Daroji An Ecological Destination: Book Review

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Daroji: An Ecological Destination has the combined efforts of three co-writers; Samad Kottur, Vijay Mohan Raj and Ganesh H Shankar. The research for this book is therefore exhaustive and enriching for those interested in Indian wildlife. The format of Daroji: An Ecological Destination is like a coffee table book with pertinent text and some spectacular photos.

This book maps the history of Bellary, a place in North Karnataka from the times of the several kingdoms to a modern wildlife sanctuary. Daroji is a wildlife sanctuary that is specially known for the large number of Indian sloth bears found here. In fact, Daroji is the first national park that is dedicated to the preservation of Indian sloth bears.

Through some of the life-like pictures contributed by various wildlife photographers, we can see that Daroji has much variety in flora and fauna. This wildlife sanctuary still has leopards although tigers have now become extinct from this area. Daroji is also a delight for bird watchers who can find some very rare species of birds here.

The best part about this book is that it gives you an excellent historical perspective about the area of Bellary set around the Tungabhadra river. So you cannot classify this book just as a biologist's piece of cake. It should also interest historians, sociologists and wildlife enthusiasts in general. Besides, a lot of stress has been laid on the efforts that are being put into conservation of wildlife in Daroji. Considering the times, that is very pertinent cause to preach.

This book recounts the efforts of many wildlife veterans whose efforts went into building this wildlife sanctuary from the scratch. Two people who get special mention are Madhaviah Krishnan and Murariroa Yestwantroa Ghorpode who did a lot of ground work in this area. The book also tell us about the unique mix of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh culture in this region. This combination has given rise to many interesting customs like Kalandars or the dancing bears.

If you have your personal library, then this coffee table book is an excellent collector's version. The pictures in the book are worth paying the price for this slightly expensive book. All in all, Daroji: An Ecological Destination is a book that will interest set of niche readers and it has been compiled with its readership in mind.

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