‘Wild Capital’: An important story of all that is worth preserving in India’s wild capital

Each spring, a certain stretch of Delhi’s Outer Ring Road turns a delicate shade of red as new leaves appear on a row of Pilkhans. Somewhere in the salt-encrusted flats of Najafgarh, greater flamingos take long strides on their dainty legs. Scores of fireflies light up the dark corners of a city forest. Jackals appear briefly on jogging tracks before scurrying away, and a saw-scaled viper basks in the sun on a slope of the Aravalis in the southern ridge. These are the sights from the wilderness that remain hidden to most people in Delhi, too busy to look beyond the car ahead of them.

Wild lives in Delhi

Yet Delhi has the distinction of having the second-highest avian diversity among all the capital cities of the world, with over 400 species of birds recorded so far. As birds are widely acknowledged to be important markers of the health of a land and its ecosystems, it says something about the habitats that sustain them in this ever-growing megapolis. If one adds more than 250 species of trees, 65 species of butterflies, 25 species of snakes, along with a host of large and small mammals, amphibians and insects, Delhi has a lot going for itself.

This abundance of species reflects the diversity of habitats that are spread across the city and its edges. The ridge, Yamuna and its floodplains, expansive city forests, avenues with old fruiting trees, cultivated land and wetlands make for a habitat diversity that is not commonly found in modern cities. Wildlife lives and thrives among humans here, sharing spaces and showing up whenever someone is paying attention.

Although many studies, reports and field guides have been published over the years, documenting birds, reptiles, mammals and trees of our capital city, including the iconic Trees of Delhi by Pradeep Krishen, few among them have attempted to describe in some detail the wild habitats, their inhabitants and our relationships with them. This is the gap Neha Sinha’s book Wild Capital: Discovering Nature in Delhi fulfils with its deep observation and heartfelt prose. Her curiosity and the ability to immediately fall in love with all that is present and unfolding in landscapes around her are refreshing.

As green as it may appear at first glance, not everything is well with the natural spaces in and around Delhi. Parts of the Aravalis have been mined extensively for stones, uprooting native vegetation and displacing wildlife. The Yamuna today is a stinking reminder of what we can do to a river. Floodplains and wetlands have been encroached upon, making way for our insatiable urban sprawl. Not to mention the noise and light pollution in this bustling city that forces the non-humans to recede and adapt for survival.

Thankfully, there are stories and acts of resilience and defiance too, turning the tide in favour of the wild spaces in this capital city of ours. Kindred souls have come together to listen, observe and understand what the natural spaces in this city need to heal and regain their former glory – one tiny shoot at a time. Eco-restoration and rewilding initiatives are bringing back the often-neglected native flora of this region – a departure from the colonial legacy of planting exotics. As the vegetation is reclaiming the land, so are the insects, butterflies, mammals and the birds. Hundreds of birdwatchers, butterfly and reptile enthusiasts and nature lovers visit these wild urban spaces and document data on citizen science portals, adding layers of protection to them.

A time for hope

Wild Capital comes at this juncture of hope and resurgence, capturing all that is wild and worthy of our attention and empathy. She takes the reader along with her into the belly of a mine, ramparts of forts, slopes of the Aravalis, depths of deciduous forests, banks of a river and the edges of marshlands. She observes and evocatively writes about her neighbourhood trees and birds and their interactivity and interdependences. For those living in urban spaces, whether in Delhi or elsewhere, this book provides a timely reminder that wilderness is still around us waiting to be discovered and appreciated.

On tree-spotting trips to old monuments, Sinha describes the semal, palash and mahua in a language that comes from a place of deep love for nature. She observes mating rituals of hornbills and nesting of barbets and shares them with the readers in delightful prose. The book documents her journeys to the wild spaces – some thriving and some in decay – and her discoveries. In these journeys, she is accompanied by some of the best naturalists and champions of restoration initiatives in our capital region and witnesses the often-unseen chemistries between the trees themselves and with other beings.

She visits city forests at night to look at fireflies and meets other nocturnal specialists like the Asian palm civets, jackals, scops owls and flying foxes. While doing so, she also overcomes her fear of darkness and the imaginary mountains of her mind. Mangar Bani – a sacred grove at the edge of the city – allows her to witness the breeding behaviour of migrating birds – the beautiful Indian pitta, paradise flycatcher and the golden oriole. She observes the migratory cranes, waterfowl and the Northern lapwing at a wetland and describes the balancing acts of bitterns in adjoining marshes. She documents the painstaking efforts of creating spaces like the Aravali Biodiversity Park, Gurgaon – a remarkable success story of restoring a landscape ravaged by mining. She reminisces about the Yamuna and visits its banks looking for semblances of the past.

Sinha’s book is also a memoir – capturing her personal experiences while navigating the city and its people, finding solace and forging friendships centred around a common love for nature. Though digressing from the central theme in a few sections, she strikes a beautiful balance between the forgotten and the found. An eminently readable book, Wild Capital will serve as an important documentation of all that is still surviving and worth preserving in this wild capital of ours.

Wild Capital: Discovering Nature in Delhi, Neha Sinha, HarperCollins India.