Spirits... in a material world

Our society as we know it is divided into two clearly defined boundaries - Life and Death - and we hope to remain in the realms of the living as long as we possibly can. That's a given...

But a few weeks ago, I was given a new perspective of this seemingly obvious statement. We were filming in Manila, Philippines for Culture X, and I was anticipating shooting a curious little story about a group of, well - we'll call them urban refugees - who had sought out shelter in the city's sprawling cemetery. But this turned out to be on a far more extensive scale than even the reports and photo-essays I had read online, had hinted at.

We were met by an entire township; a bustling community of ten thousand souls, living and breathing - and surviving - in the company of the dead...

So many archaic mausoleums and ornate graveyards, originally designed to keep out the living and provide solace for the departed, were now standing open to the world; gates and doorways ajar, and children running in and around them like hordes of industrious ants.

Initially I found it tragic, but having let the scene absorb further; strangely poetic... Life in all its dynamic energies and colours, abounding in a sanctuary of silence. They've all come from far off provinces to the so-called "promised land" - in search of fortune and luck. But reality hits hard and fast here, and most of them soon become destitute; struggling just to find enough food to feed their families. Some turn their backs on the city and return home. But many choose to stay, unwilling to let go of the dream so easily.

It is these resolute, determined few who find shelter in North Manila Cemetery. They've been coming here for over thirty years, and now those initial few have become thousands-strong. Many of them do seem to exist in a dream-like state, isolated as they are from the comings and goings of the world beyond the cemetery gates. Some still hope that their dreams will come true - while others seem to have come to terms with their predicament, and are making the best of a bad situation...

All of them however have made peace with the souls that rest beneath their feet. Its an uneasy truce. And when night-time comes to this strange halfway house of the living and the dead, I can only imagine how the atmosphere changes...

They are a brave people; standing in their shoes for just a couple of days, I was immediately aware of how suddenly so much that we take for granted was out of their reach. No running water, hardly any electricity, and no sanitation...

It turned out to be a stronger story than I could ever have hoped for. We left the cemetery-dwellers with our thanks and fees for their services, and token gifts for the kids. We toasted a successful shoot by sipping Iced Lattes beneath the shady bows of Manila's colourful Greenhills shopping complex. Its that easy to forget...

Back in the comforts of home however, I recall those restless spirits, trapped in a world that was never meant for them...

On a literary adventure...

Let's face it, writing for television can get a little tedious now and then - follow the same format, deliver the same punchline - it all gets a bit monotonous.

Its not that you don't want to be original - of course you do! Its just that most of the work on offer these days dictates that you follow a tried and tested formula - television stations are not risk-takers, they are safe-betters, and what works well once is bound to work well a second or even a third time... Of course thats good news for the production companies and it certainly brings home the bacon, but it leaves very little room for us creative creatures to stretch our legs and experiment.

Well fortunately for me, that's about to change. I was recently invited on board a project called Culture X, commissioned by Mediacorp TV12 here in Singapore. Its an ambitious series in more ways than one. Shot in remote locations across the region and tackling some very difficult subjects, Culture X explores areas of society both rural and urban, that many of us would rather never knew existed...

Its been a challenge to craft these stories out; as a writer, my job is to remain as unbiased and un-judgmental as possible, even though I've often had to force myself to watch scenes that would normally scare the pants off me.

But such conditions have forced me to flex my literary skills once more, and its been refreshing to feel the old creative engine spring back into life again. It helps that I am working with a production team with a shared vision, and I am genuinely existed about the end result, and the subsequent reaction from the audience...

Those of you in Singapore will not have to wait long for the show. It'll be on air in a couple of weeks and the trailers are already running on Arts Central.

Watch out for Culture X - if anything at all, it'll certainly leave an impression on you!

A Tasmanian Tiger comeback?

I've always been interested in the fate of mammals that have become extinct within the timespan of human occupation on the planet, and one of the most intriguing of these cases is the Tasmanian Tiger or Thylacine, a unique marsupial carnivore from Australasia that some die-hards reckon still lingers on in the vast reaches of the outback...

But recent news reveals that we may not even have to keep our fingers crossed about their existence any more. Because one group of scientists have succeeded in "resurrecting" the Thylacine's gene:

Scientists said Tuesday they had "resurrected" a gene from the extinct Tasmanian tiger by implanting it in a mouse, raising the future possibility of bringing animals such as dinosaurs back to life.

In what they describe as a world first, researchers from Australian and U.S. universities extracted a gene from a preserved specimen of the dog-like marsupial - formally known as a thylacine - and revived it in a mouse embryo.

"This is the first time that DNA from an extinct species has been used to induce a functional response in another living organism," said research leader Andrew Pask of the University of Melbourne.

The announcement was hailed as raising the possibility of recreating extinct animals. Mike Archer, dean of science at the University of New South Wales, who led an attempt to clone the thylacine when he was director of the Australian Museum, called it "one very significant step in that direction." "I'm personally convinced this is going to happen," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "I've got another group working on another extinct Australian animal and we think this is highly probable."

"We hope that with advances in techniques that maybe one day that might be possible, but certainly as science stands at the moment, we are not able to do that, unfortunately," he said.

Well I'm not so sure that is so unfortunate. Although I do agree with the notion of say bringing back species that were lost because of our own human intervention - i.e. the Thylacine, or the Passenger Pigeon, or the Dodo - its an entirely different ballgame to dabble in the DNA of groups of creatures for which the Earth is just not suited for any more.

Where on Earth would you house a pack of marauding T-rexs? And what kind of food provisions would you have to make for a herd of ravenous Diplodicus?

Are we really ready to deal with such collosal heachaches when we are already making a mess of trying to mamage our present day environment???

There are some places you'd just rather be...

Thekka Wewa, Udawalawe National Park, Sri Lanka 2008

This is a view just a few minutes jeep ride away from where my uncle has just built himself a jungle hideaway (check the link above to find out more)

spark.the.imagination

Its been painful but all of my work recently has taken me away from wildlife and only recently have I been able to emerge from the bottomless pit that is engineering documentaries.

After months of researching concrete thickness and the hazards of working in marine clay, I am happy to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, quite literally.

And apart from going all technical, I also wrote and produced two episodes for a documentary series about Asia's dynamic cinema industry - specifically Iran and India (or rather Bollywood, which is a world totally unto itself). Which was fun, and completely different to anything I've worked on for a while.

After taking a couple of months break, I now find my plate full again, and what a mixed offering I have lined up for the next year. Not quite wildlife though - but I'm working on that.

Have signed on to a very intriguing project about cultural taboos though, and there are animals involved in some of these stories, although not quite in the way you'd imagine. There are some controversial customs we'll be featuring and although I am personally horrified by some of these 'traditions', it is important to bring them to the attention of the audience-at-large, especially since some of them have been practiced unnoticed for hundreds of years - just wait 'til you see the story from Sulawesi....

Anyway that project is in production right now and will be coming to TV screens in the last quarter of the year. I am also working on another travelogue series which will see me directing in Kerala for a few days in July, and maybe Bali a bit later on.

Big news for me though is a stint in Darwin with an aboriginal community in a couple of months' time - more news on that as the time draws nearer...

Anyway just a bit of news to let everyone who is interested know, that I am alive and well and coping with the rat race as best as I can.

Been out of touch, but am back with a new reserve of energy and a new phone number, so beware...

All the best to you all,
Charith

PS - as the more observant of you will have noticed, the blog has migrated to my company website address. Firewalker Productions is launched and has a virtual life at least for now. The original website was about as interesting as watching paint dry, so hopefully this is a better solution, especially when my fieldwork starts to progress...

A Damming Letter...

This is an actual letter sent to a man named Ryan DeVries regarding a pond on his property. It was sent by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Quality, State of Pennsylvania . This guy's response is hilarious, but read the State's letter before you get to the response letter.

SUBJECT: DEQ File No.97-59-0023;
T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet stream of Spring Pond.

A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel. All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2006 .

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement action.

We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter. Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

David L. Price
District Representative and Water Management Division.


Here is the actual response sent back by Mr. DeVries:


Re: DEQ File No.
97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Lycoming County

Dear Mr. Price,

Your certified letter dated 12/17/02 has been handed to me to respond to. I am the legal landowner but not the Contractor at 2088 Dagget Lane , Trout Run, Pennsylvania.

A couple of beavers are in the (State unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood "debris" dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natures building materials "debris."

I would like to challenge your department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.

As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity.

My first dam question to you is:
(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers, or
(2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable beaver dam permits
that have been issued.

(Perhaps we will see if there really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Pennsylvania Compiled Laws, annotated.)

I have several concerns. My first concern is, aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay for said representation -- so the State will have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event, causing flooding, is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect.

In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling them dam names. If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition please contact the beavers -- but if you are going to arrest them, they obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter, they being unable to read English.

In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water flows downstream. They have more dam rights than I do to live and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources (Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until 1/31/2006? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention to a real environmental quality, health, problem in the area. It is the bears! Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! The bears are not careful where they dump!

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.

THANK YOU,

RYAN DEVRIES
& THE DAM BEAVERS

Aww shucks...

I knew I shouldn't have done it as soon as I walked into the place...

Stepped into the pet shop to buy the furry ones their food, and I was hopelessly, magnetically drawn to this beautiful creature seated quietly amid the noise and excitement of the puppy sales area at the back of the store.

I feel sorry for Huskies raised in Singapore - bred to brave the winters of the Northern Hemisphere, it must be uncomfortable being slow-baked in equatorial Singapore...

But this little fellow had such a look in his face, such a clever spark in his cool blue eyes, that I was tempted to just whisk him out of there... Cocoa would have been a happy little girl too - he is a handsome little devil...

Sigh... oh well, I hope he gets a good home - so many dogs in this country are bought on a whim and then discarded when the thrill rubs off. I wish him well.

Shop of Horrors

I am not often confronted by things which leave me at a loss for words, sickened and saddened at the same time.

But today during a casual wander through Singapore's shopping district, I came face to face with such an abundance of apparel and high fashion made from animal fur, that for a moment it felt that I had been transported into some kind of glorified slaughterhouse.

Name any top fashion label and I can tell you that almost all of them were stocking at least one piece of clothing made from, or adorned with fur. And we are supposed to living in an age of enlightenment...

It saddens me that wherever we went, there were hordes of young things fussing over these horrific creations. I tried to imagine if even the slightest shadow of doubt lingered somewhere in one of these impressionable minds - but this didn't seem very likely.

I don't want to sound preachy, but surely we've been through the whole fur issue time and time again. There have been countless campaigns, inumerable protests, several shocking ad campaigns - so what else does it take to open people's eyes?

This is not the Age of Enlightment, this is clearly the Age of Ignorance - and remembering the looks on those adoring faces, its seems that Ignorance is Bliss...

How to Disturb the Dog

Now that she is 5 months old, Pumpkin, our resident cute kitten and Twinkie's pride and joy, has learned how she can get away with things that other animals in our household cannot.



Take Cocoa's tail for instance - many others would love to - but its seriously out of bounds. Cocoa does not like her tail being tampered with. But now Pumpkin has shattered that taboo completely, and Cocoa is at a loss - her brain is still telling her that this adorable little kitten is vulnerable and innocent and so should therefore not be physically harmed.

It will take a while before Cocoa's brain finally realizes the truth about Pumpkin, and until then, this little kitten plans to take full advantage of the situation.



Just check out Cocoa's hopeless, pleading expression...

I knew it, I just knew it...

Far from me to be a foreteller of doom and gloom, but I have to say that last year, when we were wrapping up our final weeks of filming in the glorious wilderness of Wasgamuwa National Park in central Sri Lanka, amid that slightly weightless feeling of being completely at peace with your surroundings, I commented, "this is too good to be true."



On our search for evasive Sloth Bears, we had witnessed the hand of Man wreaking havoc on part of the reserve, when a slash-and-burn fire from a farm on the park's boundaries had blown out of control and rendered huge swathes of the park into a lifeless, blackened wasteland. Of course the Earth eventually heals herself, as she did after the fire, but today I fear the outcome will be very different...

I've just heard from my uncle over in Sri Lanka, who is actively involved in wildlife conservation, that the government has given the go ahead to build a dam within Wasgamuwa, and along with it, will be installing a hundred or so families in the vicinity. I dread to think what is to follow. The repercussions for the wildlife will be devastating. The park already exists on a fine balance - throw in a bunch of humans and lets see what happens.

From what I understand the plan has yet to be implemented, and a campaign organized by wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists is about to ensue. More news as it follows.

I once half-joked to someone regarding my Sloth Bear documentary, that I hoped it would never become an epitaph for something that was now lost to the country - and that included the animals and their habitat.

Nothing to laugh about now.




Wasgamuwa - as it was when we were there

VIDEO: Battle to Save the Tiger

Found uploaded by someone else on Google Video - the full 49 min documentary. Watch it while it remains online. You can also download it and watch it with Google Video Player.

The Indian Tiger is in deep trouble. Thirty years ago India set aside over 30 tiger reserves controlled by Project Tiger. Initially it was hailed as a great success, but in the last few years hundreds of tigers have been poached from under officials' noses according to WPSI (Wildlife Protection Society of India) run by Belinda Wright. This film, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, looks at the controversy surrounding the plight of the tiger. Can they come back from the brink of extinction again?

Live Health and LIVE EARTH

My apologies for such a long absence. It has been an interesting time, where I've taken the opportunity to explore the hidden depths of hospitals and experience some of the most interesting observational procedures. Nothing life-threatening, just a few probes and scopes and scans just to figure out how my erratic transplanted kidney is faring.

To all intents and purposes it has shut down for good, but its still physically stable, so not at risk from infection, which is a relief, because that scenario would have led to more medical fun and games. After several visits along the long white corridors, I was finally introduced to the CT Scan machine - a wonderfully futuristic device that section by section, recorded a 3D image of my internal structures. Quite fascinating really, apart from the slight discomfort of having to be injected with some kind of fluorescent red dye.

Anyway all this probing has revealed nothing out of the ordinary, and that's good to know - so I am back to work on various projects and functioning as per normal.

I've given the blog a bit of a spring-cleaning, and although its not completely ready yet, and yes indeed it may seem a bit childish - I thought it would be nice to inject a bit of colour into the scheme of things. Let's see how long it takes for Charith to get bored with this look...

Anyway, in terms of all things green and environmentally friendly, I tuned into LIVE EARTH last week, and dutifully wore green over the weekend to show my support. I then watched as much of the concerts as I could, and then waited for global impact to take place like the proverbial shockwaves from an earthquake. Of course those ever expanding ripples of awareness never really took shape. I am old enough to remember the Live Aid concerts and the Amnesty International concerts before that, and the incredible impact they had on audiences across the world - it wasn't just the music, but it was the messages that the musicians were actively conveying on stage that really hit home.

Live Earth seemed far more of a passive affair from what I experienced - most performers just did their sets and left the stage without so much as a word of green advice to their adoring audiences. A wasted opportunity.

And then of course there was the strange paradox of an event celebrating environmental-friendliness, while over 100 popstars jetted around the world, using vast amounts of power to light up their shows and pump up their amplifiers. Of course a true green, carbon-neutral, eco-friendly music concert would have been the popstars performing unplugged to small intimate audiences in pubs and clubs across the world, without any spectacular lightshows and no big sound systems.

But would that make good TV? Of course not.

And anyway, an eco-friendly music extravaganza is sorely lacking if Bono and U2 are not involved. Did anyone else notice their strange absence? This should have been right up their moral alleyway...

Linkin Park were good though

cuteness - a dangerous trait

Well the kittens are now five weeks old. They seem to have already developed some personality, having discovered early on the many advantages of being cute, small and furry and therefore entirely and instantly forgiven for any misdemeanor.

Having learned to climb before they could walk, they have established the sofa as their new domain. Here they are captured in a brief moment of rest - that's the youngest, No.2, who is still deciding if she is either Noodles or Peanut - she is probably meditating here on the merits of both names...

No.1, or Pumpkin is the psycho attacking her own shadow at the back. No.3, who is not pictured, is Lemony, and is probably off somewhere scaring one of the dogs...



As you might have guessed, we don't spend a great deal of time mulling over names for the kids - they just make themselves known somehow. For some mysterious reason, almost all of our furry ones are named after items of food. Some kind of subliminal message there perhaps...

No accounting for Good Taste

Well alright! "Spirit Bear" has been nominated for an award at the Wildlife Asia Film Festival, currently happening here in Singapore.

It has been shortlisted for the "Best Director who is bald and very tall" category - a hotly contested award as you might expect... And if for some reason I'm not victorious there, it's also been entered into the "Best Local Production" category, which is a bit more nerve-wracking, as the other entries are very good indeed.

Well, I've always wanted to be nominated for something, so if that's as good as its going to get, then a nomination is just fine with me.

Until the next time, of course...

(Those old Sloth Bears have been good to me)

King Ape

Last year, new genetic tests comparing DNA from humans, chimps, gorillas and orangutans revealed striking similarities in the way chimps and humans evolve - which set them apart from the others.

The finding added further weight to a controversial proposal to scrap the long-used chimp genus Pan and reclassify the animals as members of the human family.

The move would give chimps a new place in creation's pecking order alongside humans, the only survivor of the genus Homo.

And now more fuel to the fire - the discovery of a tribe of chimpanzees in Senegal, Africa, that have been observed fashioning and then using wooden spears to hunt smaller primates...

"Researchers documented 22 cases of chimps fashioning tools to jab at smaller primates sheltering in cavities of hollow branches or tree trunks ... witnessed a chimpanzee extract a bushbaby with a spear."



This is a fascinating and yet disturbing new discovery. One wonders if the boundaries between chimps and humans are now just a matter of a few facial expressions and an upright backbone. They may not speak like we do, but just look at the list of similarities that we share with our ape cousins. They've already been documented hunting smaller monkeys, committing genocide and even torturing.

Many experts believe because of our own human impact on the Earth, that chimpanzees have reached the end of their evolutionary journey - but given these traits, and another million years or so, and of course taking us out of the equation, I am sure that chimps would go on to fill our shoes quite comfortably.

Theoretically it was only a million years or so in the past when one tribe of apes, outmaneuvered and out-competed by a dominant forest-dwelling chimpanzee ancestor, was forced to take to the open plains in search of new territory and stride out on their hind limbs...

The chimps were always Kings of the Forest, perfectly adapted to the more rigorous demands of surviving in this complex environment. I'm sure that there'll be further secrets to their success revealed in the years to come...

In the family way...

I guess the time finally comes to everyone, when they must assume the reigns of responsibility.. and guide a new soul into this world. Well ladies and gentlemen, that time has finally caught up with me... I have become a grandfather.

Twinky has given birth to 3 kittens, amidst much panic and nervousness and commotion (coming mostly from Kristen and myself).

So this past week I have focussed my attention on the animal life that lives in my house...

Having never witnessed a cat giving birth before, it was a fascinating experience - and had its fair share of drama, as it turned out that a fourth kitten ultimately refused to enter the world, and we had to rush Twinky to the vet's for a Caesarian. Against all odds, the little thing was alive even though it was almost half a day overdue.

Unfortunately, being a runt, and as is the way of Nature, the little fella didn't make it, and I think because he was delivered artificially, Twinky never seemed to bond with him, so that lessened his chances even further.

But enough chatter - the main thing is that the other three are now a week old and growing rapidly - by their markings and some obvious deductions, we know who the wandering scoundrel is who got Twinky into trouble in the first place. Funnily enough, he disappeared from our neighbourhood as soon as the kids were born - typical...

Jelly, the grand matriarch of the family is not as thrilled as her humans at the prospect of these new arrivals, and is currently making herself invisible.

But she is also steadying herself to make the announcement in her own inimitable way...

Anyway, for the time being - BEHOLD.... the grandchildren!

A day old - the Three Musketeers


Instinct No.1 kicks in - GIMME FOOD!


Twinky - tired out


Instinct No.2 - SLEEPY TIME! (one week old)


At this stage their individual coat colours are coming through; their eyes are beginning to open, although still not focussed on anything, and their ear canals are still blocked - and yet for some reason we still whisper when we are around them...

Singapore: Turning the Tide

There's something about Singapore that makes me smile - in spite of the workaholic days, the tremendous expense of almost everything (not including the food or the cinema tickets thank goodness), and the perpetually steamy sub-tropical temperatures. And that something - is the wilderness - and yes, it is still here.

Because you see, in spite of the citystate's well-founded reputation for urban development, manic industriousness and land reclamation on a nation-building scale - there are little gems of forest and mangrove and coral reef that persevere in the nooks and crannies that the bulldozers (to date) have overlooked.

Upon arriving on Singapore's shores six years ago, I was (and continue to be) amazed by the sheer diversity of plants and animals that live and grow within this maze of concrete and steel. As a person born in the lush highlands of Sri Lanka and raised within walking distance of southern England's softwood forests, it has always been important for me to be able to escape 'back to the wild' from time to time. Of course I was pensive when moving here, and so were many who knew me and my frequent need to step out of the rat race.

And yet, as unlikely as it seemed back then, Singapore did indeed offer me that chance to escape. Because in an area of land ten thousand times smaller than North America, there is tropical rainforest, freshwater swamp, rambling mangrove, a scattering of secret rocky shores and reefs. And looking after these gems are a committed group of individuals who are rightly gems themselves - just visit some of the links on the right sidebar to meet a few of them, and through them, many others.

Although I am not even half as physically proactive as I should be, these green warriors are out there pre-dawn, morning, noon and night, documenting what's still roaming around in the urban jungles and along the city coastlines - and I feel very fortunate to know them.

So, by way of welcoming in the New Year, I announce one of my resolutions - to highlight the work and subjects of these dedicated few - on film; so here's hoping that the TV Gods smile on me in '07!

Even as I write, plans are underway to develop Singapore's precious southern islands into exclusive resorts, and these offshore islands are the very thing that makes Singapore's resilient marine life so unique!!! Its baffling - they should be an asset instead of something to sweep under a carpet of imported sand and manicured lawns!

Fortunately the nation's naturalists are not keeping quiet about it...

From the infectious enthusiasm of Ria Tan, to the meticulous observations of Joseph Lai and the Bird Ecology Study Group, to the colourful aquatic discoveries of Debby Ng and the Pulau Hantu divers, and of course scientific and practical guidance and constant shoulders to lean on from Siva and Subaraj. And many many more, who I still haven't got round to yet.

It may be a small island, but its got a great big green beating heart.

Happy '07 to all of you.

A Man for the Sea

In a couple of days it'll be the 2nd anniversary of the Tsunami that struck South and South East Asia in 2004. We were holidaying in Sri Lanka at the time, and although a cousin of mine and his entire family were killed, my wife and her folks were lucky enough to be in the wrong place at the right time - and thats why she is still alive and well today, thank God.

A few months before the Tsunami struck, I was out in the Maldives filming a turtle and coral reef conservation project. We took a day out to visit a local fishing community who were living out on a tiny island whose houses were built with old blocks of coral, and whose streets were populated by the old folk and the youngest children, while the men were still out at sea. I was truck by the peace and timelessness of the place, and by one oldtimer in particular. He made such an impression on me that I wrote this following piece about him.

After the tsunami struck I was informed that the entire island had been overcome by the waves, and the nearby resort where we had been staying had opened their doors to the survivors. I never did find out what happened to this 'Man for the Sea'...


A Man for the Sea

There is an island. I have been. Bleached like forgotten bone ‘neath an unforgiving, vengeful sky. I have walked its salt-stained streets. Stung my feet on the burn of its cobbles. Coral blocks, dressed and trimmed, resilient for decades, centuries before. Built to withstand the monsoon, the hurricane, the easterly tempests, these houses of old are museums for days that have come and gone. The fishermen have left, swept away by the red dawn, across the fathomless Indian Ocean, far from their island home, whose name is written in a language I cannot read.

All good women shun the daylight, gathered up in satins and bright colour – resplendent in the coolness of their homes. Children occupy vacant doorways, three abreast, with smiles so old for their young skin. Does everyone here know something I do not? I know nothing of the struggles here, it’s true. Of days that are spent hand to mouth, watching the sterile sky; longing for a benevolent breeze. Waiting for fathers, brothers and sons to return, not just with the catch, but also with their lives.

As a mark of time’s passage the coral cottages give way to things of steel and concrete; the dull insult of cable television now mocks the cry from the distant minaret, calling the faithful to count their blessings, to continue their faithful harvest. But what of these times. I am a foreigner who will be forgotten in the blink of an eye, and yet I still sense time catching up with them, their little space of something, a drop in this ocean.

Languished in the harbour, only one defiant sailing ship sits, drowning gracefully in flooded repose. She has not ventured forth for years, yet she retains a timeless splendour which the fibreglass boats cannot match. Her timbers rot and stain the shallows, but she has outlasted her crew, long departed.

Save perhaps one.

Down the coastal road, under the sway and dappled light of yellowing fruit trees, past the provisions store, the school, and the one-room hospital. In a shadowed doorway a figure sways and saunters. I can see him in the deeper labyrinth of his light and shade house, moving through clutter that only he could decipher. He reveals himself at the bare timbers of his door. His weathered, salt-cured skin breaks into a wide, white smile, and his great age suddenly drops away from his face, swept away like the tide across a worn beach. I am his guest – unexpected but welcome and we sit together – broken English and the indignant stare of his infant grand-daughter, pride of place atop his lap.

“I was a sea captain”. The lines on his face have already told me that story. “She was my ship”. Of course, we three were meant to meet. She can no longer brave the current, and he faithful to the last, remains by her side, watching over her.

The old man is sinewy, muscled, honed by a slow grill under the southern sun. His face has borne the brunt of it, but his frame is strong. He carries the infant effortlessly in one hand and shoos her to sleep. He seems half my height, but is clearly twice the man.

First impressions are deceptive. At first I thought of him as a stranded soul, having struggled perhaps like Hemingway’s Old Man, to calm the tempests, to carve a piece of this endless sea for himself. And yet in the draining of this shared spiced tea, I meet a man who struggles no more. He has won his fight, proved his worth. The light in his eyes shine for his grand-daughter, not for the riches of the sea. He is grounded with the love of his life, but he is content I think, to share brief memories with brief friends and speak of things that the young ones have no memory of.

As he gathers up the baby and adjusts the colourful but faded sarong about his lean waist, I thank him for his time. He bids me good travel to the place of my heart – and for a brief tantalizing moment I realize the allure of this place, the timelessness of it all. Centuries cannot change history here, although fibreglass surely replaces wood and merchants concede to tourists. How can time change a world governed by tides and the pull of the moon? It cannot, and I find that I have outstayed my welcome, because time still has an effect on me…

So we take each other’s leave, and I head for open waters, gliding past the love of his life, turning back one last time, to salute a man for the sea.


A Man for the Sea (and his grand-daughter)

(c) 2004, Charith Pelpola

Wildlife News: New Borneo Frog

And ironically, in the same week we witness one species disappear from the face of the earth - we welcome a new one....


(Image: A Haas/WWF)

This tree frog, found in Borneo, has been named Rhacophorus gadingensis. The environmental group WWF says in a new report that at least 52 new species have been found in Borneo during the past year.

Wildlife News: Baiji Dolphin - Functionally Extinct

"The Baiji is Functionally Extinct. Lipotes vexilifier is the first species of cetacean – whales, dolphins and porpoises – to disappear from our globe in modern times… the first large mammal to go extinct as a result of man’s destruction of their natural habitat and resources.

The disappearance of the Baiji from our planet is a tragedy for animal lovers around the world – and a tragic milestone for international animal conservation."

Those were the words of August Pfluger on the baiji.org blog


Photo by Cetacean Society International

Last week when researchers came back empty-handed after an expedition to find any traces of the dolphins in their native Yangtze River habitat in China, the realization dawned on many that we were actually witnessing extinction in action.

It is an incredibly tragic situation - that a highly specialized and unique species of freshwater dolphin should be allowed to disappear so easily from an area that was once its stronghold. Conservationists involved in the race to save the species, themselves admit that all their efforts were made too late.

Although the expedition itself found no dolphins, they believe that there may be one or two still surviving along the length of the river - but this still marks the Baiji as being functionally extinct - a species needs at least 25 indivuduals in its population to ensure its continuity...

The last Baiji was seen in the wild back in 2004, and the last captive Baiji died in 2002. This latest news finally sounds a tragic death knell for a remarkable and unearthly beautiful creature.

The news, as reported by the BBC: