Author: Ajay Immanuel Gonji
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Animals in Eco-tainment
Ajay Immanuel Gonji Introduction In a paper by James R. Miller (2005), the author talks about how people in cities, including children, spend very little time in the open, where they are likely to develop an affinity to nature and cognizance to protect and preserve biodiversity. This general apathy among urban citizens towards nature is…
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Fast-fashion: Clothing the Planet or Stripping it?
Ajay Immanuel Gonji On 2 October 2015, Swedish global fashion company Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) opened its first India store in the national capital, New Delhi, recording opening-day sales of more than ₹1.75 crores, with an average billing of ₹27,000 per minute. Ever since, H&M India has established 47 stores across 24 Indian cities, growing…
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Birding from my Balcony
Ajay Immanuel Gonji Growing up as a child, I loved animals and birds. One of my first experiences watching animals was when my dad would take me around our neighbourhood on the scooter showing me cows and buffaloes. At home, the pets I grew up with included fishes, ducks, chickens, rabbits, dogs, mynas, pigeons, parakeets…
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Monkey Business: Gaining Access and Rights to the City
Rashmi Singh* & Ajay Immanuel Gonji Introduction In a previous blog article, we had talked about some of our daily interactions with the monkeys (Rhesus Macaque, Macaca mulatta) in Ambedkar University Delhi, Kashmere Gate (AUDKG). We also narrated an incident where we observed, for the first time, certain societal aspects of monkey life. In this…
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Where Humans and Virus Meet
Ajay Immanuel Gonji At a time when the world is reeling under the impact of the deadly CoVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) outbreak, I find myself, probably like many others, trying to come to terms with my new sedentary lifestyle. Besides other things, I spend at least a couple of hours each day on news networks,…
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Monkey Business: Expressing Intentions and Emotions
Rashmi Singh* & Ajay Immanuel Gonji A few days ago, an email thread on the student mailing group of Ambedkar University Delhi, Kashmere Gate (henceforth AUDKG) was particularly interesting. The subject of the discussion was not academic, political or social in nature, but was actually over food! Apparently, a plate of noodles was left abandoned…
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Nocturnal City
Ajay Immanuel Gonji I was awakened by the mild but discernible honk of a vehicle and soon realized that the bus that I was travelling in had come to a halt. I looked out of the glass window from my reclining seat but could only see a dense growth of vegetation shimmering from the faint…
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Human-generated Food and Urban Wildlife
Ajay Immanuel Gonji In an earlier blog post that I had written, I talked about how urban wildlife depends on a unique combination of naturally occurring and human-generated food. In most cities of the globe, it is not uncommon to witness birds and mammals benefitting from anthropogenic food resources. This food may be derived either…
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Camera Trapping in Dheerpur Wetland Project Site
Ajay Immanuel Gonji Every year, during the monsoon season, the Dheerpur Wetland Project (DWP) site undergoes a drastic transformation in its appearance. Torrential rains and stormwater flowing into the wetland from surrounding areas lead to flooding in most parts of the wetland. During this time, the DWP site also serves as a habitat for a…
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Dodging the Dog
Ajay Immanuel Gonji Annoyed and slightly dejected was I as I dragged my feet back to the entrance of the Sanjay Van forest patch of the Delhi Ridge. Early morning that day my friend Amit and I visited the city forest hoping to spot the elusive golden jackal and capture the animal on our cameras.…