Here’s a sigh of relief for the winged population in Mumbai city, who usually feel lost in the scycrapers. 

Parakeets, bulbuls, sparrows and even kingfishers are regular visitors to a family in Mumbai. Arundhati Mhatre, a resident of Hanuman Cooperative Housing Society and an IT professional working in Powai, has set up 10 bird shelters and feeders on the balcony of her seventh-floor flat. In four years, she has nurtured hundreds of birds while managing her work and family. More than this she has also reared 350 butterflies on her balcony.

It is home to a variety of plants such as West Indian Jasmine (ixora), lemon, curry leaves, lantana and other citrus plants, which attract butterflies to lay eggs. Some butterflies which she has reared include the common mormon, red pierrot, plain tiger, tailed jay, lime and swallowtail.

As per a report published in Hindustan Times Mhatre said, “While the rest of the city is moving at a faster pace with the advent of technology and the need for more in life, I chose a simple lifestyle where my interests lie in reducing carbon footprint and doing my bit for nature.”  She has completed a course in macrophotography and is currently pursuing a course on sustainable living and nature conservation from Ecological Society in Pune.

Her interests and sensitivity towards nature grew all the more after she began bird watching at Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Borivli, and Yeoor forest range in Thane in 2008. “The experience opened up a window for me and all I wanted was to sensitise others like me, to create and protect a habitat for nature’s gifts,” said Mhatre.

In 2013, along with her husband Yatish, she began a social enterprise Arenya, an initiative where households could contribute to the well-being of birds, by using shelters and feeders. The duo soon developed many shelters made from bamboo, coconut or clay, made them into different sizes and started conducting workshops and exhibitions to share their interest with the city.

“We adopted sustainable living and our lifestyle changed in a way where there has been no television for six years now. We do not use toothpaste or soap because of the chemicals in them, but only organic stuff,” said Yatish, an interior designer by profession. Thinking about their generation next they also chose a school that specialises in environmental studies for our five-year-old son.

The family gifts surplus feeders and shelters to friends and relatives. “It all boils down to happiness when it comes to my son’s curiosity about birds, butterflies and nature,” said Mhatre. “You can conserve nature in your own way while living in a city and doing your job.”

In 2015, Mhatre was awarded by wildlife conservation magazine Sanctuary Asia for her conservation efforts in the urban sphere. Today, she conducts regular workshops at schools like American School of Bombay, Bandra, and is also connected with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for conservation efforts.