FOR THE LOVE OF BIRDS

ASAD RAHMANI'S MEMOIR, LIVING WITH BIRDS, CEMENTS HIS REPUTATION AS INDIA'S GREATEST LIVING ORNITHOLOGIST

- Bijoy Venugopal

THE CENTREPIECE OF THE BOOK IS RAHMANI'S EXPERIENCE WITH CONSERVING THE GREAT INDIAN BUSTARD

LIVING WITH BIRDS

by Asad Rahmani

JUGGERNAUT

₹599; 368 pages

Unlike his famous predecessor Sálim Ali, Asad Rahmani is not a household name. He does not have a Wikipedia page. And, perhaps because he is not on Instagram, the younger generation may be unaware of his immense body of work. Yet, most conservationists acknowledge Rahmani as the country’s greatest living ornithologist. His memoir, long overdue, has finally appeared in print.

That it did is fortuitous, not least because the senior conservationist is in his seventies and well-placed to reflect on an illustrious career. In October 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, he had a brush with death.

His book’s title, then, is apt.