Birds in Paradise: Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur

Bharatpur’s Keoladeo National Park, a World Heritage Site, is a birds’ paradise, with all kinds of birds, resident and migratory, in different colours and sizes. Although Keoladeo is basically a birds’ park, every single plant and animal found here, small or big, adds to its beauty. Here, you will see fish, pythons, butterflies and turtles along with cranes, jacanas and egrets. The author, a veteran wildlife manager, takes the reader through an amazing tour of this sanctuary, through its days of glory, debacle and revival. Birds in Paradise will inspire you to visit this park or, perhaps, plan yet another visit. Or else, you can simply lose yourself in the pages of this delightful book and let your imagination take flight.

Sunayan Sharma

Sunayan Sharma, formerly a member of the Indian Forest Service, served as Wildlife Warden at Jodhpur, Rajasthan, during 1986–88. He served Keoladeo National Park, Bharatpur during 1988–91 as Research Officer and again during 2006–08 as its Director. During his second tenure, he developed an innovative scheme to remove the deadly Prosopis julifora from the Park. He also developed schemes to divert water from Chiksana canal and Govardhan drain to the Park which proved to be landmark schemes saving the Keoladeo National Park from being delisted by UNESCO as a world heritage site. During 1991–96, Mr Sharma served as Field Director, Sariska Tiger Reserve. He served Sariska again during 2008–10. His initiative resulted in closure of several marble mines inside the Reserve. He also oversaw the reintroduction of tigers into Sariska after they were decimated by poachers. This was the first such experiment in the world. He also innovated and implemented several protection strategies for the safety of animals in the Tiger Reserve. Sunayan Sharma is now the President of Sariska Tiger Foundation.