 Doubted by sanctuaries and national parks of indescribable beauty, India has a rich heritage of flora and fauna, a delight for nature lovers from all over the world. Unfortunately, rapid growth of population and indiscriminate development initiatives have caused tremendous damage to the delicate balance of our ecology. The forest cover is diminishing at a worrying rate and many rare species are in danger of becoming extinct. Added to that is the menace of poaching. Daring raids, animal chases and tackling the deadly menace poachers, bold, courageous, fearless, that is the agenda of a forest officer. All this you would imagine requires a larger-than-life persona, strong and overpowering. In fact, all it takes to be a good forest officer is quiet grit and determination. Meet Shruti Sharma. After a post-graduation in zoology, she took up teaching at the Bluebells Army Public School. I found her a very attractive personality, confident of herself, knowledgeable about life sciences, zoology and botany and flora and fauna, so we promptly appointed her and we were never disappointed. She remained and became a very good teacher and I was very disappointed when she decided to join the forest service. Even during her teaching days, Shruti interacted with a number of conservationists which fueled her determination to join the Indian Forest Service. Because the service gives you a much bigger platform to work on, to work on wildlife, on flora, on forestry, community development associated activities and that gives you much more freedom to look at the issues involved in forestry and implement the national policy. Shruti completed her training at the Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy and later at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, India's premier institutes. After her training, she was allotted the state of Rajasthan, Kader and in 1989 joined Bharatpur as the assistant conservator of forests. Later, Shruti did her further training at the Wildlife Institute and was given the posting of the Sanctuary Director of Keoladeo National Park, a World Heritage Site. She had to tackle seasoned criminals who so far had a free hand in poaching. Shruti was one of the first officers to actually visit neighboring villages to understand their socio-economic needs and evolve solutions along with their cooperation. She devised schemes like the biogas plants and giving villagers identity cards to legally cut grass from certain areas of the forest, thus resulting in reduced animosity and subsequently reducing poaching. During her tenure, Shruti's contributions at making it more tourist-friendly won her the national award for the best maintained park. The revenue generated is used for the upkeep of the park and the welfare of its animals. Shruti should now contribute at a more policy-making level because she has seen what is happening on the ground and she is the right person. Shruti is the kind of person who should be put right on top and go on Shruti and get on with it. Shruti Shama is one such woman who has turned challenges into stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks. She has set an example for other ambitious and motivated women and men who have a genuine concern for our environment.