Jul 28, 2008 10:25 AM
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Last week, while browsing at our local library(Indian Institute of World Culture, Bangalore), I happened to notice this book lying in the just returned pile. Since, I had restarted my amateur birding activity last year and Indian birding=Salim Ali, I naturally borrowed it to know more about this famous Ornithologist whose name is on every birders lips.
The book is an autobiography written towards the end of Salim Ali's life and published in 1985 just 2 yrs before his death in 1987 at the age of 91. So, it truly covers all his life from the authors point of view. It is quite easy reading and I did not feel bored or required to "skim" pages as I do sometimes when I read such non-fiction books.
If one expects this book to cover more on Salim Ali in the field, how he used to observe birds, his emotions when studying their habitats, etc, they will be disappointed. Though he has several passages along those lines, I found that the book tends to stay more on Salim Ali's career, logistics of his surveys, his interaction with family and friends, his opinion of them and how they influenced him as I suppose a true autobiography should be.
He was a man who got along very well with all people he had to interact with and thrived upon their friendship and benevolence. From his narration it is clear he enjoyed intellectual company and respected humble and straightforward people. In that he has been lucky to have had contact and sometimes close relationship with such eminent people as Sarojini Naidu, Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru, Loke Wan Tho(on whom he dedicates a full chapter), most renowned naturalists worldwide during his time. He shows that he was able to work as equal with British officers in spite of the class and community difference before independence. He has also shown ability to work and be friends with the royal families holding power in the various princely states to advance his Birding work in spite of them not being what you may say are his ideal persons. He himself confesses that to keep his friendship on both sides of the Indian political fence before 1947, he had to be careful to not get too involved in the freedom movement at that time. It was a pragmatic position without which he could not have achieved what he did.
The book starts with his early childhood days, his initiation into birding(when trying to ID a sparrow he had shot which gives the book its title) and then mostly goes over his various birding survey camps. We get an idea of how much of work is required to plan, execute and report on them. His wife Tehmina accompanied him until her death in 1939. Stories about the difficulties of camping life on these surveys are illuminating to those of us who have never done such activities, including me. He was a willing learner from his mentors on field surveys and ornithology as is evident in the correspondence with them that is shared in the book. He relates interesting observations of people behavior and anecdotes from all those trips which is what keeps the story flowing and easy to read.
Overall, for me, this book gave an insight into a person capable of such focused dedication in the pursuit of his goal. I came away thinking, that truly, people are not born with greatness but they are made so with hard work, perseverance and determination. Yes, as Salim Ali says in his book, we are all dealt some "genetic" cards at our birth but how we play them is entirely left to us. Salim Ali played his exceedingly well and achieved what is arguably the maximum possible rewards in his field!
Check the wikipedia entry for more information about Salim Ali and his other publications.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salim_Ali_(ornithologist)
