About the Author
SD Gowda
SD Gowda draws on childhood years spent in the rainforested mountains of southwestern India, where place, folklore, and memory often felt intertwined.
About the World Behind the Story
About SAYADRI
Sayadri is a real place, a long mountain chain running parallel to the western coast of the southern Indian subcontinent. Cloaked in rainforest, it is a wide “grand staircase” descending from the high Deccan Plateau to the sea. Monsoon winds sweeping in from the ocean stall over its peaks, releasing sustained rains that nourish one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth.
Within these mountains live ancient communities with timeless traditions, and landscapes that feel aware, almost alive. Rivers are much more than flowing waters, milleniuum-old trees are witnesses to history, and the boundary between the natural and the unseen is never entirely fixed.
Biodiversity Hotspot
Hottest Biodiversity Hotspot
One of the world’s eight hottest biodiversity hotspots, the Sayadri remains a place of hidden life, where over 85% of species are yet to be discovered by science. Yet for the region’s indigenous communities, these forests are long known, their rhythms understood and their balance carefully held. Alongside tigers, elephants, and bison, its forests shelter more elusive residents such as the dancing frog, the flying lizard, and the black panther—quiet expressions of a deeper natural order.
Contact
SAYRIDGE MEDIA
Publisher of SAYADRI
- Olney, Maryland
- Email: info@sayridge.com
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