by Bhuvanesh Santharam
S Theodore Baskaran, conservationist and writer, spoke at the annual M. Krishnan Memorial Nature Writing award function hosted by the Madras Naturalists’ Society (MNS) on 4th May 2019, in Chennai. He said that the country has seen substantial progress in terms of technology and development since independence, but was yet to see progress in dealing with environmental issues and wildlife conservation.
Baskaran pointed out the difference between animal welfare and wildlife conservation. He said that while the former is an ethical approach, the latter is an ecological approach.
“You cannot let your emotions guide your judgement when it comes to wildlife conservation”, he said. “Animal welfare takes into consideration the welfare of individual animals, while conservation looks at a whole species”, he added.
I had the opportunity to interact with K.V. Sudhakar, President, Madras Naturalists’ Society, who provided me insights into the life of renowned photographer, naturalist and writer Madhaviah Krishnan, in whose memory the nature writing award is held every year.
“Krishnan’s photography was exhibited by Kodak Company and he even got featured in The Hindu, and The Illustrated Weekly of India, which, at the time was edited by Khushwant Singh”, said Sudhakar. “He maintained a journal called Country Notebook for over 46 years without a break until the day of his death. It was published in the prestigious newspaper The Statesman”, he added.
Krishnan’s column remains to be the longest column in Indian journalism.
Krishnan’s passion and zeal for nature and wildlife was unending. He spend a lot of time in the forest, photographing wildlife, with a camera that he assembled himself. He called it the ‘Superponderosa’. “He captured every feather, every hair of his subjects”, Baskaran said with regard to Krishnan.
“M. Krishnan was the true spokesperson of nature”, said Baskaran. His pictures were revolutionary and shaped the face of Indian wildlife photography at a time when the art was still developing in the country. Apart from wildlife photography, Krishnan was also a voracious writer, artist and poet. He often quoted Shakespeare and Kipling from memory. He seldom socialised and preferred to be either out in the wild or in his study.
Ramachandra Guha writes that Krishnan was “acid in his wit” and illustrates how he expressed his discontentment during a visit to the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore:
At a reception the lady asked Krishnan what he thought of the campus. “Disgraceful,” he answered, “you should uproot all those foreign trees, and plant some of our own.” On another occasion, when a kinsman wrote of the death by felling of a gulmohar tree near his house, Krishnan shot back: “Anyway, why regret the demise of a gulmohar – an exotic that litters the ground beneath with fallen faded flowers – a vermillion strumpet from Madagascar? If you want to see a truly impressive crown of red flowers, you should see the flame-of-the-forest, Butea monosperma, entirely our own, early in summer – three or four trees close together setting the horizon ablaze.”
Krishnan’s association with the MNS dates back to its inception. His photograph and article was featured in the first edition of Blackbuck, the magazine published by MNS. V. Santharam, Director, Institute of Bird Studies and Natural History at Rishi Valley, writes in Blackbuck about how Krishnan was often “misunderstood and avoided by fellow-scientists and officials.” It is not surprising that people bold enough to stand for what they think is right are often looked down upon, and in M. Krishnan’s case it was blatant.
It is essential to note the magnitude of Krishnan’s contribution to wildlife conservation and expect the same enthusiasm to inspire people to take up environmental issues seriously. I do not believe that dedicating one day in a year to the environment will do any justice to the looming crisis, which might turn into an emergency any day. Working alongside nature requires passion, persistence and patience, all which Krishnan had.
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