In the poems collected in Notebook of a Naturalist, Murali Sivaramakrishnan creates for us a vivid world of creatures, mostly birds, observed over many years of loving attentiveness. Here are the brahminy kite, the rose-ringed parakeet, the small blue kingfisher, paradise flycatcher, magpie robin, golden oriole, and many more, to whom the poet pays thanks for, as he writes, “all moments of pure joy.” — Ann Fisher-Wirth
Murali Sivaramakrishnan effectively combines his skill as an artist, his talent as a poet and his engagement with birds — a rare blend indeed. ...This book is part of green literature that has appeared in the last few decades and is bound to win converts for nature, for birding and for poetry.— S Theodore Baskaran
MURALI SIVARAMAKRISHNAN is artist, poet, and professor — perhaps not always in that order. When he is not writing or painting, he is outdoors with his camera amidst his beloved wilderness. His involvement in art and poetry for over four decades has produced several works of quality and acclaim. He has previously published six volumes of poetry. His poems have been noted for their personal tone and simplicity of expression, for being “spiritual without being dogmatic, tender without being sentimental, philosophical without being pedantic, communicative without being loud and well-crafted without being clever.” His paintings have gone on display at many group exhibitions in India and abroad. His drawings and sketches that accompany these poems are not meant as illustrations to the verses but serve to create a visual space on their own within the pages. This collection of nature poems reveals the fine combination of the naturalist’s eye, the artistic vision and poetic expression.
