SILIGURI, : Year 2003 ends on an exciting note for book lovers and also good
news for nature lovers, travellers and those with a penchant for poetry. A bird
book that breaks new ground – ‘A Rustle in the Foliage’ written by Sikkimese
writer Suraj Gurung has paved the way for a completely new genre of nature
writing.
The
one-of-a-kind bird book with a collection of travelogues, anecdotes, essays,
and poems along with 84 colour photographs gives a unique perspective on the
avian world.
‘A Rustle
in the Foliage’ is published by Rachna Books & Publications, Gangtok. World
renowned British ornithologist and author Carol Inskipp has written the
foreword to the book.
The bird
book is a result of the author’s journey into the world of avifauna that
traverses through remote locations in his home State and the adjoining hill
regions of Darjeeling and Kalimpong as he treks for hours braving rain and
cold, in search of rare avian species. In addition to the birds in the wild,
the book also depicts common birds in a new light and reveals their distinct
personalities.
The
author, a travel writer and a wildlife photographer takes the reader on an
unforgettable journey through the verdant oak forests of Neora Valley, the
alpine rhododendron groves in western Sikkim, the cold desert of Gurudongmar on
the edge of the Tibetan plateau and the warm wetlands of Gajoldoba in
Jalpaiguri.
The
book-release event held at BukAnt, Salbari had the participation of nature
lovers, bird photographers as well as distinguished literary personalities from
Siliguri, Darjeeling and
Sikkim.
The programme started with a book review by environmentalist and eco-entrepreneur
Utsow Pradhan.
In his
address, Pradhan said, “The book ‘A Rustle in the Foliage’ talks about
sustainable birding by bringing the issue of responsible birding and the usage
of birdcall playbacks in the field. Through some of his poems, the author also
subtly talks about the need for conserving our traditional ways of agriculture
and the sowing of endemic food grains of the Eastern Himalayan region that will
sustain the avian population and bird tourism. The survival of the endemic
birds depends largely on the sound and healthy ecology of the region.”
Pradhan
added, “The book needs to be incorporated into the school curriculum for
children so that they may learn about the urgent need for the appreciation and
conservation of our environment and ecology”.
‘A Rustle
in the Foliage’ garnered praise from the academic world too.
In her
address during the event, Priyanka Chatterjee, Assistant Professor (English),
North Bengal University shares that ‘A Rustle in the Foliage’ showcases a new
way of writing with empathy about our surroundings and our entangled lives, is
not just a tale of birdwatching but also a tale of the region – the Eastern
Himalaya.
“The
narrative also challenges the metaphor of the ‘fastness’ of our lives in the
current capitalistic system by slowing down the narrative and making us absorb
the sounds of the forest and nature. The narrative style is crisp and has an
economy of words that never spill over the boundaries. The book is interspersed
with brilliant photographs of birds and rhyming poems that are not only
self-reflective but also a happy digression from the prose, yet equally
intense. The book is replete with local names of trees, birds and local myths
and legends in the narrative is reminiscent of cultural storytelling that is
fast vanishing from our disintegrating lives.”
She added,
“The book which is at its heart a tale of birds, is also an inviting read for
many different strands of writings which ruffles up categorization. It has
literary, social, cultural and environmental connotations that make it an
exemplar of transdisciplinary writing. It is a book that speaks of nurturing
our passion with the utmost care, nurturing the world around us, and nurturing
the self into someone who understands the world with empathy so that we can
pass it on to the future and our children.
Thereafter,
Lekha Rai, proprietor at Café the Twins and literary enthusiast was in
conversation with the author. During the talk, many things regarding birding,
bird photography and issues related to the conservation and sustainability of
bird tourism as well as village tourism were discussed at length.
The
book-release event also had the presence of Pempa Tamang, former senior
bureaucrat,
Government
of Sikkim, Subash Deepak, veteran journalist and accomplished litterateur, Dr. Sonam
Wangyal, renowned historian and author, and Rajen Moktan, retired Police
Officer -turned- birder and writer from Salbari.
