On my desk is a glass jar.
Inside it are 52 handwritten names—each one a species from India that is currently threatened. Animals, plants, insects, amphibians, and more.
These species are part of India’s vast biodiversity, yet they are seldom named or heard. They are not as familiar as the tiger, but they are just as vulnerable to extinction.
Every week this year, I will pull out one name at random and spend time learning about it. What emerges may be different each time—interesting facts, recent news, a field note from a researcher who has spent years with the species, or sometimes just a photograph or a sketch, when even an image is as rare and elusive as the species itself.
The intent is simple: to pull these species out of anonymity and give them a digital space.
Just sustained attention, week after week, for life forms that are often noticed only when they are almost gone.
India’s Endangered began in 2011 as a voice for the precious few.
This year, the focus is on understanding fifty-two of them—one species at a time.
