Rohan Chakravarty's Blog, page 36

Colonial Science and Academics

A cartoon on 'colonial' science and academics, inspired by an article titled 'Shifting our Gaze' written by Bidyut Sarania, Krishnapriya Tamma, Samira Agnihotri, Subhashini Krishnan and Sutirtha Lahiri, from my column with The Hindu's Sunday Magazine.

Nurdle Pollution

The Sri Lankan coastline has been ravaged by nurdle pollution after the vessel MV Xpress Pearl had afire accident, resulting in the death of thousands of marine animals, and likely to start showing its impacts on human health soon. Sri Lankan marine biologist Asha De Vos and her organization Oceanswell.org are tackling the problem through their 'Nurdle Tracker', where volunteers can upload data on nurdles which will help cleaning efforts. Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

The Marvel that is Echolocation

Have you ever seen a bat hunt an insect down in flight and wondered how the hell did that look so easy? Comic from my Sunday Mid-Day column, inspired by my brother Rohit's 'Indian Bat Call Library', a painstakingly assembled resource of bat calls from all around India, translated to audible frequencies using bat detectors.

Wombat Droppings and Climate Change Denial in Australia

Climate change denial is on the rise in Australia, with not just the government refusing to commit to a net zero emissions deadline, but also appointing a climate science denier, Barnaby Joyce, as Deputy Prime Minister. Cartoon from my column with The Hindu. 

Ocean Zones: Illustration for Arastirmaci Cocuk

An illustration depicting the various zones of the ocean, done for the Turkish kids' magazine Arastirmaci Cocuk. Read their latest issue on the website here.

Humpback Mahseer in Kaveri

Kaveri's Humpback Mahseers are critically endangered, but with efforts like that of river ecologist Neeti Mahesh, there is hope. Comic strip from my column with The Hindu.

A Tigress Reviews Sherni

Amit Masurkar's new film about the challenges, sociopolitics, and the many grey areas of tiger conservation in India, is sure to go down in history as the first accurate portrayal of conservation issues in mainstream Hindi cinema. Other than having some stellar performers (Vidya Balan, Vijay Raaz, Sharat Saxena, Brijendra Kala and Neeraj Kabi among others), Sherni is also a beautifully made film, with various aspects of filmmaking being quite simply, top-notch. A completely palpable and believable Vidya Balan portrays DFO Vidya Vincent with both the calmness and grit that I have witnessed in so many female forest officers I have had the honour of interacting and working with. The brilliant Vijay Raaz, who I last saw playing a whimsical gangster obsessed with wildlife trivia in the much-underrated comedy 'Lootcase', plays a moth biologist and forest department consultant, while the legendary Sharat Saxena slips comfortably into the role of a hunter clearly based on the egomaniacal and trigger-happy Nawab Shafat Ali Khan. But the prime highlight of the film isn't its theatric or technical perfection, but the fact that the nuances of conservation in India are portrayed with pinpoint precision. If you've ever walked a patrol with a forest guard, interacted with forest-dwelling tribes who are the foremost victims of man-animal conflict without even being the cause, or even spent a few minutes at a forest department office, you will identify with every minute of Sherni's screentime. And of course, a special mention goes to the film's producers at T-Series not just for backing a film of utmost social relevance, but also being sporting enough to take a joke on their own erstwhile hit song 'Achha sila diya'! It would not surprise you to know that Amit Masurkar was the man behind the exceptional political drama, Newton.
A recommendation for those who have watched and loved Sherni: Anay Tarnekar's powerful Marathi short film 'The Kill', starring Radhika Apte and Girish Kulkarni, which speaks about tiger poaching.
Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain.

Pygmy Blue Whales in the Indian Ocean

Nuclear bomb detectors placed near Chagos Islands detected whale sounds, which when analysed by a group of scientists from the University of New South Whales, led to the discovery of a new population of Pygmy Blue Whales in the Indian Ocean! Comic from my column with Sunday Mid-Day.

Diamond Mining and the Environment

The forests of Buxwaha in Madhya Pradesh, an important wildlife corridor could be lost to a diamond mine being planned by the Aditya Birla group in the region, threatening not just endangered wildlife but also tribal livelihoods. A petition in support of the forest is on Change.org here. If you wish to use the Hindi version of the cartoon, please write to me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com . 

Shark Illustrations for the Save Our Seas Foundation

I had the absolute delight of illustrating 43 species of sharks and rays, with a focus on endangered ones, for the Save Our Seas Foundation's new website— 'World of Sharks'. The SOSF team has designed some ravishing infographics wit these illustrations, which you will find on the website.
Thanks to SOSF for the continued association, and for always assigning projects that are tremendous learning experiences!