Iritty: Once the court is adjourned, Savitha, a practising lawyer, heads to the Aralam Butterfly Sanctuary with her camera to capture the enchanting beauty of butterflies. As they flutter gracefully, she transforms their charm into photographs that adorn walls and are showcased in exhibitions.

Savitha Sahadevan of the Kannur court is passionately introducing the world to the magic of butterflies. Every photograph featured in the exhibition, organised by the Aralam Wildlife Division and the Malabar Awareness and Rescue Centre for Wildlife Conservation (MARC) in Iritty town as part of Forest-Wildlife Week celebrations, is from Savitha’s personal collection. The exhibition will conclude on October 8. Her office on Yogasala Road is also adorned with numerous butterfly photographs.

She has captured 4,000 photographs of 266 butterfly species found in the Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary. More than simply taking pictures, she has archived them with detailed information including species names and scientific classifications. All these photographs were taken after her court duties, often by chasing butterflies through the sanctuary.

Savitha began by photographing butterflies around her home and the surrounding campus in Parassinikkadavu. She learned more about butterflies and started following them after joining experts for the Aralam butterfly survey. Her husband, Sahadevan, is an RBM at a pharmaceutical company. They have two children, Sidharth and Pranav S Dev.