Jane Alexander, Kamal Bawa, and Sandesh Kadur

“The last word in ignorance is the man who says of an animal or plant, ‘What good is it?’” —Aldo Leopold
Actress and conservationist Jane Alexander joins the authors (Kamal Bawa and Sandesh Kadur) of a remarkable new book on the wildlife of the Eastern Himalayas to explore how our ignorance and sometimes indifference is creating change in the life and landscapes of the region, which are as diverse, spectacular, and fragile as the mountains themselves. Even today these mountains hold many mysteries: unnamed species, primeval cultures, and the promise of cures to heal humanity.
A book signing follows the program.
Includes an optional gallery tour at 6:15 p.m.

About the Speakers

Jane Alexander is an actress, a writer and a conservationist. She chaired the National Endowment for the Arts under President Clinton from 1993-97. Her chronicle of those turbulent years, Command Performance, An Actress in the Theatre of Politics, was a New York Times Notable Book. Janehas performed in many Broadway plays, and regional theatres nationwide. She won a Tony for The Great White Hope and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1994. Her film career includes four Academy Award nominations for the films The Great White Hope, All The President’s Men, Kramer vs. Kramer and Testament. And her career in television includes playing Eleanor Roosevelt, Calamity Jane, Georgia O’Keeffe, Hedda Hopper and Alma Rose in the Emmy Award winning Playing for Time. Jane’s most challenging role is as Global Wildlife Ambassador, an award given her by the Indianapolis Prize in 2012. A dedicated conservationist, Jane was a Trustee of the Wildlife Conservation Society, and a founding board member of the American Bird Conservancy. She currently sits on the boards of the Audubon Society, the American Birding Association and is a Park Commissioner for the Taconic Region of New York State.
Kamal Bawa is Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Founder-President of the Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE). His quest to understand biodiversity and peoples’ interactions with nature has taken him from the Himalayas to the lowland tropical forests of Central America and back again. His work has produced more than 190 scientific papers and 10 authored or edited books and monographs. He has been the recipient of many international awards, including various fellowships from Harvard University, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and being named a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment. He is also an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Himalaya: Mountains of Life is Kamal’s second book with Sandesh Kadur, a sequel to Sahyadris: India’s Western Ghats. These books, blending imagery with description, represent Bawa’s desire to share his passion for natural places and living things.

Sandesh Kadur is an award-winning wildlife photographer and cinematographer with a passion for natural history. His photographs have been published widely in books and magazines, while his documentaries on subjects ranging from cobras to elephants have been aired worldwide on the BBC, Discovery, and National Geographic networks. Over the years Kadur’s work has garnered many top awards, including the CIWEM Environmental Photographer Award, Nature’s Best Award, BBC Camera-trap Award, and International Conservation Photographer Award, and has twice been nominated for a Green Oscar at Wildscreen. He is an associate fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) and the International Environmental Photographers Association (IEPA), and serves as board member for the International Association of Wildlife Filmmakers. A few years ago he founded Felis Creations, a media and visual arts company that focuses on creating content that inspires conservation.