Author: Ramachandra Guha
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 291
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0195659112
Description
M Krishnan was a naturalist known for his prose style, learning, and astonishingly wide range of interests. His work spanned six decades, and his nature writings are among the most readable ever written in English.
'Nature's Spokesman' showcases Krishnan's finest essays : on large mammals, little creatures, nature in temple art and folklore, nature's desecration and its conservation. Embellished by folklore, nature's desecration and its conservation. Embellished by Krishnan's own sketches, this landmark volume also includes a long biographical introduction by Ramachandra Guha.
EXCERPTS FROM REVIEWS
'All in all, once you've gone through this collection, there are only two things that need to be done: begin to read it all over again and hanker for more.'
— Dileep Padgaonkar, The Times of India
'Its is clearly time that a new generation was introduced to Krishnan's timeless essays. I am glad that this pleasurable but onerous task has been undertaken by that other great stylist and nature lover, Ramachandra Guha.'
— Amita Malik, The Hindustan Times
'If Ernest Hemingway were to write about ecology and nature, he would have written like Krishnan. . . . There's a whole new generation but there that will be well served by what should merely be the first of many collection of his writing.'
— Suresh Menon, The Indian Express
'This timely volume of fine writing by a pioneering environmentalist will reintroduce Krishnan to many new readers and also earn the gratitude of his older fan club.'
— Bulbul Sharma, Outlook
Contents
Introduction
NATURE VENERATED
The Landscape of Love (1954)
Fabular Fauna (1955)
Ancient Depictions of Hanuman (1955)
The Shawk (1956)
The Southern Lions (1956)
Asoka’s Lions (1953)
A Bird Emblem for India (1961)
NATURE’S MARVELS
Tiger Talk (1980)
When Elephants Die (1990)
Python at Home (1958)
The Disappearing Cheetah (1960)
An Afternoon Idyll (1958)
Onti, or a Lone Champion (1959)
Five Encounters (1997)
NATURE’S MINIATURES
A City’ Bird Life (1953)
Rescuing Fledgeling (1956)
The Anril (1986)
A Flight of Danaids (1953)
Argemone Mexicana (1945)
Lenin the Lizard (1938)
That Gentleman, the Toad (1982)
The Dinkey Desert Fox (1980)
Incessant Rain (1957)
NATURE’S WARS
Monkey Versus Man (1950)
Bashing a Bandicoot (1938)
Death of a Snake (1938)
Bommakka (1952)
Freebooters of the Air (1952)
Cat Fight (1957)
The Jellicut (1951)
The Dy8ing Gladiator (1958)
NATURE THEORIZED
The Vengeful Cobra (1960)
Sleeping Dogs (1949)
The Aquatic Sambar (1990)
Slow-breeding Rhinos (1973)
Mixed Issue (1956)
The Aggression of the Vegetarian (1961)
The North-South Rule (1981)
The ‘Pinch Period’ (1987)
NATURE DOMESTICATED
My Distinguished Neighbor (1939)
Amrit Mahal (1951)
Versatile Neem (1992)
Jungli Phal (1953)
Walchand (1945)
The Pariah (1944)
Chocki (1950)
NATURE DESECRATED
Captive-bred Mugger (1988)
Hounding the Sloth (1958)
The Vanishing Bustard (1952)
A Lament for Lost Wood (1957)
Gilding the Lily (1958)
A Warning to Aesthetes (1952)
On Shikar English (1958)
A Red Test for the Young (1967)
Nat7ure Study (1947)
NATURE PROTECTED
The Bishnoi and Blackbuck (1980)
Vedanthangal (1956)
The Charm of Chilka (1979)
Planning a Park (1955)
Animals of the Dwindling Forest (1970)
Ecological Patriotism (1991)
NATURE TRANSCENDED
The Genus Feringhee (1959)
A Letter to the Editor (1955)
A Suggestion to Government (1954)
Tests in Far Away Places (1951)
The Revenge (1952)
The Truth About an Old Lady (1954)
Verse for a Living (1995)