Nature Photo Journal June

पाणगळीची जंगले, सदाहरित जंगले, समुद्राजवळची खारफुटीची जंगले, लहान देवराईची वने, माळरानावरची गवताची कुरणे, पाणथळ जमिनी हे सर्व अधिवास विविध प्रकारच्या प्राण्यांसाठी व पक्ष्यांसाठी महत्वाचे असतात. औद्योगिकिकरण, शेती, रस्ते, लोहमार्ग, शहरीकरण, खाणकाम, विद्युत प्रकल्प, धरणे, अशा प्रत्येक मानवनिर्मित कारणांमुळे या सर्व अधिवासांवर वाईट परिणाम होताना दिसतो. प्रगतीच्या व्याख्येत माणसाने निसर्गसंपत्तीच्या प्रगतीचा सहभाग करुन घेणे महत्वाचे आहे.

Forests in Maharashtra has reached very sad state. Beyond the deciduous forests and evergreen forests, the other habitats like grasslands, wetlands etc are in further more trouble. Most of the damage to the forests and habitats in western districts is infact directly and indirectly done by the governement itself. The main causes for the trouble are very obvious. Mining Industry, Land development activities, more urge for agricultural activities, power generation activities, private town developments, industrial development, surface transportation etc. are the main culprits for the unnecessary and possibly ireversible damage to the Natural wealth. Though we as a human race are loosing the battle against our own greed, there is a small hope that due to international pressure the situation may turnaround in India. As the International community works hard to control green house gases emission, we need to preserve the lungs of the universe, the forests and important habitats.

सदाहरित जंगल हे सह्याद्रीच्या रांगात तुरळक प्रमाणात आढळते. पुणे व मुंबई या मोठ़्या शहरांच्या जवळ मात्र रस्ते बांधणी, लोहमार्ग, औद्योगिकरण यामुळे सदाहरित रानाचा ऱ्हास झालेला दिसतो. माणसाला प्रगती करायची असेल तर थोडे जंगल तोडावे लागणार अशी समजुत घातली जाते. दुर्दैवाने सर्वच भागात औद्योगिकरण, शेतीकरण या प्रकारांमुळे सह्याद्रीच्या सर्वच भागात पुणे-मुंबई पद्धत दिसु लागली आहे. दुर्गम भागात बनणाऱ्या नविन रस्त्यांमुळे शहरी संस्कृती तेथे येऊ लागली आहे. ध्वनी, जल व हवेचे प्रदुषण वाढु लागले आहे.

The remains of evergreen forest can be seen in Maharashtra along the western ghats. Most of the larger patches are intact due to the remoteness of the zones from major urban centers like Pune and Mumbai. But as the road infrastructure is improving these remote areas are now accessible to the outsiders, inviting the trouble to the forest patches. The religious pligrims, candid tourists, passing traffic, and even the local and migratory people are slowly eating into the forest. The image here shows the traffic in the remote evergreen forest patch in Pune district. The light, noise and air pollution due to roads in forest not only disturb the wildlife but also sometimes destroy the fundamental requirements of some wild species. The broken forest canopy in such forests due to wider roads will damage the survival of the aboreal animals, such as Rafuca Indica.

छोटा शिंजिर हा सदाहरित रानातला स्थानिक व पश्चिम घाटाच्या बाहेर न आढळणारा लहान पक्षी आहे. याचा आकार ८ से.मी. असतो. काही मोठ्य़ा फुलपाखरांएवढा. अत्यंत लहान रानफुलांमधुन तो मध टिपतो. याच्या लहान आकारामुळे, त्यास पाण्याच्या लहानशा डबक्यात सुद्धा अंघोळ करता येत नाही. तो दगडातल्या पातळ पाझरांवर अंघोळ करताना दिसतो. पाणी पिताना तो पाण्यातल्या एखाद्या वनस्पतीच्या खोडावरुन पाय रोवुन पाणी पितो. पाण्यात उतरण्याच्या भानगडीत पडत नाही. नर रंगाने पाठीकडे तांबडा तर डोक्याकडे जांभळा असतो. मादी मात्र फिक्या हिरव्या रंगाची असते.

The tiny bird called as crimson backed sunbird or small sunbird is seen in evrgreen forests in western ghats. It is a endemic bird of this region. The word endemic means the one who is not seen outside the region. So in this case this bird is seen only in wetsern ghats, so it is called as endemic to western ghats. The size is very small about 8 cm, which is smaller than some of the large butterflies. Due to its small size it is also called as small sunbird.The bird is seen collecting the nectar from very tiny flowers, often not used by the other sunbirds, like crimson sunbird. This bird often finds very difficult to take bath in water streams or water puddles. It looks for the plant stem which is in the middle of water. It stays on the stem and then drinks the water from the puddle. But in Summer when it gets hot, it is often seen desparate to take bath. It uses the small water drops falling from the rocks above, to take a shower. Otherwise it is seen bathing and cooling in the thin water layers which drizzle along the rocky surfaces. This suits these birds, as they do not get fear of drowning in such case. It leans on the rocks to get its lower boddy and face wet. The male bird has beautiful crimson color on the back. The female however has greenish plumage with small crimson patches on her body.

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तांबट हा एक लहान आहाराचा फलाहारी पक्षी आहे. नर व मादी तांबट हे सारखेच दिसतात. मात्र कमी वयाचा तांबट मात्र रंगभुषेत थोडा वेगळा दिसतो. तांबट पक्ष्याच्या कपाळावर व छातीकडे लाल रंग असतो, तर त्याच्या डोळ्याभोवती व गळ्याकडे पिवळा रंग असतो. मुख्यता हिरव्या रंगाच्या या पक्ष्यास पोटाकडे पिवळ्या रेशासमान खुणा असतात. वसंत ऋतुत हा पक्षी फळझाडांवर हमखास आढळतो. त्याला हिंदीत बसंत म्हणतात. तांब्याच्या भांड़्यांचे काम करणारे तांबट जसा आवाज करतात तसा याचा आवाज. म्हणुनच याला तांबट म्हणतात.

Coppersmith Barbet, Megalaima haemacephala is a small frugivorous bird. The adult male and female look alike. However the juvenile bird look different. The adult bird has crimson forehead and crimson breast patch. The bird has yellow patch below and above the eye, and on the throat. The bird is grass green with yellowish streaked underparts. Its feet are reddish. The juvenile bird however is similar to the adult bird except the crimson patches. In hindi it is also called as Chota Basant, as it is actively seen in Basant, the late spring. In Gujrathi it is known as "Tuktukiyo" for its coppersmith like call. (Call by Mike Nelson - xento-canto.org)

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आजच्या प्रगत माणसाने आपल्या डोळ्यांवर झापडे घातली आहेत. शहरात नळाला येणारे पाणी, आपल्याला कुण्या जलाशयातुन मिळते. या जलाशयात पाणी नदीतुन येते. पावसाळ्यात या नद़्या डोंगरातुन धबाबतात. पठारावर येताच धरणात आडवल्या जातात. पश्चिम महाराष्ट्रातल्या सर्व नद्यांचा उगम सह्याद्रीच्या रांगात होतो. येथील जंगलातुन हे स्वच्छ पाणी धरणात येते. दुर्दैवाने या पाण्याच्या मुळ स्त्रोताच्या जवळ प्रदुषण वाढत चालले आहे. या सर्व बाबींकडे आपण डोळे उघडे ठेवुन पाहणे महत्वाचे आहे.

If we look at Nature with different perspective, we find that actually managing the Natural wealth is not difficult. But often due to lack of education, we realise that Natural wealth is lost. Beautiful landscapes are turned in to polluting wastelands. Forests, water sources, air, land, and all the ecosystems which support the living organisms on the earth are equally important. In this image one can see a beautiful evergreen forest, and a small water puddle in the water stream in Sahyadri. Both are important and need to be preserved.

पश्चिम महाराष्ट्रात जंगलांचे तुकडे झाले आहेत. सलग जंगले नाहीत. कोयना-राधानगरी सोडता, इतरत्र जंगलांचे तुकडे झाले आहेत. रानगवे, वाघ, बिबटे व अस्वले यांसाठी जंगलांची सलगता महत्वाची असते. कोकणातुन घाटावर य़ेण्यासाठी रस्ते, दुर्गम भागातील मानवी वस्ती, व जंगलाचा ऱ्हास यामुळे हि वेळ आली आहे.

For the large population of mammals to survive, we need large continuous forests, without himan interference. Unfortunately we have lost such forests long back, in western Maharashtra. Once upon a time these forests were occupied by mammals like Indian tiger, sloth bears, and leopards. Due to segmentation of the forests into small patches, today though we see some good samples of forests, the mammals are missing. Human interference reduced the survival possibilities of the mammals.

जलसागराच्या लहान लाटांचा सौंम्य आवाज, दुर डोंगरांना वळसा घालत येणारी ढगांची माळ, पावसाळ्याचे वेध लावणारा वारा, हे सर्व मनाला सुख देउन जाते. चार किल्यांच्या मध्ये असणाऱ्या पवना जलसागराच्या समोरचे हे चित्र. उंच आकाशाला भिडणारे शिखर असणाऱ्या घुमटागत तुंग गडाचे रुप रांगडे आहे. कोण्याही माणसाला भावणारे त्याचे रुप, मात्र दुखावले आहे. गडाच्या खांद्यावर कोण्या धनाड़्य खाजगी मंडळींनी धनाड़्य पर्यटकांसाठी महाल बांधले आहेत. याला काही लोक रिसॉर्ट म्हणतात. जवळच असलेल्या सदाहरित देवराईचे दिवस भरले हे नक्की झाले आहे.

As the small waves lashed the shores, clouds appeared from behind the distant hills. Due to premonsoon wind and clouds, temperature has dropped with steady rise in humidity. The manmade reservoir of water in the middle of 4 historic fort mountains of Tung, Tikona, Lohgad and Visapur is beautiful. The lake is surrounded by small evergreen forest on one side. The other three sides however are occupied by human habitation, private bungalows. The well preserved landscape has been recently disturbed by private resort on Tung fort. Slowly the others will follow. The water reservoir itself will be polluted in the process. The nearby forest will be disturbed. The resort is being built by a well known corporate house of India, known for its values. Unfortunately today, the values are changing, and have lost the way. This landscape was one of the best in Pune district.

वरिल चित्रात, तारे सुरेख रेघा ओढताना दिसत असले तरी, तुंग सारख्या अप्रतिम सुंदर डोंगराच्या खांद्यावर नविन खाजगी पर्यटन केंद्र बांधल्यामुळे, या भागाचा कायापालट होऊन येथे शहरीकरणाची सुरुवात झाली आहे. य़ा किल्याच्या एका बाजुस अप्रतिम सदाहरित देवराई आहे. या देवराई चा टिकाव यापुढे लागणार का ? याचे उत्तर काळच सांगु शकेल. याच डोंगररांगेच्या मागच्या बाजुस डावीकडे दिसणारा उजेड अशाच एका मोठ़्या अब्जावधी डॉलर खाजगी वसाहतीचा आहे.

As can be seen in the picture above, even the stars have lost their shine, infront of the superlights put by private resort, in the middle of wilderness. The glow of clouds on left is due to anaother billion dollar private township beyond the hills.