Pradip Krishen

OT The last place you visited
Pradip Krishen I&rsquove just returned from Garhwal. It was a 7-8 day trip and I spent most of my time travelling between Mussoorie and Rishikesh.

OT Work or pleasure
Pradip Krishen Both. I want to set up a botanical garden and am currently on the lookout for an appropriate location.

OT Is your travelling connected with your interest in botany
Pradip Krishen Yes, it is. The kind of location I require for this garden needs to be around 6,000ft high, so I travel quite a bit to the mountains in the north. What I&rsquom looking for is a natural oak forest that is controlled by a village community or a van panchayat, rather than by the government. The people living in the area must have a personal stake in caring for the garden, arranging guided tours and so on.

OT Besides mountains
Pradip Krishen The rainforests of South India. The Mukurthi National Park is a beautiful place &mdash the area is an elevated plateau and it&rsquos located in the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu, around 50km from Ooty.

OT Is most of your traveling in India
Pradip Krishen Yes.

OT Keen to visit
Pradip Krishen I&rsquom very keen on the Northeast &mdash I would love to see the flora there &mdash but it&rsquos such a large area and the trip will have to be properly planned. Also, there are parts of Orissa that I&rsquom interested in visiting.

OT Next trip
Pradip Krishen I&rsquom leaving for Kumaon in a few days &mdash again, it&rsquos in connection with location-scouting.

OT Are you a mountain person or a beach person
Pradip Krishen Oh, a mountain person, no question