Footnotes on Salim Ali

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Salim Ali was, in many ways,  more than unique - probably the only celebrated ornithologist from India, and one of those rare men of science who can claim both fame and influence on a larger, non-scientific community. For someone who chose a very, very rare profession for his time and kept it to its simplest form, he succeeded beyond probably his own expectations, and definitely beyond everybody else's. Among other things, the basic fact that comes out of a more-than-casual look at his life tells us that he was, above all, a man of science - and a field ornithologist who tried to make wildlife conservation a pragmatic activity rather than a sentimental one.

When one reads his autobiography, The Fall of a Sparrow, the struggles one sees from a young Salim to become what he was best at are illustrative: A serious lack of opportunity and enthusiasm in offical circles, lack of field enthusiasts and horrid travel arrangements, and a general lack of information about Indian birds during his early times. These illustrate the career of a man who shaped, and made a past-time to a profession for many in his country, rather than a mere practitioner.

A few side-notes in his memoirs actually help us understand his choice of career and life - it was definitely a love for birds, but more than that. He displays an innate dashing nature,  recalling a lifelong love for Shikar and Motorcycles. A free will with a distinct unwillingness to bow to any hypocrisy comes across, many times about the British (not least his frank appraisal of British toilet facilities at their annual derby race in London) and at one point on French arrogance. Nor does Dr. Ali come across as someone without a knowledge of his achievements - in fact, he gives a fairly exhaustive list of awards and accolades he got from various sources, both scientific and political, as encouragement to folks interested in birdwatching. But behind all this, he gives ample evidence of dedicated hard work into the study of birds. A lot of his work went into Bombay Natural History Society, or BNHS, which continues to publish a lot of his books.
   
Salim Ali's one of many gifts was his writing - simple, clear and arresting. This effective writings is what made his books so famous - they were not just records of birds, but highly readable ones. I have had occasion to refer to the famed The Book of Indian Birds, and have never been disappointed by his writing.

Interestingly, almost never does he record any sort of complaint about financial hardship or personal disappointments despite losing his parents very early, and his wife in his middle age. Tyabjis - Salim Ali's family - largely come out as a generally affluent family, and his wife Tehmina as more than a mere enthusiast in nature. The love and support he received from his family throughout his long life is one of the evocative and touching silver lines of his autobiography.