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The autobiography of the
Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan Salim Ali, the internationally acclaimed
ornithologist of Indian subcontinent, titled The Fall of a Sparrow
was originally published in 1985. Now, Oxford University Press has come
up with its abridged version, The Illustrated Salim Ali, as one
of its illustrated collection series for young readers. The other titles
in this series are on Tagore, Premchand and Corbett. The book is a detailed account of about 85 years of Salim Ali’s life spanning from 1897 onwards including his childhood, education, jobs, marriage and later his scientific expeditions to different virgin zones of India and the world. In the process, it also becomes a chronicle of the changing times that India has gone through. From the time when hunting was the favorite pastime of the royalty to today’s crisis in the wildlife population, much has changed and yet much remains to be changed. One is amazed by the amount of hard toil that Salim Ali has done for extending the boundaries of knowledge in this realm of science where few dare to venture, survive and specialise. Pitiable conditions of pre-independent India, rudimentary roads, no civil security, inadequate transport, lack of communication system, crude gadgets and obsolete devices were no hindrances for him. It is a precious lesson for young people who have all the facilities at the click of a button yet rue their conditions. Not to miss are his honest inclusions of comments about himself by his colleague Colonel Meinertzhagen, a British ornithologist: "I am disappointed in Salim. He is quite useless at anything but collecting" and "He seemed intelligent, but hideously ugly, not unlike Gandhi". The autobiography also dispels the notion that Salim Ali adored birds because his interest in birds was more of a scientific nature rather than of an emotional kind. But it is true that he has intermingled his passion and vocation into a mission, and led a whole generation to the joys of bird watching. Youngsters may stumble here and there over sentences such as "His wife was a dreaded termagant... or "Doomsayers had prognosticated that none of us would come back alive.... Yet, it is not for the literary style that one should pick up this book but to get inspired from a life spent unselfishly for a single cause and to get overwhelmed about the nature’s rich diversity of life forms. The book is attractively
packaged. Its eight colour plates featuring about 70 important birds of
India, several drawings done by professionals in the field and rare
photographs dotting the pages are a great visual treat and greatly
enhance aesthetic value of the book. The illustration of Ceylon Lorikeet
embossed in bright colours on the front cover is an instant attraction
for the reader.
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