Of Indian winged beauties and a British photographer
"If you want to understand nature then it is best not to impose on it. We need to understand ourselves and that can be helped through working with nature rather than against it."
New Delhi, Mar 20: Quest for spirituality brought Amano Samarpan to India almost three decades back, but what makes him come back again and again is the country's "impressive bird life."
"India has always attracted me and still does even after seeing the more unseamly side. However, the wildlife of India is impressive particularly with the bird life that amounts to over 1300 species," says UK-based nature photographer Samarpan.
Samarpan, known earlier as Mark Tracy, took an Indian name under a spritual following.
"Indian culture is very absorbing... and the wide variety of birds from common city birds to endangered ones like Sarus and Demoiselle crane, naturally attracts a bird-watcher like me," he says.
Samarpan says photography helps him to get closer at the world of birds. "My interest in birds was there as a child but it took photography to give me that push into entering their world a little closer."
After a decade long research across the sub-continent and the neighbouring countries, Samarpan has has now come out with a book 'A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India, epal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh'.
The guide with more than one photograph of each species - to check the sexual and seasonal difference of plumage, also provides descriptions and identification hints for bird watchers. Many endangered and the common city birds are also featured in the guide.
"The details provided in the book are not entirely based on my observations but represent many years of study by ornithologists in the field. However, I have seen much of what I have written about," he says.
"By photographing birds I am creating awareness of their beauty and I see it as a way to conserve them," he adds.
How did he manage to model the winged beauties for him? "Good photography usually revolves around familiarity with one's subject. So, I select my location and position, and let the birds get used to my presence. I don't impose my self on birds but wait for the right time. Lot of people chase birds, that's not the right way to do it," he says.
"If you want to understand nature then it is best not to impose on it," he continues, "we need to understand ourselves and that can be helped through working with nature rather than against it."
Samarpan, praising the efforts of legendary ornithologist Salim Ali to help preserve bird life in India, says, "I am not sure whether I have ever met a professional ornithologist! They do exist, but not in the world of birdwatchers it seems who are mainly people who like to go out and watch birds.
"Some sound very knowledgeable but actually identifying birds, one of ornithology's jobs, is far from easy and requires quite a lot of understanding, of bird morphology for instance. Photographs do help though to give an accurate overview of a particular species."
Reminiscencing his initial tryst with Indian birds, Samarpan says, "I still remember my first day in India. Laying on a bed in Delhi trying to sleep off jet lag, i was greeted by the sound of House Sparrows outside; after a while, they could be heard inside the room and then felt them landing on my prone body, using me as one of their perches as they palyed around..."
"There are not nearly so many House Sparrows in Delhi today," he rues.
Samarpan sees urbanisation and industrialisation as the main reasons behind birds vanishing from cities like Delhi and Bangalore. He aslo finds lack of bird feeding culture in Indian cities as an other reason behind the decling number of birds.
"I don't see people feeding birds in thier gardens. In Eurpoe bird feeding is a business. I see bird feeding as a way to increase their population and so conseving the species," he says.
About the bird sancturies in India, "I would say, that India has a long way to go in developing it's National Parks and Sanctuaries to make them safe havens. Poachers and enroachment are two particular problems. "For instance, the bird sanctuary at Okhla on the Yamuna near Noida, where some birds recently died from poisoning, needs infrastructure if it is to survive. At the moment a small band of dedicated birdwatcher's are fighting to save the place but professional help is needed if it is to survive the developers and polluters. It could also be made more user friendly for birdwatchers. London has a wildlife park along the Thames river so why can’t Delhi have one along the Yamuna!?" he says.
~ GDN
New Delhi, Mar 20: Quest for spirituality brought Amano Samarpan to India almost three decades back, but what makes him come back again and again is the country's "impressive bird life."
"India has always attracted me and still does even after seeing the more unseamly side. However, the wildlife of India is impressive particularly with the bird life that amounts to over 1300 species," says UK-based nature photographer Samarpan.
Samarpan, known earlier as Mark Tracy, took an Indian name under a spritual following.
"Indian culture is very absorbing... and the wide variety of birds from common city birds to endangered ones like Sarus and Demoiselle crane, naturally attracts a bird-watcher like me," he says.
Samarpan says photography helps him to get closer at the world of birds. "My interest in birds was there as a child but it took photography to give me that push into entering their world a little closer."
After a decade long research across the sub-continent and the neighbouring countries, Samarpan has has now come out with a book 'A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India, epal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Pakistan and Bangladesh'.
The guide with more than one photograph of each species - to check the sexual and seasonal difference of plumage, also provides descriptions and identification hints for bird watchers. Many endangered and the common city birds are also featured in the guide.
"The details provided in the book are not entirely based on my observations but represent many years of study by ornithologists in the field. However, I have seen much of what I have written about," he says.
"By photographing birds I am creating awareness of their beauty and I see it as a way to conserve them," he adds.
How did he manage to model the winged beauties for him? "Good photography usually revolves around familiarity with one's subject. So, I select my location and position, and let the birds get used to my presence. I don't impose my self on birds but wait for the right time. Lot of people chase birds, that's not the right way to do it," he says.
"If you want to understand nature then it is best not to impose on it," he continues, "we need to understand ourselves and that can be helped through working with nature rather than against it."
Samarpan, praising the efforts of legendary ornithologist Salim Ali to help preserve bird life in India, says, "I am not sure whether I have ever met a professional ornithologist! They do exist, but not in the world of birdwatchers it seems who are mainly people who like to go out and watch birds.
"Some sound very knowledgeable but actually identifying birds, one of ornithology's jobs, is far from easy and requires quite a lot of understanding, of bird morphology for instance. Photographs do help though to give an accurate overview of a particular species."
Reminiscencing his initial tryst with Indian birds, Samarpan says, "I still remember my first day in India. Laying on a bed in Delhi trying to sleep off jet lag, i was greeted by the sound of House Sparrows outside; after a while, they could be heard inside the room and then felt them landing on my prone body, using me as one of their perches as they palyed around..."
"There are not nearly so many House Sparrows in Delhi today," he rues.
Samarpan sees urbanisation and industrialisation as the main reasons behind birds vanishing from cities like Delhi and Bangalore. He aslo finds lack of bird feeding culture in Indian cities as an other reason behind the decling number of birds.
"I don't see people feeding birds in thier gardens. In Eurpoe bird feeding is a business. I see bird feeding as a way to increase their population and so conseving the species," he says.
About the bird sancturies in India, "I would say, that India has a long way to go in developing it's National Parks and Sanctuaries to make them safe havens. Poachers and enroachment are two particular problems. "For instance, the bird sanctuary at Okhla on the Yamuna near Noida, where some birds recently died from poisoning, needs infrastructure if it is to survive. At the moment a small band of dedicated birdwatcher's are fighting to save the place but professional help is needed if it is to survive the developers and polluters. It could also be made more user friendly for birdwatchers. London has a wildlife park along the Thames river so why can’t Delhi have one along the Yamuna!?" he says.
~ GDN
posted by Giridhar Narayan | 00:16
2 Comments:
Hmmm, Keep it going dude. Nice articles
Thanks for dropping in Chandan.
How are u doing?
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