On Rajasthan’s eastern border, Keoladeo Ghana National Park (formerly Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with an interesting history and topography. The 29-sq-km park is clearly a haven for birds with over 400 recorded species. But there is so much else going on. Photographer Akshita Jain attempts to capture this many-sided narrative of this famous park in her photo series.
“My idea behind creating this photo essay was to give a holistic picture of Bharatpur. How the national park came into being, what was the history, what were the conservation challenges of that time (when it was being set up), along with highlighting what it is today, including pros and cons,” Akshita says. “All of us know it nourishes an immense biodiversity that promotes a lot of tourism, which helps local communities. Along with that, it is also the ground where decades of research has been carried out. The photos are like postcards or striking images that describe the character of Bharatpur.”
Akshita wanted to touch on more than what was immediately visible. “I wanted to include some conservation threats that the park currently faces or may face in the future. And, of course, I wanted to end with a message of hope.”
She provides a brief insight into the process and a broad-level overview of the thread running through the photos. “We could submit only 10 pictures, so I had to be really careful. I had many ideas, but I had to decide what exactly I wanted to say and what was more important. I carefully selected images that shed some light on every aspect —history, contrast, elements, biodiversity, threats, and two major problems — water and invasive species,” Akshita says.
The park is a rich resource for academic studies. A 2009 review published by the Wildlife Institute of India on the park says that over 200 research publications are available on Keoladeo.
The Guns Have Changed
“I call this the wall of shame,” Akshita says. For context, a set of boards in the park bear records of the number of kills, especially of ducks, made by prominent people when the park used to be the hunting grounds of Maharaja of Bharatpur since its inception in the mid-19th century. She says, “I wanted to contrast how the park has changed and how telephoto lenses are the new guns. So, I took a self-portrait with my camera to highlight this contrast.”
A Wetland Teeming with Life
According to Akshita, “This is the perfect snapshot of the park; it gives the whole character of the national park.” The park’s landscape is beautiful and is mostly about birds, but it is “not only about birds”. The trees, the wetlands, the nilgai in the background, and a cormorant on a bare tree branch together comprise the park’s biodiversity.
Two Worlds, One Ecosystem
While the national park puts birds front and centre, its biodiversity goes beyond birds. “Generally, what we see is what is above ground. However, the park’s biodiversity is also related to the wetlands and vegetation. Here, there are two worlds in this ecosystem,” Akshita says, adding that she intended to contrast this duality in image (1) with (2) the shot that is half underwater. The water supports a plethora of wonders, from large snakehead fish to water-skeeters (insects near the left eye and left fin).
Sustaining Livelihoods Through Tourism
Any activity anywhere has profound implications for local communities, especially if it involves conservation and a national park. “One of the main employment avenues for the local community is driving e-rickshaws to ferry tourists around,” Akshita says. “Jaswant Singh was born and brought up in the area. He used to operate a cyclerickshaw before and now drives an e-rickshaw; he has ferried tourists in the park for over 20 years. He and others like him have amazing local knowledge. They spend a lot of time in the park, and involving them is necessary for any conservation efforts,” she says. People like Singh are instrumental in sensitising visitors to simple things like the use of plastic. “It is because of these people that the park remains so clean, and the credit for it goes to them,” she says.
Tracking Conservation Through Research
Apart from being a conservation space for birds and the perfect nature getaway for tourists and birdwatchers, Akshita says the park serves another crucial purpose — towards research and scientific study. The abundance of varied bird species in the park makes such studies easy and optimal. Some birds, like darters (in the picture above), have been tagged (yellow ring around the leg). Birds have been tagged for decades for scientific study, helping unravel the mysteries of bird migration and other aspects of bird behaviour. “The studies help in understanding species behaviour in general, not just the birds in this park,” she says.
Keoladeo’s Lifeline, Vanishing Blooms and Growing Threats
Though seemingly innocuous, (1) the entry gate is the park’s most important aspect and the beacon for its changing landscape. It allows fish and other aquatic creatures to enter the wetlands from between the rails and is designed to keep them in. Historically, the park’s wetlands were manmade and made possible by pumping water from the Panchana Dam, built on the Gambhir River about 100 km upstream. “The water was rich and helpful for birds and the park’s biodiversity,” Akshita says. However, due to scarcity, the water source was switched to the Chambal River, which proved not as good but still good enough for the park’s inhabitants. However, when the Yamuna River water began to be pumped in, it began harming the park’s biodiversity. “It is black and full of effluents,” she says. This has had consequences, (2) as this image indicates. “A few years ago, the wetlands were filled with waterlilies, as shown in the photo taken by photographer Bholu Khan (who worked with Salim Ali for several years). I took a photo of the same horizon, and there are no flowers today and nor have they been seen for a while. It is a stark reminder of how shifts in water management alter the park’s delicate balance,” she says. (3) Another equally pressing threat is that of free-ranging dogs, seen here in the background (white dog, behind the tree), close to a jackal (brown animal in the foreground), both feeding on the same cow carcass. “It’s a big problem because stray dogs compete for the same resources as wild animals and harm birds,” she says.
In Search of the Lost Crane
Akshita ends her photo essay with this telling, ironic picture that depicts tourists searching for Siberian cranes that were last seen here in 2002, right next to a board asking for help in their conservation. “It has lost all meaning. They are already gone. We are trying to look for something that is no longerthere,” she says. But she is hopeful that not all is lost and that such images are a call to action. “What is already gone is gone. But conservation can begin today, and today we can try and save whatever is left.”
About the contributors
Anita Rao-Kashi
Akshita Jain
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