Surrounded by large portraits of birds and sounds of their trills, squawks and hoots, the Durbar Hall art gallery suddenly feels like a tropical forest. An exhibition of bird photographs is underway and it opens a window to the fascinating diversity of birdlife in Keralam. A soundtrack of avian symphonies adds to the effect of the photographs captured from various parts of the State. 

Organised by the Induchoodan Foundation, a bird lovers’ fraternity, the show, Parannuyarunna Malayalam, is a tribute to the life and work of KK Neelkantan, an English professor, who was also a keen naturalist and ornithologist. His seminal work Keralthile Pakshikal (Birds of Kerala) published by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi in 1958, is widely considered a pioneering work on Keralam’s bird life. Enriched by his own illustrations, the book, containing detailed descriptions of the birds, is also celebrated for its literary quality. 

Founded in his birth centenary year (2024) with writer Paul Zacharia as the chairman, the Induchoodan Foundation is a collective of bird lovers. The aim of the foundation, formed in honour of Neelakantan, is to share the visionary’s knowledge and experience with people. In two years, the Induchoodan Foundation has conducted 15 exhibitions of bird photographs across Keralam. This is the third edition of the exhibition in Kochi. 

The pictures on show have been taken by the members of the foundation, who hail from diverse backgrounds. “We have students, professionals and retired people amongst us,” says M Ramachandran, the curator, whose photographs are also part of the show. “The photographs are of birds captured across various places within Keralam.” The idea is to get younger people involved too, “so we usually invite schools and colleges to visit the show,” Ramachandran adds. 

Over 50 photographs by 26 photographers are on display across three halls of the gallery. Each photograph is accompanied by a description of the bird as it is given in Neelakantan’s book. Naturalist, filmmaker, author and wildlife photographer Suresh Elamon, who was a disciple of Neelakantan and has written a biography of his titled Pakshikalum oru Manushyanum, recalls the first time Neelakantan and he spotted the the Crab-plover from the Perumathura beach in Thiruvananthapuram. “It was a new addition to his book and I distinctly remember how happy he was that day,” adds Suresh, who has a photograph of the same species that he clicked in Kozhikode, years later. The white bird with heavy black bills, specially designed to catch and eat crabs, is rather endearingly called ‘njandunni’ (crabeater) in Malayalam. 

Each photograph on display offers something new to the viewer, a nugget of information, a story or a new perspective. “This is the Banasura Laughing Thrush,” says retired Airforce personnel Dijumon Komanthakkal from Thrissur. An avid bird photographer, he says the Banasura laughing thrush is an endangered song bird, not easy to spot. “Its population is largely confined to the Kodagu region and is the official district bird of Wayanad. Birdwatching and bird photography are serious hobbies, it involves hours of waiting in anticipation of a single sighting, it demands patience,” he adds. Dijumon’s photographs of the Malayan Night Heron and the Oriental Pratincole are also part of the show. 

The exhibition is on at Durbar Hall Art Gallery till September 27.