For me, it was much more than a book launch which formally took place at Boichitra Sabhaghar, College Street, Kolkata.
It felt like bringing together many different journeys, conversations, forests, birds, people and memories that have been part of my life for years. Around forty nature lovers gathered at the venue that afternoon. There was no elaborate ceremony, no hurry to finish speeches and move on. Instead, there were stories, conversations and plenty of adda about the things that connect us all: nature, travel, books, forests and wildlife. Two and a half hours passed almost unnoticed.
Some of the people who came had been following our work through the videos we share on social media. For several of them, this was the first time we were meeting in person. There were also familiar faces from the “গাছের কথা” Facebook group, people with whom I have been connected for years through tree-planting initiatives and conversations about our green spaces. And then there were people who have travelled with us through WildIndiaTravels. Many of the faces I have met over the years on forest trails and wildlife trips were there too. It was wonderful to see all these different journeys come together in one room.
A book about living with nature
প্রকৃতিযাপন is a collection of Bengali prose that grew out of a life spent observing and experiencing the natural world. The book is not simply about forests or wildlife. It is about the relationship we build with the natural world when we slow down enough to notice it.
A memory that stays with us long after we have returned home. These seemingly small experiences often become the stories we carry for years.
The book brings together these reflections in a quiet, nostalgic and contemplative way. It is an attempt to look at nature not merely as a destination to visit, but as something that can become deeply intertwined with our lives.
Words and drawings, together
One of the things that makes প্রকৃতিযাপন particularly personal is that the book has been both written and illustrated by me.
The cover depicts the silhouette of a woman merging into a lush forest landscape, a visual representation of what প্রকৃতিযাপন means to me. The writing and illustrations therefore come from the same place: years of looking closely at nature and trying to capture something of that experience through words and images.
From the forest to the page
WildIndiaTravels has always been about more than simply visiting wildlife destinations. Our journeys are about exploring, observing and understanding the natural world. A book like প্রকৃতিযাপন is, in many ways, another extension of that journey.
A safari may last a few hours. A bird sighting may last only a few seconds. A journey may end when we return home. But the stories and emotions that come from those experiences can stay with us much longer.
Sometimes they become photographs. Sometimes videos. Sometimes conversations around a campfire. And sometimes, they become books.
প্রকৃতিযাপন is one such collection of moments.
A gathering of people who love nature
Perhaps the most beautiful part of the launch was not the book itself, but the people who came to celebrate it. People who had travelled with us. People who had watched our videos. People who had planted trees with us. People who had known us only through social media. And people who simply share a love for nature.
For a couple of hours, all those different connections disappeared. We were simply a group of people talking about the things we love. Books, journeys, forests, birds, trees, wildlife, and countless stories in between. That afternoon reminded me why conversations around nature are so important. Because conservation does not begin only inside a national park.
Sometimes it begins with a conversation. Sometimes with planting a tree. Sometimes with watching a bird. Sometimes with travelling responsibly. And sometimes, simply by learning to look at the natural world a little more carefully. প্রকৃতিযাপন is my small attempt to continue that conversation, through stories and drawings, and through the quiet moments that nature has given me over the years.
প্রকৃতিযাপন
A book for anyone who loves Bengali literature, forests, wildlife, travel, or simply feels the need to reconnect with the natural world.
Perhaps, in the end, nature is not somewhere we go. It is something we learn to live with.