“I realised I couldn’t live without jungles”

As a child growing up in Mumbai, I had a lot of exposure to all things art. My family was into classical music and literature. The sitar teacher was a regular fixture at home. And attending concerts was the norm.

But I also had a wild streak in me. I found that out when I started going for nature camps in school when I was 15 or so. 

My passion continued when I was in college. Ramnarain Ruia – the college where I studied – had an excellent nature club. I enrolled in it and listened to eminent naturalists starry-eyed.

The craze for bird watching followed soon after. Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the outskirts of Mumbai became my favourite haunt. 

My family was bewildered. They could understand my attending music festivals, but not spending time in the jungles.

I also loved looking at the twinkling stars in a pitch dark sky. So, I found out a star gazing club and joined it. 

Most families don’t allow girls to spend nights outside homes. But my father sensed my interest and never stopped me.

I am impulsive and unpredictable. Once, trains in Mumbai were cancelled due to heavy rains. But that didn’t prevent me from stepping out. I threw caution to the winds and walked a long way to reach my destination. 

Can you imagine I skipped a family function and went travelling all over Vrindavan, Mysuru and Bengaluru? There were no mobile phones in those days. My family was worried to death and I got a scolding after I returned home. Such was my passion for nature and the wild.

I realised I couldn’t live without jungles.

So after my master’s I enrolled for a PhD at the Wildlife Institute of India in Dehradun. Imagine my shock to find out that I was the only girl among six selected candidates. 

Though I had just recovered from jaundice, I wasted no time in taking up my research.

My research focused on community study of birds in the Central Indian landscape of Maharashtra – Madhya Pradesh. In 2000 I completed PhD and met my husband, then a forest officer. 

He proposed to me – where else but in the forest, of course! 

Wildlife conservation was slowly catching up in India. 

So, after marriage my husband and I decided to do something close to our heart. We started our own organisation, Wildlife Research and Conservation Society, in Pune in 2005.

Field work didn’t change much after marriage. I continued studying birds. I accompanied my husband to the jungles. I took our child Antara along. My maid would accompany me on trips and take care of the child.

I always want to be outdoors. 

Raptors like eagles and owls fire my passion. I love tagging and tracking owls in Melghat Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. I am always off to Melghat for work.

I love elephants too and have worked on conflict resolution in Karnataka. 

I took risks in life and enjoyed a lot. 

I got a lot of freedom which is great. Most women in India don’t get family support, especially for field work. I am lucky that way. 

I hope more and more women join wildlife conservation.