Synopsis "M. Krishnan (1913-96) was a naturalist known for his prose style, learning, and astonishingly wide range of interests. For nearly sixty years he wrote columns, essays, sketches and jeremiads on the ecology and culture of the Indian subcontinent. His subjects included tigers, elephants, butterflies, reptiles, cats, dogs, wetlands, deserts and croplands, and his nature writings are among the most readable ever written in English. Though Krishnan is almost unequalled as a chronicler of the natural world, his work has mostly remained buried and inaccessible in old newspapers and magazines. This collection showcases some of Krishnan's finest essays: on large mammals, little creatures, nature in temple art and folklore, nature's desecration and conservation. These writings are speculative, scientific, allusive, opinionated, and acid in their wit."