publication from Sanctuary Asia, as deeply researched and lavishly illustrated as the others in the Wild series and the Inheritance series. A really nice touch is the provision of small sketch maps of the principal locations and sanctuaries. This volume is especially interesting, as it pertains to a part of central India that has been relatively less 'developed', hence the visitor may be able to see a less organised and 'corporatised' state of the wildlife areas than in the other parts of Madhya Pradesh, for instance. This is also a relatively recent publication (2017), hence may be expected to reflect current conditions.… (plus d'informations)

Another opulent production from Bittu Sahgal's Sanctuary Asia foundation, this one dealing with wildlife areas across Maharashtra in a collection of articles by leading naturalists and conservationists. This series is a frame, so to speak, that puts the earlier Inheritance volumes (dealing with individual sanctuaries like Tadoba, Bandhavgarh) in context; the other volumes published so far ar Wild Chhattisgarh and Wild Madhya Pradesh. The great feature of the Wild series is that it gives 2-3 page descriptions of a number of smaller sanctuaries as well as spots outside the forest proper, such as coastline and forts and so on.… (plus d'informations)