UK ecocritic Richard Kerridge praises India’s nature writing, from ancient traditions to modern works by Prerna Singh Bindra and Yuvan Aves. Speaking at the Corbett Literature Festival, he called India’s biodiversity ‘precious’ and ‘rich’.
Nature and the environment have been an integral part of India’s literary and cultural traditions since ancient times, with Sanskrit literature offering rich depictions of forests, rivers, seasons and wildlife in the works of poets such as Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti.
Praise for Contemporary Indian Nature Writing
British nature writer and ecocritic Richard Kerridge praised the country’s nature writing tradition and highlighted works including Prerna Singh Bindra’s ‘The Vanishing: India’s Wildlife Crisis’, which he described as “perhaps the Indian version of Rachel Carson’s ‘Silent Spring’,and Yuvan Aves’ ‘Intertidal: A Coast and Marsh Diary’, which explores the tidal landscape near Chennai and the small creatures living in rock pools and along the shore. He said such works demonstrate how Indian nature writing can move between personal experiences and larger global questions surrounding climate and the environment. “I think there is some tremendous work happening here in India,” Kerridge told ANI.
A Personal Connection to India’s ‘Precious’ Biodiversity
He also spoke about his own connection with India’s natural landscapes, saying he was particularly drawn to the country’s biodiversity and the abundance of wildlife. “I love the landscape. I love the abundance. I love to see hornbills and of course the tigers, the elephants, the wild boar, the sambar, all these creatures, the glorious birds,” he said.
He added that snakes, including king cobras, were of particular interest to him, and contrasted India’s natural richness with the depleted wildlife and habitats he sees in the UK. “That real richness is so precious compared to the UK where nature is depleted. So I love coming here, you know, as many times as I can,” Kerridge said at the Corbett Literature Festival.
The Evolving Role of Nature Writing
Kerridge, whose work examines the relationship between literature, nature and environmental concerns, said nature writing today must go beyond simply portraying landscapes and wildlife and connect those experiences with the larger ecological challenges facing the world.
“Nature writing is the way it brings together different perspectives. So partly it’s about somebody’s personal story, their own intense experience of the natural world, their joy, their fear, their grief. But also, intertwined with that, you have scientific information,” Kerridge added.
He said nature writing also draws from natural history, climate science, ecology and cultural history, while increasingly engaging with politics and questions about how ecosystems and the places and animals people value can be protected. “Nature writing does have to bring everything back to” the biodiversity and climate crises, Kerridge said, noting that books and nature documentaries can sometimes present an image of abundant nature while making it easy to overlook the ecological decline taking place around the world. On the role of literature in conservation, Kerridge said, “I think a change of consciousness has happened, and I think very slowly changes of behavior are following,” he said, pointing to a growing interest in conservation in countries including India.
Ecotourism’s Role in Conservation
Richard, who is honoured with BBC Wildlife Award for nature writing and the Roger Deakin Award from the Society of Authors, said that ecotourism should involve treating animals respectfully, avoiding actions that agitate or stress them, and following the rules of protected areas. “Although these parks are in some ways under pressure from tourism, I think there is a real alliance developing now between ecotourism and the money it brings in and the benefits for local communities and the conservation effort,” he said. (ANI)
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