Forest conservation and painting do not usually go hand in hand. But Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Madiraju Lokeswara Rao, a native of Konijerla village of Nandikotkuru mandal in Kurnool district, excels in both.
After being selected as an IFS officer in 1983 for the Nagaland cadre, Rao worked in Hyderabad for seven years as Director of Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education and then in Bengaluru for four years. Rao is behind India’s first project of tagging Amur Falcon birds that migrate to Nagaland every year from Mongolia and other countries.
At a time when thousands of migrating birds are killed by locals in Nagaland, Rao, as the principal chief conservator of forests and head of forest force, played a key role in putting an end to hunting of the birds. The hunters of Pangti village are now helping the government research on the falcons.
For his efforts in conserving the falcons, Rao was awarded the Tigerland India Biodiversity Conservation Award-2015 on August 26 at Tigerland India Film Festival (TIFF).
Amur falcons travel up to 22,000 km a year. Three falcons, named Naga, Pangti and Wokha, were satellitetagged two years ago and their movements are live tracked to unravel the mystery of their flight.
But Rao wants to talk about his painting. “Since childhood, I had an inclination towards drawing and sketching. Imagination has no barrier. It is stronger than anything known to man, faster than the speed of light, deeper than the ocean. It is the seed for the basic intellect of creativity and innovation,” says Rao.
His contemporary style includes zodiac paintings, women series, animal series, Buddha series, and abstract paintings in digital form using different media on canvas and paper. These are exhibited worldwide including Art Slant, Los Angeles, and Rise Art, UK, online galleries and at Space Inno Gallery, South Korea, New Age Inn and Bangkok. The 58-year-old has received several awards for his work.
