I have spent majority of my life living in mega-cities – New Delhi, Dubai, Bangalore.
Growing up as a Delhi city kid in the 90s, I enjoyed climbing trees and coming across the occasional langurs or peacocks who were comfortable in an urban atmosphere. But when we moved to the Middle East, the tree climbing, langurs and peacocks were replaced by the hundreds of pigeons my Ma would feed everyday in our balcony in Dubai, or the ‘snails’ that started to ‘grow’ in our pot of water lilies. I always knew I enjoyed these moments I spent with ‘nature’, but I never realized how much until I moved back to India to do my bachelors in IT Engineering, in a small beach town on the western coast of India called Surathkal.
My time in Surathkal was transforming in many ways. I feel fortunate about having had the opportunity to study in such a beautiful part of the country. The tropical climate and abundant rain provided ideal conditions for several species of plants to flourish. I still miss that green you would see during the monsoons there. Surathkal helped open my eyes to the natural world that I had always been enamored by, but had limited opportunities to interact with. Unfortunately, I lacked understanding about the various avenues and opportunities to explore the science behind the natural world at that point of time, and so, I spent most of my time there travelling and exploring various parts of the state and my country, absorbing both the Indian natural and cultural landscapes everywhere I travelled.
After college, I moved to Bangalore. I was working with a consultancy, and I honestly felt like I did not belong. Within 10 months, I decided to quit my job and pursue a career in environmental sciences, something I had always been interested in but never had the opportunity to academically pursue. I worked as a project assistant at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, with the Center for Sustainable Technology, researching forest science, urban forestry, climate change adaptation and mitigation, including field work. I also volunteered with the Center for Wildlife Studies on a field project. Through these avenues, I learned about the ecological, environmental and social issues that are experienced by various sections of the Indian society. These experiences helped direct me towards my interests and objectives as a researcher. I applied for a Masters degree in natural sciences, and here I am, done with 1 and 1/2 years of the masters in Natural Resources and Environment, hoping to pursue further education and experience, after obtaining this degree, to become an ecologist.
Geo-Socio-Ecological 