Wildlife on Paper (PDF)

I was born and brought up in Calcutta (presently Kolkata), India. I lived in a place called Patuli, a suburban locality off the southern fringes of the city.



I grew up flying kites, playing cricket and many other out-door games with my friends in the green fields, dotted by ponds and small lakes near my home. Many kinds of trees surrounded the fields. There was even a small cemetery nearby that was so dense with trees and shrubs, it felt like a forest to me.



Having spent my childhood in such a green space allowed me to see many animals big and small from close quarters.



I grew up loving and caring for these animals. I spent hours looking at water buffaloes swimming in the pond by my home. Sometimes I dangled my feet outside the window as I watched the buffaloes.



I tried catching little fish from ditches and ponds with my hands. I used my mother's old saree (an Indian dress) as a net to catch the fish. If I managed to catch some, I kept them in my aquarium for a few days and then released them back in the water.



I watched vultures feeding and wondered how widespread their wings were. I went hungry many times so I could feed the local stray dogs and cats. I sparred and head-butted with the kid goats of my neighbors too.



I saw the glowing eyes of jackals during power cuts at nights. I saw mongoose, monitor lizards, different species of birds and snakes all around me.



This green heaven of the place that was my home is long gone now. Because of urbanization, the animals I saw during my childhood are nowhere to be found now.



I still care for animals. This book is my attempt to bring awareness of animal conservation to young people. I hope that future generations will see to it that the immense species diversity of this planet is never lost. -Kunal Kundu

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