Book Review: The Age of Endlings- Explorations and Investigations into the Indian Wild
There are few inconsistencies in Jay Mazoomdaar's collection of essays, but the author must be lauded for his stand on issues about environment and wildlife conservation, says Nikhil M Ghanekar
Book- The Age of Endlings: Explorations and Investigations into the Indian WildAuthor- Jay MazoomdaarPublisher- HarperCollins288 pages
In his introduction, Jay Mazoomdaar puts on record that this collection of essays about his explorations and investigations into India's wilderness and wildlife conservation policies is the work of a journalist and not an expert. And that he is likely to raise more questions than answers. Despite the disclaimer, Mazoomdaar's essays pack in enough research and wit to draw in those interested by wildlife conservation and the conflicting demands of development.
Mazoomdaar, however, falls short of doing justice to the title of his book, The Age of Endlings: Explorations and Investigations into the Indian Wild, which conveys the promise to dwell on the theme of the gradual extinction of wildlife species, accelerated by anthropogenic activity.
The 271-page book makes for an interesting read with a collection of 22 essays and stories divided into Explorations and Investigations. In the former, Mazoomdaar reproduces longer versions of essays published in Open and Tehelka magazines that tackle issues ranging from human-wildlife conflict and the culling of animals to the famous victory of the Dongri Kondh tribes against multinational giant Vedanta's mining project in Niyamgiri hills in Orissa. In Investigations, the author compiles some of his best pieces in investigative journalism, mostly relating to tigers, tiger poaching and an essay pertaining to the perils of releasing captive-reared wildlife into the wild.
The first chapter, In Search of Thar's Snake Demon, narrates the author's enviable chase of a mythical snake in the shifting sands of Rajasthan's Thar desert that is said to suck out the breath of its unsuspecting victims.
Infused with solid reporting and written in engaging prose, Mazoomdaar builds a landscape of intrigue that will keep the reader hooked. Sadly, subsequent stories and essays only sporadically attain the high pitch of this first chapter.
While giving a racy snake story to chew on, in the chapter Playing God, Mazoomdaar also raises pertinent and ethical questions on the forest department's decision to support ailing animals even in the wild rather than letting nature take its course. Similarly, the book highlights issues of growth vs environment while dealing with the Vedanta episode, 'man-eaters' and animal culling. Contrary to the views of most activists and environmental journalists, Mazoomdaar is not hesitant about arguing that culling is necessary in certain cases, even as a measure of effective conservation.
The author shows consistency in his position on environmental issues and relies on adequate scientific data and expertise to illustrate his point.
In the Investigations section, the book is heavy on stories of tiger territories, poaching and on questionable policies regarding India's national animal. The large chunk of the tiger reportage is also a measure of how conservation of the apex species dominates policies, often relegating other species to the sidelines. As a result, there are no essays on conservation of elephants, reptiles and even marine mammals that are under threat due to marine pollution and climate change.
In its epilogue, the book delves into the impact of insurgencies and internal security on wildlife conservation and the illegal trade of wildlife. A riveting subject to begin with, the experiences narrated do not crystallise into a fitting end for the precluding issues tackled. In fact, it could have made for a rather interesting separate chapter.
Despite some of its inconsistencies and exclusions of key issues, Mazoomdaar's book ought to be lauded for taking a clear stand on some of the raging – both past and ongoing – debates on environment and wildlife conservation.