A butterfly's world

For the nature lovers in the city, observing any life form is a treat by itself. The ‘Bangalore Butterfly Club’, which was formed a few years back, focusses on just this, with nature walks and educational trips. They also make sure that the space becomes a social platform to exchange information about these beautiful winged beings, while they connect to nature.

The group comprises people from different fields, aged between 20 and 65 years. The group’s core members include Ashok Sengupta, a computer science faculty with a school; Haneesh K M, an academician; Rohit Girotra, a management professional and Nitin R, a research associate. The club happened out of a common interest in butterfly watching among the core members. Ashok Sengupta says, “People with similar interests came together. Rohit and I met and we discussed about the possibility of a club. It was meant to educate, make better documentation and encourage butterfly watching,” he says. The documentation and data collected on each trail walk is used by the National Centre of Biological Sciences now. “We have also helped them to establish butterfly parks in Bengaluru,” he says.

A keen interest in nature is all that the group is looking from prospective members. “We have two official outings per month to different areas. We also go to places like Savandurga, Devandurga, Agumbe, Kudramukh, etc and do walks. It all depends on the weather,” he says. The trail walks usually include members observing butterflies and photographing them.

Nitin R says that it is the interactive nature of the club which helps it to be a great educational yet interesting experience. “Our group consists of people from different backgrounds, who may or may not be connected to each other, but we learn something new every time we meet. The walks, which extend to three hours or more, are always great learning points,” he adds.

When Haneesh K M moved to Bengaluru, this group was a great excuse to socialise and indulge in his favourite passion. “We do a scientific count, which is according to how many butterflies are seen in a particular place. This has lead to records of many new species,” he says. He says that the group aims to encourage ‘butterfliers’ to connect among themselves and to nature. Rohit Girotra’s journey with the club has been interesting. He says that his interest in butterflies started seven years back. “It developed from the interest in wildlife. As part of this, I started observing butterflies. I didn’t know about the many species and names. When I asked for help to identify them, I found that not many people had an interest in the same. This is when I found that it’s like solving a puzzle — every different or minute pattern variation on a butterfly meant it was a different species.”

Slowly, the group came into being. “Anyone who is interested in butterflies can join the group. We don’t want to increase the number of members just for the sake of it. We check profiles before adding them to the group. All they need to do when on a trip is to bring their interest and a notebook,” he says.
 
The group wants to encourage anyone and everyone with an interest in these insects. The trips mostly happen at the Bangalore University campus, the IISC Campus and Doresanipalya Forest Station. “These walks follow the same rules that one would expect on any other nature walk. Since these are insects, they don’t feel as threatened as birds and animals. The basic advice is to not get too close, though there are some species which are really tiny, like the ‘The Grass Jewel’, which need to be photographed closely,” he says.

Other members like Girish Kumar, a student says that he loves how the group is a great place to connect to people with similar interests. “I learnt a lot about photography and about butterflies, which many people don’t know. The club is a great place to connect with different people as well,” says Girish.

Nagaraj V, a nature photographer, who has been photographing butterflies for 30 years, says that when he joined the club, he got to know more about the world of butterflies.

“I have made many good friends through the club, who share the same passion,” he says. Interactions with people have also resulted in good knowledge transfer. “I also know now that caterpillars feed on different plants and thus my knowledge about the plant world has also increased,” he says. Nagaraj proudly says that he has also helped people to see each frame differently.

“I don’t let the members click simple pictures now. While we are documenting each species, I also want each shot by the members to be interesting,” he says with a smile.

(The club can be reached at [e-mail])