Ranjit Lal

I’ve been living with a pacemaker since I was 19. Here’s what I’ve learned about life, technology, and heartbeatsSubscriber Only

October 15,2025 11:24:53 AM

'A small box inside your chest,' they said. I wondered how small. Fifty years and several replacements later, I have answers

The secret life of dragonflies: Underwater predators with jet-powered butts and catapult jawsSubscriber Only

October 13,2025 12:30:31 PM

Dragonflies spend 90 per cent of their lives as ‘nymphs’, living at the bottom of murky ponds and looking like ghouls that terrify small fish and tadpoles

Jane Goodall’s legacy is one of deep conviction and unshakeable hopeSubscriber Only

October 07,2025 07:32:24 AM

She showed us what patience, quiet observation and the ability to last the distance could achieve

When water meets gravity: entire mountainsides come crashing downSubscriber Only

October 01,2025 12:52:07 PM

There is nothing as terrifying as watching a rabid river ruthlessly undercut its bank, on which houses and hotels begin to teeter, crack, lean over and then in slow motion, fall into the turbulent water

Local Loudmouths: And we thought only humans had that skillSubscriber Only

September 26,2025 15:06:50 PM

From sparrows and mynas to bulbuls, babblers and parakeets – they can set up one hell of a racket as they discuss the day’s business

All in the Family: Why certain species cannibalise on their ownSubscriber Only

September 18,2025 16:17:24 PM

The rationale often is the survival of the fittest, especially when food is short and the parents are hard-pressed to feed a brood

Rewriting Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind: Unlearnt lessons from historySubscriber Only

September 10,2025 10:50:18 AM

We are being told fossil fuels are good and that climate change was just the result of an overheated imagination

Why birds look the way they do: Decoding Mother Nature’s LogicSubscriber Only

September 06,2025 08:40:07 AM

In the painted snipe, a water bird, the lady sports snazzy white straps and kathakali dancer-like face make-up. Her husband looks similar but as though he’s been given a good rubbing down with a pencil eraser

Making sense of the dilemma over stray dogsSubscriber Only

August 27,2025 15:13:23 PM

We have allowed the problem to achieve gargantuan dimensions before going in for solutions that are clearly impossible to achieve

Jungleland wishlist: What animals have, and humans wantSubscriber Only

August 20,2025 18:41:45 PM

We’ve been grossly short-changed, but if we put on that sweet, inane smile the three-toed sloth wears, maybe Mother Nature will bestow us with her benediction

Independence Day Special: Author and environmentalist Ranjit Lal decodes how freedom has everything to do with loveSubscriber Only

August 10,2025 03:06:06 AM

The little birds took off. 'Didn’t that give you a lovely feeling? Like you were taking off with them?'

What we can learn from Jim Corbett on watching natureSubscriber Only

August 05,2025 10:45:24 AM

Corbett had the incredible power of observation and the ability to describe a location or scene in such detail that it was like staring at a photograph of the place

What babies do in the animal kingdom, even when they know the end is nearSubscriber Only

July 30,2025 06:00:21 AM

No little animal ever seems to just roll over and give up. All the while, it continues to fight valiantly in its corner

Tag and you’re dead: Not just hide and seek, some species in the animal kingdom can be lethal in their camouflageSubscriber Only

July 23,2025 15:37:34 PM

The insect world is replete with invisible wonders – from the praying mantis and big cats to octopuses and cuttlefish. They shape-shift to ambush and escape from predators

Wildlife in times of social media – Part IISubscriber Only

July 17,2025 17:39:32 PM

In the concluding part of this series, conjuring up social media profiles for animals

Wildlife in the times of social mediaSubscriber Only

July 09,2025 18:53:53 PM

If animals had social media profiles, what would their status say?

It’s raining in Goa — be careful, very careful on its beachesSubscriber Only

July 02,2025 15:47:01 PM

The ocean is a completely different beast at this time: it's ranting and raving, sending spume and spray high in the air – nothing well-mannered about it

Man vs Birds: The art of aerodynamicsSubscriber Only

June 25,2025 19:36:35 PM

Aircraft need powerful engines, jet or propeller driven, to deliver the thrust required to enable their wings to generate enough lift. In birds, the wings do both

What the tiger and the dog learned in the wellSubscriber Only

June 18,2025 10:00:04 AM

A tiger and a stray dog fell into an abandoned well in Kerala’s Idukki district. Just what did they say to each other?

How our earth is more than a pale blue dotSubscriber Only

June 16,2025 15:27:48 PM

From deep blue night skies to flowering yellows that attract bees, from the fiery reds of blood to the orange of roaring fires – colours signal the fullness of life and love

Two memories that recount how water nourishes and ravages in equal measureSubscriber Only

June 07,2025 07:30:27 AM

From the American River to the Yamuna in Delhi – the ducks, the gulls and the slipping sand

Funny Birds: From militant flamingos to crafty crows, there’s a flock of them that make you laughSubscriber Only

May 28,2025 01:00:10 AM

Take time to look at the jungle babblers, like dishevelled policemen, bouncing up and down your glass door or charm your partner with dancing cues learned from the Sarus cranes

Why mushrooms have magical stories spinning around themSubscriber Only

May 21,2025 17:15:40 PM

Mushrooms are a form of fungi that continue to be studied extensively to discover, sometimes the magic, and at other times the menace, they can unleash

Why extinction is not the siren to wait forSubscriber Only

May 19,2025 17:50:06 PM

From the Asiatic lion to the Indian rhinoceros to the Pygmy hog, we only try to save our fauna when they’re close to extinction

Laws of Attraction: How animals and birds chase loveSubscriber Only

May 07,2025 12:36:03 PM

Animals and birds are not very different from humans when it comes to looking for the right partner