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Older readers of The Statesman may recall naturalist M Krishnan's columns, "Country Notebook", with affection. But in this day and age he would be something of an anachronism. First published by OUP and republished this year by Penguin, Krishnan's writings may be in vogue because of the global focus on the environment. But the man would have been bemused to consider himself "fashionable" in any way. Krishnan's passion for nature was singularly unworldly. He held a nominal job with the Maharaja of Sandur (Karnataka). Yet, his writing was prescient in many ways "" people-animal confrontations being just one theme. Even for those with a passing interest in nature, this collection of essays, introduced by Ram Guha, is worth reading for the sheer pleasure of good writing.

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NATURE'S SPOKEMAN

Edited by Ramachandra Guha
Rs 395
x+310 PAGES
Penguin