The second weekend of November brought a whole slew of activities for the residents to partake in. Anyone curious about the bees, birds, snakes, spiders, and other creatures cohabiting our community was in for a treat. From a wildlife photography masterclass to an early morning walk along Malhar, residents marveled at the degree of diversity available in their backyards.

The Wildlife Weekend included activities for various age groups- from a painting competition for the under four-year-olds to a wildlife photo exhibition open for all to see. The residents also had the opportunity to attend an informative session about the river crisis conducted by those from our community- Madhuri and Nidhi.

The Wildlife Weekend started with a nature walk around Malhar. Led by Karthikeyan S and Ulhas Anand, Malhar residents were guided around common haunts spotting hidden spiders, peeping birds, and plenty of insects.

With binoculars in hand, the group of thirty or so people made their way from Petrichor to the road leading to Tarana. After inspecting various sights from the flowerpeckers to the spiders resting on the Indian cork tree, the group moved down the narrow path to the Kumbalgodu lake.

Along the way, residents were enthralled by the tidbits thrown around while on the backyard safari. From why birds soar high up in the air, why flowers that bloom in the night are usually white, and even the flower used to make Chanel No. 5!

The day was followed by storytelling for the little ones of Malhar by Shyam from the Funky Rainbow. The kids were left with the chance to browse through books and view shortlists of the wildlife photography exhibit organized by Nature In Focus. The captures of wildlife from across the country were available for display to all residents for the weekend.

Meanwhile, Ramnath Chandrasekhar ran a story bookmaking workshop armed with all sorts of interesting book forms. The extremely patient Ramnath Chandrasekhar and equally helpful Rachita Sinha managed to quieten the chaos of the little ones over the day. The children were initially introduced to the idea behind storybooks and how to come up with characters and titles. From books that opened up into a circle to others that rolled out like a map, the children were given the space for their artistic imaginations to have a base. The session concluded with everyone going on to create their own storybooks showcasing a wide variety of different imagination!

The last two events of the day were informative presentations. The first was by Malhar residents Madhuri & Nidhi. The talk took the audience through the glaring issues facing our water bodies. The residents could relate to the usually abstract issues of the climate crisis with the problems plaguing the nearby Vrishabhavathi River. Their initiative, paani.earth brings out the root causes of the origins of the river problems. The compelling session took the audience to a positive end on changes possible and restorative processes that can be put in place.

As an icing on the cake, the first day of the Wildlife Weekend ended with an interactive, and informative session with the renowned Dr. Gowrishankar detailing his discovery of not one, not two, but 4 different species of cobras across the world! What was all the more special to hear was that he had decided to name the King cobra species ‘Kalinga’, inspired by the name the Agumbe region uses for this reptile that they revere. Dr. Gowrishankar managed to pack in his talk with enough wit and humor to keep the different age groups engaged.

The second day began with an on-the-spot painting competition for the Malhar tiny tots. While the little ones were engaged in bringing their surroundings to life on paper, (and a lot of abstract interpretation from the adults!), the all weekend bookstalls from Champaca and Funky Rainbow kept a steady audience floating around the room.

The older children, capable of wielding a phone or camera had the opportunity to attend a masterclass conducted by wildlife enthusiasts Philip Ross and Samantha. Philip first took his eager audience through a session on the dos & don’ts of wildlife photography. Arming the kids with technical skills along with a serving of what ethical and compassionate photography could look like set the children up for a great hobby to pursue.

The Wildlife Weekend ended with a workshop to attack the climate crisis. Meghana A.T.’s infectious energy got the entirety of the audience at Koota involved in her strategies, and backup strategies sketched out for the future. The audience’s attention was held by some pretty dire forecasts of flooding in the coming decades in areas of coastal India. Meghana also broke through a lot of the smoke around climate science and gave the audience access to real tools forecasting the climate situation in different parts of the country.

It's safe to say that the weekend kindled a fire in all the attendees to look around with a new perspective while walking around regular haunts. The weekend brought about an awareness of all the unique, mysterious dwellers in the space around us. Moreover, with the events being organized all over different parts of Malhar, residents received the opportunity to experience familiar spaces in new ways.

The children, in particular, were gung ho about interacting with the various forms of urban wildlife in and around Malhar. Sufficiently equipped with an understanding of what these animals are, and more importantly, the ethical and compassionate way to observe these animals, our budding wildlife enthusiasts were given fertile ground for their interests to blossom.