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For birds Dr. Salim Ali

To his students and junior colleagues who affectionately referred to him as ‘the old man’, he was excellence personified.

Destiny selected him for this job of exploring the world of winged beauties. His keen observation skills and meticulous recording of the facts made him a path breaker in his field. His studies on weaver birds and the sun birds revealed the fascinating world of birds and their intriguing ecology to the world with clinical precision.

Salim Ali’s love of Nature started early. He says: “As a boy I had found it far pleasanter to be chasing birds in pleasant places than doing ridiculous sums in elementary mensuration in the classroom. Since then I have watched birds through half a century and more, chiefly for the pleasure and elation of the spirit they have afforded.”

Despite his dislike for classroom studies, in the field, he was categorical, methodical and explicit. Even now, his Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan is the Bible of any ornithologist. Starting as a 10-year-old bird shikari, Salim Ali’s fascination for birds evolved into passionate conservation.

In the era of liberation of natural resources from the clutches of the all-powerful-rulers, wildlife including the birdlife faced unprecedented decline. Specific habitats of specialised birds and animals vanished at an alarming rate. Resources were plundered and at that time no one anticipated the consequent natural disasters.

Birds as indicators of these changes continued to give signals. But it was apparent only to those who watched them seriously. This was not an easy task. But, Salim Ali emerged as the leader in that art.

Fortunately, he got the support of his family and close friends to devote himself fully to the job. His observations on the bird-life of the Indian subcontinent through his books have already inspired two generations of conservationists.

Thanks to Salim Ali’s effort, more people started to realize the importance of bird life. His work gave rise to environmentalism in various forms and colours.

Four years after his death, one of his dreams came true - a centre to study nature primarily through birds, The Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology & Natural History (SACON), an autonomous centre and centre of excellence, was initiated by BNHS and Ministry of Environment, Government of India. SACON is carrying forward his legacy through a variety of research programmes, nature education programmes, environmental impact assessments and so on.

SACON has field stations all over India. At present, it has studies in Sikkim, Rajastan, Andaman & Nicobar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland. It has a well established laboratory to analyse the environmental quality of water, air etc and for eco-toxicological analysis.

Many schools, colleges and NGOs work closely with SACON in furthering nature awareness and environmental education. The Children’s Ecology Congress is a special annual event which is unique to SACON.

SACON has created hundreds of young bird watchers and nature lovers in the schools in Coimbatore. This year, the nature education of SACON will be extended to the Andaman Nicobar Islands. Today on the 111th Birth anniversary of Dr. Salim Ali, his concerns have assumed great importance.

Conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources have became a necessity. The need for environmental education has become mandatory. SACON marches forward to fulfil the dream of Dr. Salim Ali – The man of Birds.

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