The health of a lake is directly proportional to the acts of positive reciprocation it receives from the people it serves. Its health is also predicated on the pride it instils in those people. The Nanmangalam lake is presented with a mixed bag. It is subjected to abuse by those in a position of stewardship towards it, but it also has two groups of people that make sure it stays in the news, its charms being extolled and its blights highlighted. And these groups vary in their composition, but have found a point of intersection where goals unite into something composite: preserving and cherishing the Nanmangalam lake. Kumaresan Chandrabose is part of the local residents group, largely drawn from Sembakkam, Nanmangalam and Hastinapuram that has been documenting the biodiversity of the lake as well as the Nanmangalam Reserve forest that overlooks it, actually the rim of the forest. Through photography and videography, he has documented a wide range of resident and migratory species around the lake, as have most other members of this hyperlocal naturalist group. People outside this group also join nature walks.
A painted snipe with a plastic discard at Nanmangalam lake.
| Photo Credit:
Kumaresan Chandrabose
