chandigarh the indian hedgehog has virtually disappeared from the malwa region of southwest punjab and its loss attracts much lesser attention than the house sparrows ebbing fortunes the great indian bustard numbers less than onetenth of the population of the glamorous species the tiger her sensibilities irked by the obsession of indians with megafaunal species such as tigers lions elephants and rhinos city girl rabani bhagat set out to paint birds in delicate hues in the miniature tradition anchored firmly in the aspiration that through her art i hope to show people what they are missing and hopefully instil a feeling of wonder and awebhagats wellreceived exhibition the world of birds at a cafe here is a blend of strikingly beautiful birds and poignant depictions in water colour of such vanishing feathers as bustards and the abyssinian ground hornbill bucking the trend of the city beautiful brimming with admirers but not buyers of art works of nonestablished artists bhagat has sold five of her bird paintings on display her viewers and buyers are a niche of hobby birders photographers and ornithologists booted rackettail hummingbirda graduate from the national institute of fashion technology bhagat developed her own style of miniature painting in august 2016 she debuted at the egg art studio in new delhi with landscape miniatures followed by an exhibition of endangered birds of india in november 2016 as a child she wanted to marry the rainforests i was interested in the world of birds and animals since my childhood in chandigarh and the initial exposure came through tv channels such as national geographic i first painted the 12 species of indian kingfishers and turned to hummingbirds because it is a challenge to capture in detail their resplendent glistening colours i paint birds in the hope of spreading awareness and sharing the beauty that goes unseen many species of birds are endangered and we dont even know they exist bhagat told the toione of her inspirations was just outside her window it was the stunning purple sunbird that nests in backyards of chandigarh homes her mothers house in sector 43 hosts a sunbird family often mistaken for hummingbirds due to the males gorgeous breeding colours and propensity to hover around flowers bhagat painted a series of exquisite hummingbirds native to the americas though she is aware that indian sunbirds are a fair match for hummingbirds in terms of avian aesthetics that charm the human eye a sensitive portrait of the criticallyendangered redheaded vulture underlines the birds status it is seen very rarely in tricity region and one authentic photographic record came from siswan dam in april 2013