Kovai photographer enters record books for clicking 67 forms of a butterfly species

When Darshan M Trivedi, a government employee from Coimbatore, developed a keen interest in photography, he never imagined in his wildest dream that he would one day hold a record for clicking the maximum number of patterns of a species of butterfly. He has a collection of over 7,000 pictures of butterflies, and also a name in the India Book of Records for capturing 67 different forms of a single butterfly species.
Darshan, who moved to Coimbatore from Gujarat in 2013 for professional reasons, was inspired by the natural surroundings of the city to take up photography. He purchased a digital camera and pursued his hobby over the weekends.
He says, “I used to visit the botanical garden at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University every Sunday for two years, where I would spot butterflies, dragonflies and birds in abundance. I met the head of The Nature and Butterfly Society (TNBS) and also got to know a bunch of people from the Coimbatore Nature Society (CNS). We had common interests and I started joining them on their nature trails. I became a member of the groups, too; we also support the forest department in keeping bird and butterfly census.”
His butterfly walks would begin at 5am every Sunday and end by noon. “While I used to click all the species, the Common Evening Brown caught my fancy. A few species of butterflies have two forms — wet season form and dry season form. They change their pigmentation during different seasons. The wet season form of Common Evening Brown is common throughout India, but the dry season form depends on a lot of factors, including humidity and the surrounding environment. The colour pattern on the wings will be completely different during the dry season, and it’s called morphology. It also changes its form when it lays eggs, and it actually requires deep research to understand this phenomenon. I didn’t realise I had clicked so many patterns of the species until this February,” he recalls.
When Darshan found out that he had over 50 different pattern designs and colours of the same butterfly, he decided to apply at India Book of Records. “In total, I had 67 different forms of the same species. So, I first showed my collection to the members of TNBS and CNS, who were intrigued. I then submitted my record to the India Book of Records. The officials asked for a recommendation from an environmental organisation and also asked me to provide them with the date and time when I clicked these pictures. In April, they confirmed that nobody in India has clicked these many forms of Common Evening Brown in the country. I received my certificate and medal in July,” he beams.