‘Back from The Brink’: Teen’s book asks us to join war against animal extinction

Aaditya Sengupta Dhar

Most of us are aware that many animal species around us are endangered, but how many of us realise that almost half of these species are in our cities? That's the provocative starting point of the book, Back from The Brink: Join the war against Animal Extinction, written by Mumbai teenager, Aaditya Sengupta Dhar. A keen animal lover with a passion for writing, Aaditya combined these two loves into this book, which seeks to raise awareness of the animal extinction apocalypse happening in our backyards and galvanise us into action.

Through research he did for the book, funded by a micro-grand he received from MIT SOLV[ED], the student of Ecole Mondiale World School in Mumbai, uncovered yet another astonishing insight. The fact that we don't need to be mute spectators to the issue of endangered animals, but can make a big impact through simple, everyday actions. Just turning off all the lights at home at night can save a dozen birds a year, for instance; and taking one stray animal off the streets and giving it a home can save 2600 endangered animals over two years!

Back from the Brink is full of such actions we can all take to make a difference to the ecosystem around us, and the young author has done a commendable job of combining these with real-life case studies. These case studies, ranging from the Monarch butterflies in California, to Hornbills in Arunachal Pradesh, to Versova Beach in Mumbai, bring home his contention that common people can come together and through simple, everyday steps can make a big difference to the issues plaguing animals in urban habitats.

The young author's passion for the topic is palpable, and his enthusiasm leaps out from the pages. It is refreshing to see a young person engaging on issues around him and trying to make a positive impact. The book is eminently readable, informative and should serve as a rallying cry for all of us, young and old, to do more about the environment around us. If more of us applied some of the ideas presented in the book, or simply adopted some of the civic-mindedness and positive thinking of the young author, we could indeed help create a better world.

Back From the Brink is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.in/Back-Brink-against-Animal-Extinction/dp/1636405231/