An Engineer by Chance and Nature Enthusiast by Choice

hello everyone

for the next few minutes i’ll try to

take you guys to my journey of being a

nature enthusiast

during my childhood days i was a very

active kid who’d like to go out and play

but due to some of my health issues i

wasn’t allowed to play

outdoors which luckily turned out as a

starting point of my nature exploration

i started observing nature with

more keenness be it an ant

a lizard or a spider i just used to

simply sit outside

and observe their behavior at this time

i realized that there is so much to

learn and know more about these lovely

creatures

which are all around us fortunately

there was a pet shop close to my house

every day evening i used to visit the

shop

the owner of the shop mr nitin peter was

my first mentor

with whom i started discussing about

various species of

birds fishes and of my own native

i remember used to tell me the stories

of snake rescues

one such incident which stuck in my mind

when he rescued

and injured vitika bowa back in 2010

he was tweeting it and he asked me to

assist him

it was for the first time i’m seeing a

snake at such

close distance typically

we all are expected to do well in

academics rather than exploring outdoors

as i used to score decent marks in

academics my family supported me

especially my mother

all such explorations and observations

helped me become

a naturalist good afternoon everyone

i am umkarpai an engineer by chance and

a naturalist

by choice all these things started with

a cobra rescue

the owner of the shop mr nitin peter got

a call to relocate a cobra which took

shelter

inside the house as i was interested

he just asked me to join him

with a mixed feeling of excitement and

nervousness

i just went with him it was for the

first time

and it’s a cobra the cobras are the

mythological heroes which are known

for their hood and hissing

now i was inside the house i saw a cobra

which took refuge under the court mr

nitin peter

asked me to place a pipe and a rescue

bag near the court

he just went forward and handled it very

gently

but i was so nervous that i planned to

escape

if the snake ever hit but to my surprise

the snake didn’t do anything it just

went inside the bag

very calmly i was blank

and at this instance i understood that

the information told to us

about these snakes are not at all valid

so i decided to study them

thus these snakes started fascinating me

i’ve always thought that nature around

us is like an open library it should be

introduced to us in

such a manner that it sparks an interest

towards us

only this way we can be introduced to a

new subject

and this cobra rescue instant was that

spark

in my life i graduated from sgac in the

year 2017.

yes i am a mechanical engineer

but being an engineer like i

i questioned my myself being an engineer

was i happy

with it no

but i had to attain my degree as well to

earn my bread and butter

i remember my friends would go out

during weekends or study during

internals

at that time i would be busy exploring

the college campus

i just knew i love nature and it has

become a strong passion of mine

but i had to attend my degree as well so

somehow i decided to

complete this course growing up i spent

most of my time studying observing

the one one of the fascinating creatures

that have ever come across

snakes well some people are drawn to

snakes while others are terrified

throughout the course of time snakes

have been portrayed as the dangerous

slimy creatures

which is actually far from the truth

for whatever the reasons snakes are the

subjects of countless rumors

and stories most of which are actually

fictional

stories and rumors of such snake can

leave

indelible impression on the tender minds

of people

so indelible that no matter how plain

and obvious it is that not all the

snakes are harmful

it is still attacked by the people who

spied them

hence i published a book called snakes

of uttara kannada district

which i used as a tool to to spread

awareness among the local people of

uttarakhand district

about these lesser known creatures one

particular snake species which puzzles

my mind

even to this day is malabar pit viper

this beautiful venomous snake is endemic

to the western ghats

of southern india they are known to

exist

in various color forms such as yellows

greens

orange and brown one speciality of this

kind of snake

is they are only found during

monsoons frogs frogs are

another such species of animals which

are highly disregarded

they can be as amusing as any other

creatures

which is found which are found in the

wild

one such frog specie which i love to

watch

is jog night frog they are known

for their whistling sound and the eggs

which resembles

diamonds

if you truly love nature you’ll find

beauty everywhere

i find beauty in geckos and even in

toads

for rest of the people they are the

ugliest of animals

but trust me they are equally amazing

creatures

of this universe finally

at the end of the day my main goal is to

set up

a nature based educational center for

students

from any background can come and study

about nature and its extensive diversity

this is actually driven by the fact that

if such resources were present at

my time i would have done even better

obviously there are risk risks involved

while changing into any career path

so such educational centers will guide

those who want to pursue their part

towards nature

right from the beginning

always remember one thing always do what

you love

follow your bliss and listen to your

heart

the success will have no other choice

but to follow

i am happy because every day of my life

i get to learn something new mother

nature

and all its creations still fascinates

me

it’s been almost nine years since i’ve

started understanding her

seeing her at her full glory since then

i’ve never regretted it this journey

has had so many ups and downs but

when your love for something turns you

turns into your passion

and your passion become your profession

despite all the odds

you’ll end up being happy and satisfied

thank you everyone

you