"Ten-year-old Arif lives with his Chacha and Chachi in Mumbai--they have been his whole life after his parents died in an accident. But it is obvious they are interested only in the money he will inherit when he turns 18. One day, he hops on to a train going to Chennai, and from there he smuggles himself on a boat going to...the Andamans!" --Page 4 of cover.

“An absolutely gorgeous historical novel . . . set against the backdrop of a tribe in the Andamans struggling with British rule . . . Just magnificent.” —Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You One of Booklist’s Top Ten Historical Fiction Books of 2020 Glorious Boy is a tale of war and devotion, longing and loss, and the power of love to prevail. Set in India’s remote Andaman Islands before and during WWII, the story revolves around a mysteriously mute four-year-old who vanishes on the eve of the Japanese occupation. Little Ty’s parents, Shep and Claire, will go to any lengths to rescue him, but neither is prepared for the brutal and soul-changing odyssey that awaits them. “A riveting amalgam of history, family epic, anticolonial/antiwar treatise, cultural crossroads, and more . . . a fascinating, irresistible marvel.” —Library Journal (starred review) “The most memorable and original novel I’ve read in ages . . . evokes every side in a multi-cultural conversation with sympathy and rare understanding.” —Pico Iyer, author of Autumn Light Shortlisted for the Staunch Book Prize New York Post’s Best Books of the Week Good Housekeeping’s 20 Best Books of 2020 Parade’s 30 Best Beach Reads of 2020

OF COURSE THERE WERE BIRDS IN THE BUSHES, TREES AND SKIES BEFORE SÁLIM ALI. BUT IT WAS HE WHO PUT THEM ON INDIA'S MAP FOREVER. From being a trigger-happy airgun-toting nine-year-old boy to becoming one of the foremost bird scientists in the world, Sálim Ali did not follow a straight path. Somewhere along his adventures between India, Burma and Europe, he developed such a single-minded zeal for the study of feathered creatures that he spent all his time close to them. Over the long course of researching bird life, in the days when there were no computers or internet, he wrote the first Indian field guide to birds, using just a notebook and binoculars. 'Sálim Bhai' - as he was widely known - had neither wealth nor connections in high places, but his passion for birds, a phenomenal memory and discipline made him one of the most famous ornithologists in the country and beyond. In Sálim Ali for Children, his grand-niece Zai Whitaker brings to life the inspiring story of this brilliant, quirky man who left behind an incredible legacy.

The human use of nature is a polarizing topic in India and across the globe, often perceived as contradictory to traditional exclusionary conservation. However, India’s natural landscapes serve as important sources of biological resources for many communities. This collection of case studies on sustainable use practices throughout India aims to identify the policies, management strategies, and knowledge contexts that contribute to resource use without damaging biological diversity. Through a diverse array of personal accounts, stories and photographs from the field, and ongoing research studies across biogeographic zones, readers will connect with academics, practitioners, managers, and policy analysts who challenge us to rethink the conservation paradigm. These chapters provide a reflection on the history of conservation and sustainable use in India and illuminate a path towards a local and global future in which biodiversity and human well-being go hand in hand. The wide variety of authors in this book reflects the broad audience this book will be of interest to, from students studying environmental conservation and sustainability to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who work in the field and seek to learn about successful sustainable use systems and resulting lessons that have widespread application. This book will appeal to readers interested in the areas of environment sciences, biodiversity management, sustainable development, developmental studies, forestry, wildlife and protected area management, public policy, environmental policy, and governance.

Meet an army of ants, a chorus of frogs, a plague of pigeons, a ballet of mantis, a grove of trees, a colony of bee-eaters, a herd of elephants, a lone owl and vulture and groups of human beings. Listen to a tale of three lakes, climb up a mountain, dive into the ocean, travel back in time and look at the natural world anew. Some of India’s most celebrated nature writers and illustrators come together to celebrate the planet we call home. Includes fiction, non-fiction and comics from: Includes fiction, non-fiction and comics from: Anita Roy Aparna Kapur Bittu Sahgal Harini Nagendra Kartik Shanker Nidhin Donald Lavanya Karthik Meghaa Gupta Prabha Mallya Prerna Singh Bindra Priya Kuriyan Rajiv Eipe Ranjit Lal Ravikant Kisana Rohan Chakravarty Salil Chaturvedi Seema Mundoli Shabnam Minwalla Yuvan Aves Zai Whitaker

ROAR! HISS! SQUEAK! NYUK-NYUK! Wildlife sure sounds fun, doesn't it? Explore the wild with Zai Whitaker, an eager adventurer raised among India's pioneering conservation heroes! Together with Romulus Whitaker, the 'Snake Man of India', Zai developed the Madras Crocodile Bank, to research and conserve crocodiles and other 'herps'. From living with cobras as to hatching sea turtles and from watching birds to stalking termites, Zai has a long and thrilling trail of escapades. Her stories, poems and real-life accounts take you from Chennai to the Western Ghats, from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Papua New Guinea, and beyond into her wildly wonderful imagination! Beautifully illustrated, Cobra in my Kitchen and Other Adventures with Wildlife introduces you to the fascinating side of wriggly snakes, jumpy frogs, lively lizards, colourful chameleons and even a tiger or two, along with many more unmissable adventures! Hop on to this sensational safari of discoveries for children and the whole family!

Meet Pooch, the mongoose along with scorpions, crabs, centipedes and other insects and reptiles in the pages of this charming little book as they talk about their habits and eccentricities - in verse! Did you know that the cobra cannot hear, and 'dances' because it is following the movements of the snake charmer's flute? That the hermit crab does not have a shell of its own and has to go about looking for one that fits? And what, exactly, does the cockroach feel when you flee screaming from it? Crackling with wit, and full of fun facts, these poems by the author of the widely acclaimed "Cobra in My Kitchen", are a must read for poetry and nature lovers alike. Show More Show Less

History of the Andaman Islands - Unsung Heroes and Untold Stories' is different and unique unearthing many riddles and facts of Indian and Andaman history. The book is an outcome of the decades-long research on the soil of the Andamans by an Andaman born ethno-historian. Andaman History is neither only of pirates and aborigines, nor about the land of fishes, corals and beaches alone. It is larger, longer, more various, more beautiful and more terrible than anything anyone has ever said about it. The diverse historical events have left their mark as a reminder of some good and some bad times, of tragedy and hope, of atrocity and courage in the face of it, of great acts of sacrifice and bravery; so much so that the saga of sacrifice and the martyrdom, beginning from the freedom struggle of 1857 to end with the freedom in 1947, can never be forgotten. Despite the unpleasing fact that a large part of the history records were burnt by the Japanese in the Andamans, writing with verve and extraordinary range, the author dividing the book into three parts Time, People, and Place, exclusively unravels the riddles of the history, especially pertaining to the untold heroes of the Indian Mutiny of 1858, the unforgettable events, the unsung stories, the aboriginal attacks and the reasons thereof, the witnessed tales of the torture, the sacrifice and the massacres. Apart from its enlightening role, the book, by giving unexpected important clues about the people lost in wars and struggles, establishes a sentimental value in the hearts of their descendants.

Siril the ant is not his practical, rational self at all. He gazes at the sky all night, mumbles to himself, doesn't answer when spoken to... Beautiful is puzzled and upset. Is he in love? She is even more startled when she discovers that he intends to build a spaceship and fly to one of Jupiter's moons, in response to a sad cry for help! In spite of Beautiful's misgivings, the adventurers do zoom into space with the help of anti-gravity pads, the scientific genius of the Techno Sage, and some very useful mind power from the other sages. But can they really help a moon correct its path? A sci-fi fan herself, Suniti Namjoshi takes the genre way beyond its usual orbit, combining the thrill and beauty of the world beyond with gentle sentiment and unusual insights.