Zafar Futehally

Conservationist, Ornithologist, Writer

Born: 19th March 1920, Mumbai

Died: 11th August 2013, Kihim

Birds, trees, lakes and conservation go together. Zafar Futehally was a keen patron of lakes. While resident in Bangalore, he used to visit many of the city's lakes, to see the birds.

He first visited the rejuvenated Puttenahalli Lake in JP Nagar 7th Phase, Bangalore, on 7th Jan 2012. My fellow PNLIT Trustee Usha Rajagopalan got him to sign for me, on the Flora & Fauna Sighting Booklet that we'd made for the lake. Mr Futehally visited the lake a few times again and was in regular touch with Usha. He had given us several suggestions on how we can make the lake environs attractive for Bangalore's birds. Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to meet Mr Futehally, but through the interactions that PNLIT had with him, I feel like I did.

Read a fond obituary by one of Bangalore's bird watchers, Deepa Mohan here.

Bangalore, 7th Jan 2012

Zafar Futehally, 2013

(Pic: Wikimedia Commons)