“When I was a child, every highway journey meant stopping at a petrol pump to clean insects off the windscreen. There were so many of them that everyone did it. Children today will probably never know what that looked like. It’s one of the best reminders of how much we have lost,” says Sohail Madan.

For 43-year-old Sohail, that childhood memory is more than nostalgia. It reminds him of a time when butterflies, moths, bees and birds were such an ordinary part of daily life that nobody imagined they could disappear.

Today, as founder and director of WildTales Foundation, Sohail has spent over 15 years helping bring nature back to forests, neighbourhoods and school campuses. His work has ranged from restoring damaged landscapes and growing native plants to creating butterfly corridors across Delhi.

Ask him where conservation begins, and his answer is surprisingly simple.

“People think conservation only happens inside forests or wildlife sanctuaries. But every balcony, every terrace and every backyard can become part of the solution.”

His words come at a time when scientists are warning that wildlife around us is quietly disappearing.

The State of India's Birds 2023 report found that nearly half the bird species assessed are showing long-term declines, with around 178 species now considered to be of conservation concern. Around the world, studies have also documented sharp declines in insect populations, driven largely by habitat loss and excessive chemical use.

For Sohail, however, this isn't just about numbers in a report. It is something he has witnessed first-hand.

Many people remember childhood afternoons chasing butterflies through gardens, waking up to birdsong or watching moths gather around porch lights after the first summer rain. Today, those everyday sights have become noticeably rarer.

Rather than simply worrying about the loss, Sohail decided to do something about it.

A childhood fascination that became a calling

Long before he began restoring habitats, nature had already shaped his life.

Born in Africa, where his parents worked as doctors, Sohail spent his early years surrounded by wildlife. Even after the family moved to Delhi, weekends outdoors and visits to nearby forests kept that fascination alive.

Like many young Indians, however, he chose a very different career path.

Engineering took him to San Jose State University in California, followed by a promising career in Silicon Valley.

On paper, everything looked perfect.

Yet something never quite felt right.

"I realised that I did not want to spend my whole life coding behind a computer. I wanted to be out in the field," he tells The Better India.

The turning point came during a visit to a self-sustaining farm in Santa Cruz.

Instead of being impressed by technology, he found himself drawn to simple outdoor work.

"I remember working around the chicken coop and realising how much I enjoyed being outdoors, getting my hands into the work and being close to nature," he says with a laugh.

Watching children explore the farm made the decision even clearer.

"I could see myself in those children. They were fascinated by mud, insects and plants. I realised I wanted a life that kept me connected to the outdoors rather than one spent creating hardware."

Soon afterwards, he left engineering behind.

In 2010, Sohail joined the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), India's oldest natural history organisation. Over the next 13 years, he worked on conservation projects across the country, eventually becoming Assistant Director.

In April 2023, he founded WildTales Foundation to continue that work.

"People ask what motivated me to dedicate my life to conservation," he says. "For me, it never felt like a sacrifice. This is what I enjoy doing."

The forest that changed everything

One place transformed........

© The Better India