CHENNAI: Once a delightful sight at every home garden, now a dwindling treat for those who go in search of them, butterflies have been the least discussed winged beauties when it comes to preserving our wildlife. “People are aware of the threat that many large mammals like elephants and tigers face in current times. I wanted people to know more about the lesser-known fauna as well,” says V Sharan, an IT professional, and founder of Rhopalocera and Odonata Association of Rajapalayam (ROAR). His latest endeavour is to organise and host the first State Butterfly Conclave in Tamil Nadu, on July 12, in collaboration with Podhigai Charal, an association that organises wildlife workshops and discussions.
A man of few words, his eyes light up at the mention of butterflies. Having immersed himself into studying this species since 2015, through ROAR, Sharan has created a network of like-minded individuals and butterfly enthusiasts across the globe. His passion for this work hasn’t stopped even in this ongoing lockdown. By way of hosting online sessions, he discusses the importance that butterflies play in ecosystems. “Not much is known o f butterflies. Very few studies, mostly directed towards their existence and life span exist, but we hardly know anything about their migration patterns and contribution to the ecosystem,” says Sharan.During this lockdown, he has been conducting live sessions with popular butterfly enthusiasts from every possible state, twice a week.
“I have also conducted an international series with friends and acquaintances in the field of butterfly studies. We shared knowledge about the indigenous population of butterflies in their specific regions,” he tells us. So far, he has organised 20 enlightening web sessions. The State Butterfly Conclave is the first of many projects by Sharan. “Tamil Nadu pans across the Eastern and Western Ghats because of which there are many migrations that happen within the state. From the 340 to 350 different species of butterflies that inhabit the Western Ghats (from Kanyakumari to the south of Gujarat), 325 to 330 species are local to Tamil Nadu.
Every monsoon, we witness hordes of butterflies migrating from the Eastern to Western Ghats and back. Spreading knowledge about these patterns will help conserve their population too,” he says. Sharan has put together a panel of 10 experts from the east, west, north and south of Tamil Nadu, for a holistic view on the butterfly species in the state. Each panel member has researched and contributed to India’s collective knowledge of butterflies. The conclave will be held in two sessions — the first will be a discussion from 10 am to 1 pm, and the second will be an interactive session from 5 pm to 7.30 pm. “Our homegrown artist Zaher will be taking an art session for children, after which we will be conducting a quiz at the end of the second session,” Sharan discloses the details. Interested viewers can log into the webinar on Zoom with the ID: 87457498736 and password: butterfly. YouTube live on Birds2Birds
SPEAKERS FOR THE WORKSHOP
1. Representatives from east TN
2. Representatives from south TN
3. Representatives from north TN
4. Representative from west TN