08-07-2025
Three documentaries recently screened in Delhi showed the wonder and magnificence of nature
A frog that comes out of its underground, secretive life only for a few hours in an year, has a genetic legacy dating back to the time of dinosaurs; a species of bird that remains monogamous for life builds its nest entirely using saliva; and a group of bears that vanished from Kargil, in Ladakh, during the war, are returning after a decade. They are guests from our natural world who had a hall full of people enthused at Gulmohar Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, during a series of documentary screenings on July 5.
The event titled 'Scientists and their Wild Worlds' showcased three documentaries about these rare species and the struggles of researchers to bring forth scientific truths about them. It was organised through the collective effort of three non-profit organisations: RoundGlass Sustain, Wildlife Trust of India and Global Wildlife Fair.
While 'A Living Fossil: The Purple Frog's Brief Life on Land' presents why the purple frog is an enigma to humanity, it also optimistically talks about a move to declare it as the state amphibian of Kerala. The local community fondly call it the 'Mahabali' frog due to the frog's behavioural similarity with the great mythological king Mahabali. Similar to Mahabali who comes out of 'pathala' or underground once every year to meet his citizens, the purple frog also comes out of its secret, underground domicile for mating.
Jose Louies, CEO, Wildlife Trust of India, who managed to see the frog, noted the comment of a politician about the purple frog: 'It's not very beautiful to look at'. Louies pointed to the threat of extinction of the species due to habitat loss and climate change. 'The first step is to understand the habitat — where it is, and ensure habitat-level protection. Get local communities to support conservation. If you don't have local communities' support for any conservation effort, you may not be able to get it done,' he said, in the panel discussion that followed the screening.
Another documentary, 'Science In Action: Niaz & The Brown Bears of Kargil', directed by award-winning filmmakers Bahar Dutt and Vijay Bedi, drew on biologist Niaz Khan's journey through the meditative mountains of Kargil, once torn by war. The brown bears, which nearly vanished with the war, are now returning after more than two decades. However, for the locals though these bears amplify the human-animal conflict and continue to be a source of fear.
The panel discussion chaired by Megha Moorthy, editor-in-chief of RoundGlass Sustain, had Dutt, Louies and Mohit Aggarwal, founder, Global Wildlife Fair. They spoke about human-wildlife conflict, responsible tourism and the importance of implementing development projects, ensuring conservation and environmental safety. It was an evening of being sensitive to our surroundings and aware of our uncertain futures.
As scientist Shirish Manchi in 'Echoes of Swiftlets: Exploring the hidden world of the Indian swiftlets' revealed in the documentary: 'Imagine that you are a 60 kg person and you have to spit 60 kilos of saliva. How much energy you would have to spend on that? Same thing happens with these birds. Two birds weighing 10 grams together, spit 10 grams of saliva.' With Ph.D scholar Dhanusha Kawalkar, they show us the lives of Indian swiftlets, who live in the Vengurla Rocks, an archipelago of Maharashtra. Indian swiftlets are of two kinds, white and black. The white swiftlets of Andaman and Nicobar Islands for instance, we are told in the documentary take 60-90 days to make their nests. This film was officially selected in the 5th edition of All Living Things Environmental Film Festival that was held in India and abroad from 22 November to 8 December, 2024.
It was an evening where our eyes were filled with wonder for the miraculous and magnificent, far above the wisdom and understanding of man.
Deepak Rajeev is an intern with The Indian Express
