“If anything, I would call myself a nature entrepreneur,” said Kedar Bhide from across the huge printing machine he was tinkering with. The walls of his office were decorated with frames of his wild subjects. One particular photograph of a tree bark caught my attention.
“Look closer,” said Kedar and before I could blink, the shape of a lizard emerged from the pattern of the bark. “It’s a draco, a Western Ghats flying lizard. Beautiful isn’t it?” he asked with a smile. Astonished at the reptile’s disguise, I could only nod in response.
Though best known for being an expert on snake conservation, Kedar Bhide has many titles to his name — wildlife biologist, wildlife photographer, herpetologist, conservationist, founder of Nature Works (a printing venture in Mumbai), and his self-attested designation of nature entrepreneur.
“Why nature entrepreneur?” I ask him, surprised that he would add commerce to nature.
Kedar takes a moment to respond, “You have to give economic value to nature. Take snake conservation for example. When we speak to farmers, the primary group affected by human-snake conflict, we tell them that snakes control rodent populations in their farms. About 20 to 30 per cent of India’s grain production is lost to rodents every year. If farmers recognise the value of snakes, conflict will automatically decrease.” Reasoned in his arguments and self-assured in his demeanour, Kedar’s astute understanding of the natural world comes from years in the field.
His fascination with reptiles dates back to his college days when he volunteered at Pune’s snake park. After finishing his master’s degree in vector-borne diseases, he went on to pursue another degree, in marketing. Kedar excelled in the corporate world, occupying managerial positions in Sumitomo Chemicals and BASF Chemicals and working in public health, on the control of malaria and dengue.
Snakebite mitigation
Despite his work, Kedar has always found time for his interests in nature, and is responsible for first reporting the Sind awl-headed snake and Kaulback’s pit viper from India. He says he always knew that if he wanted to conserve snakes, he would have to focus on snakebite as a specific issue. Therefore in 2007, Kedar redirected his efforts towards snakebite death mitigation within the community of snake rescuers, or ‘sarpa mitras’, as they are popularly known in Maharashtra.
Most of these deaths, Kedar explained were caused by misconduct in handling of snakes and showmanship. Snake rescuers performed stunts like draping venomous snakes across their necks, taking selfies with cobras for social media, all of which propagated a false sense of bravado. This behaviour, apart from causing unnecessary distress to snakes, had led to several deaths of snake rescuers. “The situation was so bleak that I often felt disheartened. The deaths were becoming rampant,” he said solemnly. Considering this scenario Kedar established ‘Zero Bite’, a movement aimed at reducing deaths and encouraging ‘good snake rescue’ practices among rescuers.
Along with conducting awareness campaigns and workshops, Kedar was determined to come up with guidelines for snake rescue. His aspiration was actualised when he got an opportunity to work on a Standard Operating Procedure for snake rescue, the first of its kind in Maharashtra. The SOP was published in 2018 by the Maharashtra Forest Department in Marathi and English.
Snakebite, Kedar argues, is a complex problem that works on many levels. First: the superstition surrounding snakes, snakebites and its treatment. Second: the lack of training given to health officials in treating snakebites. And third: the mismanagement, distribution and storage of anti-venom. “The Zero Bite campaign model works in a circular pattern and addresses these problems. We work with communities in rural areas by spreading awareness, by creating accessible snakebite emergency groups, and by training doctors from Primary Health Centres in treating snakebite,” he explains.
According to Kedar the government has played a minimal role in mitigating snakebite. “The government needs to make snakebite a notifiable death. When there is an official record, then the government will have to take notice of the problem,” he emphasises.
Government records state that 1,400 deaths were caused by snakebites in India in 2013. However, a pan-Indian estimate of snakebite deaths carried out in 2005 by an international team of researchers led by Prabhat Jha from the University of Toronto, as a part of his Million Death Study, reported an annual death estimate of 50,000.
Kedar believes that the biggest myth surrounding the issue is that snakebite is always fatal. “Snakebite is preventable and treatable,” presses Kedar. Vehement in his beliefs and practical in his approach, Kedar has a tenacity that inspires a better future in snakebite death mitigation.
Wildlife photography
There are lighter parts to Kedar’s life and interests as well, and I veer the conversation towards his photography. “Though wildlife photography is my passion, it has nothing to do with snakes,” he said. In 1996 he was photographing snakes with the objective of documentation, as there was little photographic evidence of these elusive creatures. Once his objectives were met, Kedar decided to move on from snake photography. “As much as we would like to believe otherwise, snake photography is stressful to the snakes,” he said.
“Photography is an emotional exercise for me. I enjoy abstract and landscape photography the most,” said Kedar, who for the last ten years has been visiting Ladakh in winter to photograph the high altitude region. In 2017, his long-standing yearning to hold a photography exhibition came to fruition, when he displayed his pictures at Jehangir Art Gallery at an exhibit entitled ‘Top, Bottom and Everything in Between’.
Today, Kedar is a part of a small group called Beyond Camera that works with Mumbai’s NCPA and conducts talks around using photography as a medium to support a cause. “We don’t get into technicalities, we focus on vision that can bring about change,” he said.
Nature Works
While planning his exhibition Kedar realised that there was a dearth of good printing outlets for photographs. That’s when he decided to set up his own printing centre. In 2017 Kedar finally bid adieu to the corporate world and established Nature Works. In a world that is increasingly becoming digital, Kedar openly advocates print. He considers printing an integral part of photography. “Print is the performance of your photograph,” declares Kedar.
But printing is not all that Nature Works does. Kedar uses his marketing skills to assist Last Wilderness Foundation and the Kanha Forest Department scale up their community work. As Kedar puts it, “Nature Works attempts to bring economic value to the community’s work. Last Wilderness Foundation works towards the economic upliftment of Baiga tribals by helping them sell handmade tribal jewellery. Nature Works takes inventory of the products, provides raw materials to the Baigas, and helps market their products online.”
Kedar’s resourcefulness, sharp understanding of the consumer market, and well-intentioned nature complement his drive to make conservation lucrative for the masses. He is a nature entrepreneur after all.
Conservation Community
“Conservation I think is a very bifurcated scenario. Research is not used for conservation, and conservation goals are not picked up by activists. The field is very skewed,” sighs Kedar. “I have a problem with ‘emotional conservation’. Conservation is a cocktail of emotions, science and logic. You may begin with your heart, but you have to work with your head. If you wish to sustain your efforts, employing science and logic is crucial,” he said.
I try to lure the pragmatic man into answering a purely emotional question: Which among his wild, slithery subjects is his favourite? After a little thought he replies that is the Kaulback’s pit viper — the species he rediscovered in the jungles of the Northeast — a labour of hard work and extensive scientific data. The emotional value he attaches to the beautiful snake only proves his dictum of ‘head and heart’.