“A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down,” sang Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins . It’s a message that Pankaj Sekhsaria seems to have taken to heart. In the city recently for Science Influx — an event organised by Zoo Reach and Mango Education on the lawns of Sreevatsa Lunchbox, Chinnavedampatti — the environmentalist and author used humour and anecdotes from his 20 years in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to show children how human greed and rapacity have led to many ecological problems to the islands.
Prema Rangachary releases the book
The evening began with the launch of Pankaj’s latest book Islands in Flux . Prema Rangachary, director of Vidya Vanam School, pointed out how the A&N islands are also victims of a ‘single story’. “They are seen only through the prism of tourism, beaches and the Cellular Jail,” she said, adding, “Pankaj’s work, however, shows that there are so many more dimensions to it.”
Sure enough, when Pankaj asked his youthful audience what they knew of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the answers were jail and beach. Beginning with a little lesson in geography — the location of the islands — Pankaj went on to show images that many of us knew little about.
The uniqie Nicobar Megapode
Like the Nicobar Megapode, a strange bird that builds a nest of mud and vegetation. It does not incubate its eggs but checks the temperature of the nest with its beak and ensures the right degree of warmth necessary for its chicks to hatch.
He showed a photo of tracks leading to the ocean and asked the kids what they thought these were. Amid shouts of ‘tractor’ and ‘truck’ came a few murmurs of ‘turtle’. It was indeed the tracks of a Giant Leatherback Turtle heading back to the ocean after laying her eggs. Slowly he drew out from the kids what they knew — hatchlings go back to the sea, they navigate by the light of the moon — and then explained how electric lights along the coast confuse the hatchlings and lead them to their death.
The uniqie Nicobar Megapode
A photograph of a beautiful orchid drew exclamations of wonder. Pankaj explained that the Papilionanthe teres requires direct sunlight to grow. “The canopy of the rainforest is like an umbrella and cuts off sunlight. So this flower will not grow,” he said narrating how a botanist proved that the Forest Department was allowing trees to be cut down by showing this orchid blooming. “If logging had not taken place, the canopy would not have opened up, direct sunlight would not have reached the ground and the flower would not have grown,” he said explaining the concept of ecological indicators.
The idea of endemism and how some species are found only in certain areas was told through examples like the Andaman Emerald Gecko, the Andaman Pit Viper and the Andaman Coucal. One photo caught everyone's attention: a hand holding a white, gooey substance. When Pankaj explained that the white substance was the saliva of the Edible Nest Swiftlet, the children made faces of disgust. This changed to shock when he pointed out that the saliva was a prized delicacy as it was edible and that one kilo is worth US $2000-3000. The other interesting fact about the bird is that it nests in very dark caves and navigates through echolocation.
Children listen in rapt attention
Once the floor was opened up for an interaction, questions came thick and fast. “What is it like to live in a seismically active area?”, “How did you land up in these islands?”, “How did you communicate with the island tribes?”, “What were the challenges you faced as a photographer?”, “Which of your books do you like the most?” were just some. Each question was given serious consideration and a patient answer.
Finally he said, “I have spoken about the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. But every place that you live in is unique. Even if you can’t go and work in an island, do something for the place you live in.”
Asked about what else interested him, Pankaj said his next book would be about studying scientists and why they do what they do. “It’s like a biography of a laboratory in Pune. I am studying what a scientist does in that lab and what happens there and to its instruments.”
The author signs a copy for his fans
The evening ended with a rush to buy the few copies of his books that were available and get them signed by the author.
A&N Facts
The islands are around 1200km mainland India and just about 150km from Myanmar or Indonesia. Ecologically and bio-geographically, they are part of Southeast Asia
The islands are the peaks of a submerged mountain range, the Arakanyoma, which extends from Burma in the North up to Sumatra in the South.
There are around 570 islands spread over 8000-odd km
The oldest industry in the islands is timber, which began in the colonial times
The southernmost tip of India is not Kanyakumari but Indira Point in the islands. “There used to be a kirana shop called The Southernmost General Store of India, which was not exactly at the 6.5 degree latitude but a little above that,” he said amid laughter.
