Narrating his personal experiences of the scenic beauty of India and speaking of how treks across the country widened and enriched his visions, the iconic naturalist Madhav Gadgil said, “Trekking up the meandering hill paths that lead high up to the starry skies is a memory that is still green in my mind.  At the age of four, my father took me to the stupendous western ghats.” 

He recounts these romantic and enthralling experiences with nature in his new book ‘A Walk up to the Hill: Living with People and Nature’.

In conversation with Mathrubhumi, Gadgil talked of how spending valuable time in the Himalayan regions with stalwarts like Sunderlal Bahuguna and Chandi Prasad Bhatt were epochal events that shaped his thoughts and encouraged him to delve into nature. 

He has also penned his varied experiences gained from days spent with the tribal people and villages of North east India, especially about the troubles in the now blood-soaked state of Manipur where the killing spree has painted a horrendous picture. 

The book deals with the ecology of the Western Ghats and concentrates on the report he prepared for the Union forest ministry. The book is originally written in English and is being published by Penguin. 

The book release event is planned on September 1 at 4 PM in the Gokhale Institute in Pune. The event will include a discussion between Gadgil and renowned Indian historian Ramchandra Guha. The book is also available in Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Bengali. 

Gadgil calls this book his scientific autobiography. Mathrubhumi Weekly recently published Gadgil’s autobiography in Malayalam in a serialized form titled, ‘Western Ghats: A Love Story’.