PfA Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre

India has always had a deep and sacred relationship with nature. Whether it’s with animals, plants, the different elements – there is scarcely any aspect of nature that India’s cultures haven’t revered. A firmly rooted connection to tradition and ancient knowledge has kept this relationship alive throughout the centuries of development, both scientific and otherwise, that the country has undergone. Perhaps one of India’s greatest characteristics is this ability to hold on to the past while opening itself to new possibilities, and this compassion has largely retained our closeness with all aspects of nature in the face of modernity’s rationalism and alienation. While this closeness had ensured a healthy codependent relationship between humans and nature in the past, the effects of development, modernity, and urbanisation leading to overexploitation were inevitable with the onset of capitalism. Harmonious coexistence and the “take only as much as you need” mindset which regulated our con...

When we think of plants or animals, our minds generally visualise forests or lakes devoid of human activity. We tend to consider cities as spheres of purely human life, but the truth is actually far from this. Squirrels, pigeons, trees, ponds – it may be tricky to pay attention to it amidst our busy lives, but nature is all around us no matter where we are. The topic of urbanisation is often placed parallel to nature, but the truth remains that despite the destruction of natural habitats or the displacement of animals due to human activity, elements of nature do not simply vanish with the onset of urban settlements. Plants and animals having been subjected to our interference for centuries now have learned to adapt and coexist with us, thereby allowing cities to harbor various life forms in increasingly complex and interesting ways.   Indeed, towns and cities offer different habitats for plants and animals to thrive with conditions that are vastly different from those found in...