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Why I love volunteering - notes from France

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Even as one half of me struggling to describe my experience at France, my other half was constantly enjoying the memories and skimming through photos, contemplating what I have learnt and gone through those beautiful two weeks. France and Paris - what could one possibly think when we hear those words - love, romance, life and lifestyle. The experience at France completely filled my expectations of a developed country. But more importantly it helped me to de-condition myself at many instances. PC - Bharath Place Arriving at end of September in France means winter is about to kick in anytime. South of France is a magnificent blend of geological wonders and rich French culture. I was at Laragne, a small town at the region ALPS. Laragne is dotted with farms, churches, markets and various adventure activities such a paragliding, off road cycling, many good climbs for short hikes and treks. One can actually feel the French side of the France here.
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Nature; the greatest documenter

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Ever since writing was invented, documentation played a crucial role in carrying forward our culture and important events in history. But do not come to the conclusion that only human knows to document stuff. Nature knows too..!!  That is what I aim to bring to you here in  this short piece. Tree rings Since we cannot go back in time to know how it looked like centuries ago, scientist rely on natural sources for climate data and visualize the history of the earth.     We know that trees could live for thousands of years. During this long time, they could have experienced a variety of climates and environmental conditions; such as forest fire, heavy rains, snow, wind, storm and scorching sunlight. Tree always do keep a track of these information within themselves. Studying tree rings can reveal this information to us.  Photo: Puviarasan                                                                                                                     Location
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Finding Otters at the backwaters of Pondicherry

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Expedition Background  We are group of people with great interest for exploration and understanding nature in a mission to identify and map potential hotspot to spot Sea Otters at the backwaters of Pondicherry. This is a citizen scientist initiative to explore potential places to spot sea otters and educate citizens about the need for conserving such marine species. This will help us to reach out to different stakeholders in the process of discovering & conservation of this endangered species. Photo & video documentation are done with Canon EOS 77D.  SPOT 1 - Nallavaadu beach & backwater Every time we camp at beaches of Pondicherry, fisherfolk often reported that they encounter Kadal Naai (as they call it in the Tamil language), which is Sea Otter in English. Hence with the help of fisherfolks we mapped few hotspots where Sea Otters are often spotted around the backwaters of Nallavaadu fishermen village at Pondicherry, India. On March 30, with the help of loc
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An Analogy between "The Wolf and Leadership".

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You may wonder what is a wolf has to do with the leadership here. When I decided to take a session on leadership, I wanted to re-deliver the core content in a different perspective. A quality of an effective leader is to empower his people through new experiences and opportunities. Here I picked this point to give a new perspective on leadership. Also, I considered this as an opportunity to connect one of my interest 'Wildlife' with the session. That’s how wolf came into the play here. Hence I've attempted to use the analogy of wolf behaviour and attitude with leadership.  Hence it is post is about Analogy of wolf attitude and leadership. PC: Google  In the picture, you can notice a pack of wolf trailblazing through the wild. The wolves here are strategically placed to face any confrontation or any uncertainty. It is important to understand and decode their strategy. Here is a quick explanation of how they are placed. The wolves in the red circle are
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A problem solving experiment

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Udhaifala is a tribal village located 15km from Sarada block of Udaipur, Rajasthan. The temperature in Rajasthan during summer rises up to 45ºC. There is no electricity supply to the school resulting in high humid inside classroom during summer and post-summer. Udhaifala school at monsoons. Doesn't feel like Rajasthan right? As part of Gandhi fellowship, I work in this primary school which consists 4 classrooms out of which only 2 is functional. It is very congested to seat all 83 students in two classrooms without electricity, resulting in lack of concentration among students and teacher often lose interest in classroom teaching.   The proposed solution to the problem should be cost-effective and works practically without electricity. I strongly remember a Bangladeshi firm trying an experiment of making a zero electricity air cooler without electricity itself. After a small research, I came up with the know-how of the solution.  So this is the how part of th
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Close encounter of an Asian Openbill.

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September 2017, Chawand Village, Udaipur, Rajasthan. Name: Asian Open Bill Location: Maharana Pratap lake, Sarada Block, Udaipur. Shot on: One Plus X (a 13-megapixel mobile phone) I didn’t expect her to fall into my frame. It was a random click counting on my luck but the outcome proved me lucky.  It was not baited, set up or called in.  I didn’t hope much to click interesting takeoff or flight shot when the Bill left the tree. In fact, it was peacefully settled at the top of the small tree, and a sudden bike engine noise provoked her to move away from the place. I felt it was not a common sight for a visitor. On my way back, I realised that I should really pay attention to discover the beauty next to me.  
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The Architect bird, Baya Weavers

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August 2017. Chawand Village,  Udaipur District,  Rajasthan.   I am inclined to write about Baya Weavers because this is a common bird with uncommon skills and intelligence. I am posted at Chawand village, in Udaipur district of Rajasthan for my two-year fellowship journey. One weekend morning I stumbled upon a nearby lake in pursuit of my usual birdwatching hobby. Within minutes of arriving there in an August morning, I noticed small birds spinning around in circles. I happened to notice trajectory of one bird. He (bird) got my attention because it was shuttling between one tree to another tree in particular. Just a quick googling right there helped me to know their name. "Baya Weavers" ( Thookanam Kuruvi - Tamil ) Baya weavers are one such bird we often come across while travelling outskirts of the city. Most of us would have seen their hanging nest on high trees. Knowing about their life would be worth interesting and hence spending your time re
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