Nature First

But the moment of reckoning came in November 2010,when Aishwarya visited the Pench tiger reserve and encountered a tigress known as ‘collar wali’ — after the GPS collar around her neck. “When I saw her,I realised that this beautiful animal needs to be protected,especially since it is our national animal and since India has the highest number of tigers. If we go on like this,in a while,we will have none,” she says.

The encounter inspired a poem titled ‘To a Tiger – With Love’,which she read live at NDTV’s Save the Tiger Telethon in 2010. It was also published in Sanctuary Asia’s magazine — Sanctuary Cub — and local newspapers.

She gravitated towards birds as they are the only natural wildlife that can be seen in an urban environment and her fascination was fuelled by the environs of Panvel,the area she lives in. “I’ve seen rare birds such as wagtails and Rosy Starling,which is a migrant from Pakistan,right in my garden or across the street,” she says. A desire to know more about bird species in and around Mumbai and to educate others about them spurred her to start documenting. “The only birds most people know are crow,pigeon and sparrow. I wanted to make them aware that many other bird species exist,even in a city like Mumbai.”

Thus,armed with her camera and taking time out from the busy schedule of a tenth standard student,Aishwarya would visit Uran and Karnala in weekends with her parents. She has clicked around 25 rare or endangered species among the 135 species she has documented. She even takes her friends and neighbours on nature trails,besides saving snakes that strayed into residential areas from the hands of those who wanted to kill them.

This student of Dr Pillai Global Academy has found a stand in the ecology vs development debate. “There was a time when Uran had more flamingos than Sewri and many other rare birds. But now,only 30 per cent of that wildlife remains due to filling up of land and water bodies. And with the Uran SEZ coming up,the birds’ habitat and feeding ground will be completely destroyed.”

Since the past six months,Aishwarya has been writing mails to Reliance to shed light on what their project is doing to Uran but has not heard back. “I’m not against development but if some particular water bodies in Uran are avoided,both birds and buildings can exist together.”

Her career goal is to attain a position of power,such as in the government,where she can make policies for conservation.

“I want to do something concrete for nature with issues such as tiger conservation and putting a stop to poaching,” she says. But until then,she’s content writing poetry on issues such as the Jaitapur nuclear plant,complaining to officials and getting Khandeshwar lake cleared of garbage and being one of the youngest Sanctuary Asia awardees — which she won in 2011.