FROM OUR HOME FRONT

FBFC wishes all our interested viewers a HAPPY SPARROW DAY on March 20th, 2024. Please do your best to bring back the sparrows and prevent the rapid fall in their numbers.

      

                                                      

THE FASCINATING FLAKY FLUTTERERS

OF KUALA LUMPUR MESMERIZED ME

 

 

YOOHOO!!! IT'S OUR TENTH ANNIVERSARY!

We started off as kids in 2014 and now we are young adults scattered across the country. It's been a demanding task to keep in sync with each other and our passion for this blog. We are extremely thrilled to introduce this fascinating naturalist who has been making waves in the nature world of our land. We celebrate our tenth anniversary by posting a very enriching and enlightening session that our Mumbai team had with SEFI GEORGE. Wishing all our viewers a heartening time!

Sefi George is an illustrator and artist based in Mumbai. She has an academic background in Sociology and Anthropology, and teaches Ethnography at a design school. ‘Summer Scribbles’ is her homegrown brand, where she creates illustrated products, and conducts art and creativity workshops. She has illustrated multiple books, including 'Living with Leopards' with the Maharashtra forest department, and a calendar on the National Parks of India. She is an avid Nature Journaler and is passionate about human wildlife interaction.

OUR INTERACTION WITH SEFI GEORGE

1. What were the early beginnings of your journey with nature?

As a child, I lived in an apartment that overlooked the Sanjay Gandhi national park. We could often spot a variety of birds, deer, mongoose, snakes.. And we have even had leopards strolling by occasionally. My mother would eagerly show and tell me about these creatures. Being an avid reader from a young age, I was given a ton of wildlife and nature books. I still have many of them, and they give me great joy. Of course, the charm of wildlife documentaries have also added to my love for nature.

After 10th, I chose to study arts and humanities, which was a disappointment for my teachers who expected me to study science. I went on to study Sociology and Anthropology, and I believe that understanding human society and culture now gives me a unique perspective on wildlife and how we interact with it.

2. Could you share some incidents that kept you steadily on this trail?

I learnt illustration at the Riyaaz academy of Illustrators, based in Bhopal. It was in this one year course that I truly understood the power of visuals and storytelling. ‘If you don't tell your stories, who will?’ is something that stuck with me long after the course. I started keeping a sketchbook as a visual library. That has been a game changer for me- I started looking at the world as a goldmine of ideas.
In early 2021, I worked with the Maharashtra forest department to create a book called ‘living with leopards’. The aim of this book was to create a shift in the portrayal of Leopards- from the media narrative of ferocious man-eaters, to showing them as co-citizens of Mumbai- adapting and surviving in this metropolis. The illustrations had a major role to play in this regard. These are scenes that could not be photographed. Illustration was the only way to convey the context. And through these illustrations, I had to help build empathy for this beautiful animal we share our city with. This was a challenging, but so very important book. It also made me realise how much of an impact I can have as an illustrator.
3. What are you most passionate about in this chosen field?
I'm most passionate about getting people to notice the nature around them. We often think that to see nature we have to go to a forest away from the city, or go for an expensive safari. But rarely do we pay attention to the nature that's in our cities, in our neighborhoods, in our own homes. Trees are just a blur of green in the background until we learn about them. Nature journaling helped me slow down and pay attention to the wonder of life around me, and I take every opportunity to show this magic to others around. I believe that to save nature, we must first love it. And to love it, we must first know it. If we take the time and effort to keep our phones away and really pay attention to nature, we'll discover a whole new world of wonder.

4. Do you have any message for Gen Z on conservation and harmony with the environment?

GenZs have so much potential! I teach a bunch of genZs at a design school, and it's very heartwarming to see the enthusiasm they have to learn and explore (oh the things they could accomplish if attendance was not compulsory!). They do need a bit of a nudge to leave their tech world behind and immerse themselves in nature; but I'm sure that if they do, they'll come up with wonderful ideas to bring in positive change. We millennials we're just figuring out social media, the genZs know how to work with it. They can easily change perceptions and create awareness about living in harmony with the environment.
5. Could you share with us about books / talks / activities of yours which you cherish most?

The ‘Living with leopards’ book is one of my most cherished books. It made me fall in love with the wildlife in my city, but it also opened up a whole lot of opportunities. Today, I'm working with the Maharashtra Forest Department to create illustrations and merchandise that will make people know about the wildlife in their state. A very important set of illustrations are for a brochure explaining the dos and donts in tiger territory. Illustrations can reach a wider section of society, even those who are illiterate, and in a scenario where their life literally depends on it, I'm glad I can be of some use!

One thing I look forward to every week is my online art class with kids. I find it so refreshing to teach kids, because they are so receptive to new ideas and trying out new things. Adults have fixed ideas of what they can and cannot do, and are so afraid of making a mistake. Kids, on the other hand, are so confident and have so much fun making art, that it reminds me to have fun too. This weekly class is a space where we try new things, exchange ideas, talk about nature, school, our futures, and so much more. It's my weekly recharge :)

6. Could you give us a gist of your recent TedX talk at St. Xavier's Mumbai?

My 10 minute talk was titled ‘Drawing as a tool to see nature’. I spoke about how drawing, and specifically nature journaling, had helped me really pay attention to the world around me, how it opened up doors of wonder and made my life so much more interesting. Nature journaling can make people build a relationship with nature, leading to a fierce need to protect and nurture it. I also spoke about how drawings can help people notice nature around them, and as creators, we have the power to shed light on the magic that exists in our world. With more people connecting with nature through the act of drawing and journaling, conserving nature becomes an act of love. After all, a whisper of awe has more power than the clamour of doom!
7. As World Sparrow Day approaches, is there any special message that you would like to convey to our readers?
Sparrows would be a regular visitor to my grandmother's window garden. As the years went by, the sparrows were replaced by invasive rock pigeons, which a lot of people feed with store bought grains. We think we're doing a good thing by feeding birds, but delve a bit deeper and you'll see the cascading effect it could have on the whole ecosystem!

8. As an illustrator and an anthropologist can you offer us some tips to improve our blog?

Better visibility on social media please :)

Instagram, whatever it's flaws may be, is a great place to highlight nature and bring in a young crowd into the conversation. You have some wonderful photos and writeups on the Blog. Posting snippets of it on Instagram could be a great way to entice people to go to your blog and read the rest.
A few online sessions with fellow naturalists talking about their experience would be great too, especially if it's open to whoever is interested. And yes, collaborate with other enthusiasts and organizations, to help both reach a wider audience.

9. Are there any books / articles/ magazines / journals / movies that you would like to recommend to our readers?

Books, yes! I'm not much of a movie person.
‘Last chance to see’ by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine

'People and wildlife’ published by Kalpavriksh
‘Around the world in 80 trees’ by Jonathan Drori
Roundglass sustain and mongabay India have some wonderful articles, and the MahaMTB wildlife channel on YouTube makes some world class quality documentaries on the wildlife of Maharashtra in Marathi.
When I'm drawing, I love listening to podcasts. ‘Ologies’ by Alie ward, and ‘Tigress on tuk-tuk’ by Sara Mohan are two of my favourites in the nature space.
10. Have you any 'community activity' or projects lined up for this year?

I'm working on a nature journal picture book, mentored by the lovely folks at Creature conserve. It's a project I'm hoping to complete in a few months. I also hope to do a bunch of nature journaling workshops, and craft based workshops for kids and adults.

Creating more fun goodies for Summer Scribbles is one of my top priorities this year. I have a ton of ideas scribbled into my sketchbooks. Now the task is to actually make them!

 

WE THANK YOU PROFUSELY SEFI FOR THIS PRICELESS SESSION THAT HAS BEEN MOST STIMULATING AND INSIGHTFUL & THE GREATEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED ON THIS BLOG!