The Last Flight of Goa's Birdman (Times of India 1/8/2015)

[V M]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/The-Last-Flight-of-Goas-Birdman/articleshow/48302553.cms


Indian wildlife lost a most passionate and effective advocate earlier
this week, when Carl D'Silva breathed his last. It is a big loss for
the entire country, but particularly felt in Goa, where D'Silva
quietly mentored an entire generation of fervent birdwatchers and
self-taught naturalists. All the while, he continued his extraordinary
work as one of the premier wildlife artists of the world, an important
field where he was unchallenged in India.

Carl D'Silva was a living link to the toweringly great naturalists of
the 20th century, particularly Salim Ali (whose name was given to the
Chorao bird sanctuary - perhaps now it can now be changed to honour
his Goan colleague). Like his mentor, D'Silva was a complete, expert
naturalist - he trapped and banded specimens, nursed sick birds and
animals by hand, took meticulously detailed notes about his
observations, drew and painted birds and animals with an eye to highly
specific scientific detail. When Salim Ali's classic 'Book of Indian
Birds' was re-issued for the ornithologist's birth centenary in 2002,
it was Carl D'Silva who re-did the illustrations.

Born in Caranzalem, raised in Mumbai, D'Silva attended the JJ School
of Art. Soon after graduation, he joined the storied Bombay Natural
History Society as its staff artist. Now he spent time traveling
across India on ecological expeditions, learning all the aspects of
field studies from the finest exponents from around the world. By the
1990's, D'Silva was internationally renowned for his ultra-realistic,
wonderfully detailed drawings and paintings of Indian birds. He was
the first (and still the only) Indian selected by the UK-based
Wildlife Art Consortium, and his work began to be collected in Europe.

Just like D'Silva's artworks will live on in the guidebooks used by
countless birders, he also had a profound effect on future generations
of wildlife (especially bird) enthusiasts in Goa. He had something of
a 'rara avis' aspect to his presence - like Salim Ali he was an
impossibly slight man, with a beak-like nose. He slipped unobtrusively
through life, as also the wild, seeing everything but making no fuss,
then pouncing hard where he thought he could make a difference. In his
home state, he did manage to have an immense impact.

Parag Rangnekar is one of the younger Goans for whom D'Silva's
constant presence meant everything. He says, "Carl was the first State
Co-ordinator for the Indian Bird Conservation Network for the State
and also one of the founders of the Goa Bird Conservation Network in
2002-03. He motivated and pushed us youngsters to drive this
initiative, the results of which we are seeing today in the form of a
vibrant community of over 1000 members. He was the patriarch to whom
we would go to for advice."

According to Rangnekar, "His artwork spoke to you. It was not only a
bird that he painted but its perch, habitat, and behavior. Most of his
artwork was inspired from real life experiences, which he was fond of
narrating. Each of his artwork had a story behind it. He was an artist
who had seen, observed, touched, felt, experienced his subject and all
of that reflected in his artwork. I hope the future generation gets to
see his work and get inspired."

D'Silva was always ready to attest that Goa is a very special place
for birdwatchers - a tiny state that nonetheless features an
extraordinary biodiversity complex extending from the thick jungles of
the Western Ghats through riparian backwaters to the Arabian Sea. As
Rahul Alvares points out in his excellent 'Birds of Goa' (a
collaboration with Heinz Lanier), "you could travel from one side to
the other side of Goa in less than two hours by car, yet it has a bird
list of more than 470 species. Compare that with all of Australia,
which has about 800 species!"

A few years ago, this writer clambered a hillside, following ungainly
in Carl D'Silva's nimble footsteps, shadowed by Parag Rangnekar, who
kept falling to his knees to photograph butterflies (a fine guide to
the Butterflies of Goa resulted). Then the vista we sought opened up,
with hundreds of migratory ducks from Iran and other parts of Central
Asia feeding busily on a lake, right in the middle of Tiswadi. The
great birdman of Goa kept his eyes owlishly glued to his binoculars.
He was counting. Then he raised those eyes in disappointment - there
were less than the previous year. Perhaps it is best Carl D'Silva will
not be here to witness the continued decline of his beloved
environment.

[augusto pinto]

I didn't know anything about Carl D'Silva before this. That's a fine obituary, V.M.

Augusto'

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Goa Book Club" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to goa-book-clu...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[V M]

Thank you, Augusto. Carl D'Silva's was a powerful and comforting
presence that will be sorely missed.

VM

--
#2, Second Floor, Navelkar Trade Centre, Panjim, Goa
Cellphone 9326140754 Office (0832) 242 0785

[Basil Sylvester Pinto]

I had the pleasure of a freewheeling interview with the genial birder and wildlife artiste a couple of years earlier at Gallery Gitanjali, talking of which Clarice has her exhibit there starting late this evening.

Basil

[FM N]

Thank you, Vivek. Yes, Carl D'Silva will be missed. He possibly
captured in watercolours some bird moods no camera did.
Fatima

[antonio CABA]

So another great Goan passes through life! Are we becoming poorer or will others take their

place?

RC