The Boy Who Loved Birds : Salim Ali
by Lavanya Karthik
“The Boy Who Loved Birds : Salim Ali” by Lavanya Karthik. Published by Duckbill. A delightful short biography of renowned ornithologist Dr.Salim Ali from the time he was a little boy who was curious about the mysteries around him.
Long before Dr. Salim Ali became world famous, he was a little boy called Saloo who was armed with an air gun in one hand and a mystery in the other. For him a bird was a target for sport or a morsel to savour or a pet at most. There was nothing complicated about birds. He had presumed them to be simple creatures. But an unforeseen incident was to change his whole perspective and life therefore.
One day he shot a bird which looked like a puzzle to him. It set a burning question which consumed his mind and heart. He couldn’t identify it. His uncle Amir told him to make a journey to the other end of Bombay where he could hope to solve this mystery. The Bombay Natural History Society it was to be! Would he dare to make that journey? What was he going to find there? Would someone have an answer for the puzzle in his hand? Would that change his thinking about birds? How did he end up becoming a foremost authority on ornithology in India? Read the delightful book to unravel the mystery of how the “Birdman of India” came to be.
My eight year old son and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. It was amazing for both of us to know the story of how Salim Ali was drawn into the world of birds. We had already read about Salim Ali in the book “Salim Mamoo and Me” written by his niece Zai Whitaker about her childhood with him. So he was familiar with him. This was a fresh perspective on another part of his life which was appreciated well therefore. When I showed him the guide on Indian birds authored by Dr.Salim Ali, my son was very excited and keen to go through it.
The birdwatcher in me was very excited when I heard about this book first. And the book lived well beyond our expectations! The illustrations are charming and inspired by the miniature art of the Mughal era as Dr. Salim Ali loved the depiction of animals and birds in particular in it. This book is part of the “Dreamers Series” from Duckbill. We have enjoyed reading some of the other books from this series such as the ones on Teejan Bai , Satyajit Ray and R.K.Narayan & R.K.Laxman.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for children aged 6 and above.
Reasons to Read
For an amazing story of how the “Birdman of India” came to be.
The story will make the children want to know more about birds and might get them to start looking out for them :)
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!