Comic book to tell story of India's Birdman Salim Ali

Amar Chitra Katha (ACK) will release its new title dedicated to Ali, an internationally renowned ornithologist and conservationist, the company announced. The new comic book will be released at Hornbill House, the headquarters of Bombay Natural History Society, by its present director Asad Rehmani. Ali was the president of BNHS decades ago.

"His work as a scientist, teacher and writer introduced millions of Indians to the joys of the natural," ACK said.

Born in Mumbai in 1896, Ali was attracted to nature as a hobby since Mumbai was full of lush greenery and wildlife in those days.

However, being a naturalist was not a job and Ali could not find any proper employment in Mumbai, so he decided to invent his own work. He became a surveyor for Indian birds, after getting his initial training from two top BNHS officials, W.S. Millard and N.B. Kinnear.

Armed with a pair of binoculars, he travelled all over the country, painstakingly observing and listening to the birds in each region, whether deserts, rain-forests, thorny scrub, wetlands or mountains.

This provided him with rich material for his several books on birds, including the authoritative 12-volume "Handbook of Birds in India and Pakistan", "The Classic Book of Indian Birds," an autobiography, "The Fall of the Sparrow" and others which brought to life the rich and diverse bird life of the Indian subcontinent. Over the years, he lived or travelled extensively for his researches.

Ali, awarded Padma Bhushan in 1958 and Padma Vibhushan in 1976, was also a nominated member of Rajya Sabha.

Source: IANS