There are short pauses of silence between Aneesha’s words. Like a true academic, she gathers her thoughts before answering a question. As we talk, Aneesha Ani Benedict is at work at the NGO – Friends of Marine Life (FML) – in Thiruvananthapuram, where she volunteers. She finds the time to talk. Of going to London to present the biodiversity-related knowledge collected from traditional fishermen in Thiruvananthapuram. Of coming back home to the capital city and waiting to present that to the children there. And of learning scuba diving. All of it coming from her interest in marine biodiversity.
“I come from a fisherman’s family in Valiyathura, Thiruvananthapuram, and got interested in marine biodiversity after I joined FML about five years ago,” Aneesha says. That led her to pursue her masters in marine biology at the Pondicherry University in Andaman & Nicobar. It was in the second year of her MSc that she was chosen to go to London on the Darwin scholarship offered by the Field Studies Council, an educational charity based in the UK. “They give a theme every year and after receiving the applications, choose 25 people from around the world for the scholarship programme,” she says. In 2016, the topic was biodiversity and Aneesha applied for it. “Four of us got selected from India,” she says.
It was a two-week training course on biodiversity-related subjects, with classes taken by eminent scientists. “We were also given field work experience,” Aneesha says. And one day, the selected candidates got to present their topics. She is going to present it again now at the Government L.P. School in Thycaud, through Malayalam Pallikoodam, a project to revive the old-fashioned method of teaching Malayalam. For each and every one of her achievements, Aneesha mentions FML, the NGO that seems to have brought her new aims in life.
“We are focusing on marine sea bed ecosystem studies. Most of the work of FML is to give the public awareness on marine-related subjects and for ocean literacy. We conduct exhibitions of underwater visuals or other such events to pass on the knowledge we gain,” she says. At Andaman, Aneesha also went through scuba diving training, and got a licence for 40 metres. All of this, to help her work. She is now preparing to do a PhD, again on a marine-related subject.
