What do a retired banker, an electrical engineer, a specialist in emergency medicine and a teacher of sociology have in common? They are birds of the same feather, bonded by a passion for nature.
For all of them, nature is full of wonder and inspires them to spend time to closely scrutinise their surroundings. The result of several years of their efforts will be on show at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery, where a photo exhibition of birds of Kerala and the Western Ghats begins on Saturday.
Sangeetha Balakrishnan, an electrical engineer, says she was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were about 50 species of birds around her home in Malappuram, where she developed her fervour for birding.
Sabarish B. Nair, a specialist in emergency medicine and critical care at a hospital in the city, says his tryst with birds and nature began with a friend who took him along on birding trips. The hobby grew on him, prompting him to spend time watching birds and taking their pictures.
“Nature never disappoints you”, he says about the surprises that have been thrown up during the last six years of his birding life. He recalls that a picture he took casually a few years ago turned out to be a rare sighting of an Egyptian vulture. The bird has not been sighted since, he says, remembering how he grew curious about crows chasing a bird he did not identify but took the picture of.
K.G. Dilip, who teaches Sociology at the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, says he was drawn to birding by Kerala’s pioneering birder and environmentalist K.K. Neelakantan alias Induchoodan.
K.K. Sudhakaran, an electrical engineer, says his hobby went back several years during which he has identified several species of birds that are regular visitors. He regularly captures them through videos.
