"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
The idea that connecting with nature is possible only in forests far away is rooted in nearly every urbanite’s mind. Designed with the aim of breaking that belief, this pictorial field guide compiled by ten young naturalists describes 157 species of butterflies recorded in and around Chennai. The book includes information about butterfly hotspots around the city, fun activities to better interact with butterflies, and keys to distinguish between similar-looking species.
The authors of this book have spent more than a few enjoyable afternoons chasing butterflies and hope this guide helps the people of Chennai fill their days the same way.
Vikas Madhav Nagarajan and Team
Vikas is a master's student in the School of Public Policy, at Georgia Institute of Technology. He has dedicated over 15 years in the field through surveys, campaigns, and other initiatives to protect India's wildlife and forests, including serving as the Chennai City Butterfly Coordinator from 2015-2021. During this period, he and a team of butterfly enthusiasts from the city worked to compile a list of butterfly species seen in the city, resulting in this book. He has also been an avid birdwatcher for the past 18 years and has recorded over 1000 species globally. He has worked with moths and coastal fauna, with multiple scientific publications on these topics. As a policy student, Vikas’s areas of interest are man-animal conflict, plastic, and climate change policy.
This book was made using data collected by Vikas and others over a span of 10 years. It was designed, edited, and compiled with the help of Aditya Ramakrishnan, Anooja A, Aswathi Asokan, Ekadh Ranganathan, Mahathi Narayanaswamy, M. Nishanth Arvind, Nanditha Ram Satagopan, Rohith Srinivasan and Smriti Mahesh.
