A Dueulogy

I always nap in the afternoon when home in Goa. This afternoon I woke up with the shock of knowing that Suresh Jones—a dear friend, founder of the Loris organisation, inhabitant of the 'Marlboro country' in Madanapalli, keeper of the Eastern Ghats in Chitoor district, a knowledge repository of the biodiversity around Madanapalli and Rishi valley, and above all a very kind human being—is no more. In fact that he had passed away a week ago. Recovering from this shock I realised that it is important to pen down a few words remembering him even if I am a week late. May his soul roam the Eastern Ghats which he fondly loved and took care of.

Suresh Jones in his home in Madanapalli with his cherished dog Lassy

I was in touch with him once every month at least and knew that he was unwell for a while and was visiting Bangalore for kidney dialysis. A few months passed without calling him, and I kept telling myself I need to check on him, but alas I am more than a week late.

I have fond memories of visiting him from Bangalore. I once rode up to his place from Bangalore on a bullet bike I borrowed and a few times in my car. As we would reach his home, he would lay out in excitement the wonderful plan ahead. For dinner, there would be the secret ancestral recipe of garlic-pepper pork with just five ingredients and rasam. We would bring a few beers back home towards the evening and of course an evening walk was always planned through Marlboro country, a landscape that had rocky hillocks sprinkled with shrubbery with millet and rice fields around.

The 'Marlboro country' that Suresh loved and cared for a lot

We would chat about music, nature conservation, wildlife, our dogs and other pets, and life in general and then in the night look at the sky while closing up a beautiful day. Although I have a bunch of memories of a dozen visits at least, I feel I need to think hard to come up with the details: the sightings of the yellow-throated bulbuls, visiting the caves and caverns, his long descriptions of the geological faults on the rocks, the myriad plants along the way and their scientific names, one that literally stands out is Shorea roxburghii, which is largely restricted to the Eastern Ghats.

In all, with his passing I further realise how fragile life is and how much we need to cherish what we have, acknowledging things out of our control and commiting to trying to do the things that are indeed in our control. I hope you roam the Eastern Ghats with the yellow-throated sparrows, the lions, the four-horned antelopes and Shorea roxburghii trees Suresh. I will always remember our wonderful times together and how kind and affectionate human being you were.