Stories On Wildlife By Navin Raheja

Navin Raheja a wildlife enthusiast and a passionate photographer. Navin Raheja Chairman, Wildlife Conservation Society of India.

STORIES

A legend fades in the mist of time 
The mere mention of the name would be enough to rouse me from a deep slumber. And it's with misty eyes and heavy heart that I remember the passing away of the legendary tiger of Bandhavgarh recently.

BANDHAVGARH: A mystic blend of mythology and nature
These magical names, and the images which they created in mind, was all I was aware of when the Kalinga Utkal Express came to a grinding halt at Umaria Railway Station.

A Tiger for Lucknow
It was hardly a five-line report buried inconspicuously inside page 7 of a national daily, but nevertheless it caught my eye. That was early January this year. A tiger, the report stated, had emerged at a place hardly 19 kilometres from Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh and undoubtedly one of the most populous places in India. 


In Search of Man-Eating Leopards
It was a chilly December afternoon - December 17, 1997, to be exact- when my car broke down no sooner than I left the non-descript hamlet of Duggada for Haldupurao, my destination which also happens to be one of the most beautiful and undisturbed spots in Uttarakhand's Jim Corbett National Park.

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Wildlife Enthusiast, Raising Awareness of Environmental Issues

Wildlife films are also a powerful tool in raising awareness of conservation and environmental issues. But the entertainment value we get from seeing leopards, tigers and sharks on our screens doesn’t directly translate into real value conservation activities, most of which are grossly underfunded.

So with their large profits and universal impact, do filmmakers have a responsibility to help protect the species they film? Should they pay for the biodiversity they rely on?

Filmmakers would no longer ‘free-ride on nature’, the authors argue, but would allegedly be subjected to a payments for environmental services (PIL) scheme that actively contributes to the protection of the biodiversity they film. It is a novel solution, and one that raises an interesting debate on the boundaries of PES, but what are the obstacles and long term-implications?

Mr Navin Raheja being appointed in the steering committee of the Project Tiger of Government of India.He sacrificed this post subsequently for the sake of better wilfdlife management, when he filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court over the casual manner in which something as sensitive and crucial as wildlife was being treated at various Government levels. The same PIL, incidentally, sparked off several landmark rulings and directives by the Supreme Court in the years to come- leading to better and more effective systems being placed in the Government machinery including stoppage of work on a State highway that was leading through Corbett Tiger Reserve which would have resulted in a disaster of the most premium National park and also changing the system of funding mechanism and periodicity to all the national reserves across the country.

Wildlife documentaries have played an instrumental role in raising awareness of environmental issues, pushing the conservation agenda, and driving donations to environmental NGOs. While Jepson and Jennings argue that the advocacy content of a new breed of conservation programmes is dwindling, we believe they are still an important educational tool, strengthening people’s knowledge and relationship with nature, particularly for children and people in urbanized areas, who are often disconnected from their surrounding natural environment.

While more research needs to be done to better understand how viewers interact with nature programs, the evidence is strong enough to suggest that we should be supporting, maybe even subsidizing, the production of nature documentaries rather than making it harder and more expensive.

Wildlife Photographer | Film making Adventures of Crazy Caleb

Wildlife filmmaking has a glamorous “dream job” reputation amongst many members of the public. It is seen as exotic travel mixed with spectacular wildlife experiences and epic adventures. Sometimes, coupled with long hours, hard work and tropical illnesses, that's exactly what it is. It’s no surprise that so many people aspire to become wildlife filmmakers. Navin Raheja a wildlife enthusiast and a passionate photographer.

Getting on the wildlife cameraperson ladder.
There is no official way of becoming a wildlife cameraperson. The onus is very much on the individual to meet the right people and learn the skills. Meeting the right people sometimes involves being persistent enough without being annoying. You do need to be more than just another CV on the already huge pile. Try to get face-to-face time with television producers, directors etc so they can put a personality to your name. Make sure you ask questions about what they do as well as telling them what you want to do. If you just start a dialogue with “do you have any jobs” nine times out of ten the answer will be no – end of dialog.

Fieldcraft
To be a good wildlife cameraperson you need to know how to get the best out of camera equipment and you need to know how to shoot a sequence that tells a story. You also need to be a good naturalist and know how to get close to the wildlife you need to film.

Watch films
You can learn about making films from watching films. As well wildlife films, you can also learn from dramas, observational documentaries, pop promos, commercials and features. Wildlife films often lack good story-telling so these other genres can be better ways of learning this essential skill. Sometimes ideas and techniques used in other types of programme can be applied to make original-looking wildlife shows.

Raheja Wildlife Filmmaker

Navin Raheja, Chairman & Managing Director, Raheja Developers Ltd. is a wildlife enthusiast and a passionate  photographer. In the past 35 years, he has made several contributions in the field of conservation at various levels. A former Member of Project Tiger's Steering Committee, under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, he worked persistently to ensure that the big cats survived in India. He is also Chairman, Wildlife Conservation Society of India. One with a holistic vision, being one of the leading developers in the country, Raheja believes that development & protection of environment can happen simultaneously.

THERE ARE MANY ARTICLES OF WILDLIFE

1. SPOTTED STAR OF THE JUNGLE

2. THE TIGER'S LOVE

3. MY TRIBUTE TO AN UNSUNG HERO

4. TADOBA THE JEWEL OF VIDARBHA

5. SILVER LINING IN THE RAINS

6. THE TERROR OF SUNDERKHAL

7. SMITTEN AT FIRST SIGHT

8. THE PRINCESS OF GUDA

9. A NEW HOMES FOR TIGER

10. MY UFORGETTABLE JUNGLE JOURNEY

11. ELEPHANT ATTACK

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Raheja Productions is the leading producer of films and audio-video presentations on varied subjects. From environment and wildlife to socially relevant issues of our age, we cover these all. We are also actively involved in preparing projects for corporate houses, NGOs and Government bodies across the country