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TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2013 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 Winners of the inside The Peninsula RECIPE CONTEST • Send in your best Creative recipe and win a Writing Contest dinner voucher felicitated P | 6 P | 4 HEALTH • Prancercise: A celebration of self-expression P | 7 FILMS • Prisoners snatches box office title • Bollywood news P | 8-9 BOOKS • Jamie Ford on writing that second novel P | 11 TECHNOLOGY At the first opportunity, • After 2.5m iPhone V Shubhalaxmi, a downloads, Moves lepidopterist packs comes to Android up her equipment and disappears into the thick P | 12 MOTHLADY OF forests of Maharashtra or Arunachal Pradesh, Learn Arabic chasing her beloved, • Learn commonly colorful but shy, flying used Arabic words MUMBAI and their meanings insects. P | 13 2 PLUS | TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2013 COVER STORY By Quaid Najmi handsomely - she has recorded n her profession, she is 419 moth species in Maharashtra known as a lepidopterist, and 500 in Arunachal Pradesh A woman a person who collects or (more about the state later) in Istudies butteflies or moths. the past 10 years. And she is one plucky woman In 2005, she even discovered who strays into dangerous terri- the Carpenter Bee Hawkmoth tory without any qualms to pur- in the Sanjay Gandhi National sue her hobby-turned-obsession Park (SGNP) here that was - chasing and studying moths, hitherto found only in Myanmar, who loves or nocturnal butterflies. and frolicked with the Atlas At the first opportunity, V Moth, the world’s largest moth Shubhalaxmi, 42, who has a with a wing span of over 12 doctorate in lepidoptera, packs inches that is also found in the up her equipment and disap- Park. pears into the thick forests of Acknowledged as India’s first Maharashtra or Arunachal woman lepidopterist study- to chase Pradesh, chasing her beloved, ing the most elusive and shy, colourful but shy, flying insects. and least studied insect on the The equipment includes a Indian sub-continent, it is dif- light trap and a white bed- ficult to imagine that in her sheet, a 165 watt generator- younger days, Shubhalaxmi had mounted mercury lamp. The a phobia for any insect. moths bedsheet is stretched between “My mother also suffered trees and the lamp hung above from it, so probably it was it. This attracts a large number inherited! However, my love for of moths, enabling her to take nature was too overpowering notes and pictures. and I wanted a prefix of doctor A pioneer among the hand- before my name, so I plunged ful of women in the field, into the field,” Shubhalaxmi Shubhalaxmi’s passion paid off laughed. PLUS | TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2013 3 Emphasising the importance of insects, Shubhalaxmi warned that if you don’t see forest insects, especially butterflies in your neighbourhood, you are living in a toxic zone. urban centres like Mumbai, they are disappearing because of lack of open space and indiscriminate use of pesti- cides even in gardening,” Shubhalaxmi lamented. Emphasising the importance of insects, Shubhalaxmi warned that if you don’t see forest insects, especially butterflies in your neighbourhood, you An encounter with insects at the over time, I was able to document the world’s only wildlife reserve within are living in a toxic zone. Bombay Natural History Society nearly 500 moth species,” Shubhalaxmi an urban landscape. Citing an example, she said that (BNHS) virtually rid her of the fear said. “The forest officials were surprised mosquitoes thrive when insects are of these fliers and crawlers and she That was the start of her regular and amused to see me, then around eliminated by spraying chemicals and actually started loving them. forays into the rough and tough wilds, 21, walking in a forest full of leop- pesticides.” When she focussed on her chosen forests, hills and mountains, huge open ards, snakes and other night animals. “Allow other insects and all spe- field - butterflies and moths - she fields, barren lands and even deserts to Helped by my driver and an assistant cies of flora and fauna to thrive and was surprised to find that after the chase moths. from BNHS, I would put up a screen the mosquito population will immedi- British rule, not much effort was made In fact, her guide for her masters and arc-lights to attract the moths for ately come down. Plus, you are spared to study or record them; nor were any and doctoral studies, the late Naresh the next two years,” she said. of the hazards of inhaling toxic air,” experts in the field available in the Chaturvedi, a former BNHS curator, Though at times she wandered off Shubhalaxmi pointed out. country, barring a few researchers. flatly warned her that she would have into the thick wilderness, most of the As deputy director of the BNHS After the completion of her doctoral to carry out primary field research time she would patiently wait and Conservation Education Centre in degree in 2004, she continued to docu- as there was absolutely no reference watch and study the moths amidst the Goregaon, also in northwest Mumbai, ment moths in Maharashtra. However, material on moths in the country. cacophony of other nocturnal insects, she has started making people aware of in 2011 she was electrified by a pho- At present, there are around 127,000 crawlies and animals as the SGNP for- the sheer natural beauty of insects and tograph of a moth sent by a school species of moths recorded in the world est came alive after dusk. moths and their ecological importance teacher from Arunachal Pradesh. and there are an estimated 12,000 in Living in Navi Mumbai, she spent a through various programmes. “I could not identify it and there India - and the field was wide open decade — 1993-2004 — of night trav- These include “Breakfast With were no available records in the vol- with little or no competition. els to record and ascertain the moth Butterflies”, “Bash With Bugs and umes compiled by British entomolo- Shubhalaxmi started with the SGNP population of Mumbai. Meals With Moths” that even attract gists. I went to the Arunachal Pradesh in 1993. Located in the Borivli suburb of “It is sad that no systematic effort many participants in their 20s, who wilds for 10 days and nights. Though northwest Mumbai and spread across has been made to study moths, which also come with their children. that particular moth still eluded me, nearly 104sqkm, the Park is considered are important in the eco-system. In IANS 4 PLUS | TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2013 CAMPUS Winners of The Peninsula Creative Writing Contest felicitated Winners of The Peninsula Creative Writing Contest received their prizes from the Acting Managing Editor Hussain Ahmad at a function held at The Peninsula office on Sunday. The competition was held in three categories for students from classes 7 to 12 and saw a large number of entries from many schools in Qatar. In the junior category, students of classes 7 and 8 were asked to write about the impact of social networking sites on their daily life. Megha George, Afrin Shakeel and Navjot Sarao won the first, second and third prizes respectively. Fariha Abdul Aziz, Aswin Anilkumar and Shwetha Grace Eapen were the first, second and third prize winners in the Picture Speaks category, which was open to students from classes 9 and 10. In the senior category, students from classes 11 and 12 wrote essays on Returning Home and the Impact of Cultural Differences. Ritica Ramesh, Iqra Waheed and Anagha Chakravarthi won the first, second and third prizes. The winning entries will soon be published in the Peninsula Plus. They have already been published on www.thepeninsulaqatar.com. First batch of students graduates Part A of Kawader Programme atar Finance and Business Academy (QFBA) congratu- Qlated its first batch of students graduating Part A of its Kawader Programme. The programme was instituted by the QFBA in partnership with the QFC Authority in May 2013. A four- to six-week foundation sec- QFBA officials tion of the programme, Part A, com- with students. menced in July 2013 with students from Qatar-based institutions such as Qatar University, Stenden University, Georgetown University and Carnegie which meant the final candidates who commenced. So we ask every one of the organisations that have volunteered to Mellon University. Students from gained entry to Kawader represent participants to challenge themselves and be part of the Kawader programme.” foreign universities such as Strayer the cream of the current year’s Qatari work towards excelling in Part B which In Part A, the students received theo- University and the University of graduates. is far more intense and will be a signifi- retical and practical training. The first Colorado also enrolled. “We congratulate every graduate on cant learning experience. We know that module covered Qatar’s financial services QFBA Chief Executive Dr Abdulaziz the completion of Kawader Programme each candidate will be inspired by highly sector, the capital markets environment, Al Horr said: “The response to our inau- Part A. engaging and knowledgeable instruc- legal and regulatory frameworks and gural course has been overwhelming “However, this journey has just tors, supported by mentors from many taxation laws. The Peninsula COMMUNITY / MARKETPLACE PLUS | TUESDAY 24 SEPTEMBER 2013 5 Park a Ford Mustang in your living room or those who want a classic said Utegaard. “We’ve immortalised pony car to enjoy in the liv- the original Mustang so that fans can ing room or family room, the enjoy their favourite car at home or Fbest option is the 1965 Ford on the road.” Mustang pool table.

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