A view and a thought...

Monsoon clouds cloak Anamudi--India's highest peak south of the Himalayas--it rises above the Western Ghats, surrounded by rain forests of the Anamalai Hills. Photographed here from the Valparai Plateau in Tamil Nadu, the TN-Kerala state border passes somewhere through the forests in the valley below... Not that it makes a difference to the tigers, elephants or hornbills who are the custodians of such great wildernesses. It will do us good to protect them and keep their forests alive, for, if not for anything else, these forests make the Monsoon possible. They harvest its water so that we can have it all year round.

Next time you buy that bottle of Bisleri, which we so take for granted, spare a thought for where that water came from and see if your conscience agrees to what we do in the name of growth and development to the forests that keep our rivers alive. Forget conscience, I bet you that even your best logic will disagree with our actions.

Valparai, August 2010.