What happens when a practising physician who is a lover of rare books and a protector of trees meets a world-renowned marine biologist and zoological taxonomist? The latter has authored 12 books and over 100 scientific papers, and is one of only two Indians honoured with a portrait in the Gallery of Carcinologists in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington.The synergy between them results in a series of outstanding publications compiled from the vintage paintings, books, magazines and journals in the collection of the Bombay Natural History Society, some of which are 200 years old.
Exciting find
In the first volume, issued in memory of Dr. Salim Ali, the focus was, fittingly, on birds; while the next was dedicated to the Indian cheetah, now extinct. This one, the third, is chiefly about plants, particularly Himalayan ones, and owes its existence to an exciting discovery in the BNHS library last year: an ancient parcel wrapped in newspaper and tied with string.
Inside was a veritable treasure trove of paintings of botanical specimens dating back to the early 19th Century. Two of the artists were doctors and botanists; while the most eminent, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, was Charles Darwin's closest friend, a well-known explorer himself, and one of the founders of geographical botany.
Living Jewels... was issued in celebration of the BNHS attaining the grand old age of 125. The format follows the earlier model with full-page lithographs, paintings and sketches interspersed with tales of the hunt.
Like the tale of a shikari who is pounced upon by a wounded lion when his howdah fell apart. His heroic elephant, urged on by the mahout, pulled out a tree and pressed the lion's back, forcing it to release its hold. The man escaped with claw marks on his chest and shoulders and a broken arm.
The only story not sourced from the BNHS archive is Kipling's much-loved yarn about the Parsee and the rhinoceros. As one of this tiny and little-known community (of Parsees, not rhinos) this reviewer is delighted with the choice, particularly since Kipling modelled his protagonist on a real life character, a student in his father's art and sculpture classes.
Amateur naturalists
Many British army men, civil servants, police and railway officials were keen amateur naturalists, eager to observe and report the oddities of animal behaviour and the characteristics and medicinal properties of plants.
So we find that, though bears are herbivores, a Himalayan species is carnivorous; and that elephants, despite their ungainliness, usually move at 20 miles an hour, and when in terrified flight can attain the speed of a racehorse. Some have even been known to haul their bulk up peaks rising almost vertically from the valley floor to an altitude of 9600 feet in search of a succulent species of bamboo.
These annals turn up other surprises: for instance, tigers never eat goats, (one always thought they did); that tribals, particularly Gonds, caught monitor lizards and sold them for 12 annas each a century ago, after which they were eaten and their skins used to make drums and fiddles. In the jungles roasted termites were gourmet food items, and cockroaches and ants were freely consumed. Among poisonous plants the deadliest, the monkshood, could be used as a potent weapon of war to poison water sources and pre-empt enemy incursions.
This book, like the others in the series, is redolent of the past. With the endpapers themselves one enters a time warp. In front is a print of a painting dated 1803 of the view from Bore Ghaut coloured by the great Hogarth, no less, while beautiful Mount Abu is shown at the back. This was a pristine world in which nature was verdantly green, the hills were not denuded by tree cutting and quarrying, and the human element was a felt presence, not an intrusion. The writing, digressive and leisurely paced, permitting narrative pauses and the telling of stories within stories, enhances the old-world charm.
Vivid vignettes
Vividly drawn vignettes recreate the lifestyle of earlier times. Leech racing was a favoured clubhouse sport, with leeches placed at one end of a billiard table while their owners stood at the other end with pricked fingers oozing blood to entice them. The creatures ran the course, we are told, and were fleet-footed too!
Then there was the political agent Mr. Shore of aristocratic lineage, tall, handsome and dressed in Muslim style, the scourge of brigands and predatory animals, who kept a pair of black bears as pets. These privileged beasts wore silver collars and occupied places of honour at the breakfast table to the right and left of their master, eating out of large, wooden bowls. While one behaved impeccably, the other made an abortive attempt at stealing honey, got a thrashing at the hands of His Lordship to be, and was led away in disgrace.
The most precious of the ‘jewels' are the colour plates, with detailed, information-packed captions. That most exotic of blooms, the orchid, appears in many avatars. Among them the Tree of Heaven, spectacularly pictured here, is said to be the most beautiful tree in the world.
Since an overextended article is at risk of editorial hacking one can only list The other selling points of this splendid book: flawless editing; aesthetic design; a dream price, at least Rs. 1000 less than one would expect, thanks to the Editors and members of BNHS who have obtained sponsorship for each reproduction; and a very special bonus, a bookmark dangling at the end of a festive red ribbon, showing a Paradise-flycatcher regally crested, its plumage gleaming black and white and deep crimson, its tail feathers cascading like a bridal train. Which brings me to my pet grouse: why are we humans born into this world so abjectly plain, so unadorned?
Just as I sign off, suddenly, serendipitously, the voice of Kailash Kher comes lilting in through the open window, filling my small room. “Diamonds and pearls I do not want,” he warbles soulfully. Of course not! Neither do we! Who in their right senses would hanker after dead stones when one can buy these Living Jewels?
Living Jewels from the Indian Jungle;Edited by Ashok S. Kothari and Boman F. Chhapgar, Bombay Natural History Society and Oxford University Press, Rs. 1600.
