 Headquarters of natural history.
On September 15, 1883, six Englishmen and two Indians, inhabitants of Bombay, congregated in the Victoria and Albert Museum (now Bhau Daji Lad Museum situated in the Jijamata Udyan) to form an association titled Bombay Natural History Society.
Their purpose was simple: to form a society for the study of natural history. The procedure was equally modest: meet every month, exchange notes, exhibit interesting specimens and encourage each other.
For months, the convention persisted until Mr. Phipson (one of the eight founders) propounded the use of his office room for further proceedings. In effect, the venue was shifted to Mr. Phipson’s office at 18 Forbes Street, Fort, Bombay. The new meeting place observed encouraging attendance, avid members and specimen collections necessitating capacious accommodation. And guess what? Mr. Phipson demonstrated his munificence by shifting the Society and his office to a more suitable place at 6, Apollo Street (presently Shahid Bhagat Singh Road).
The increasing membership and expansion in the field of activities proliferated the collections, emanating the need to house them in a full-fledged museum. In 1904, Mr. Phipson was appointed to a committee organised to consider the construction of a public Museum and Library in Bombay. On August 15, 1905, at a public meeting of the citizens of Bombay, the verdict was arrived at – affirmative, indeed! A permanent memorial commemorating the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to this city was to take the form of a public museum and library. The collections were transferred in 1921, and financial aid from several benefactors contributed to the formation of a modern museum.
Ten years after independence, when BNHS was under Humayun Abdulali’s headship, the agreement between the museum and the state government concluded. The Society detached itself from the museum and set out to assume an individual identity.
Recounts J.C. Daniel in his memoir printed in the centenary journal of BNHS, “Government cut the baby in half, and gave the exhibit half to the Museum and collection half to the Society. The Society was no longer content to be small and somnolent”.
He further writes, “The break with the Museum and Phipsons was fortuitous, and the Society had become a field natural history organisation more interested in studying the live, than collecting the dead, specimens.” Realising the importance of BNHS and its labours in conserving India’s natural heritage, the creation of Hornbill House came about.
1965: Hornbill House – What’s in a name?
Hornbill House was built by the Prince of Wales Museum with a grant of Rs. 3.34 lakhs from the Ministry of Scientific Research and Cultural Affairs, Government of India, for the exclusive use of the BNHS. The edifice reached completion in 1965. Named after the Great Indian Hornbill, the idea was suggested in 1938 by the (then) Honorary Secretary. The objective was to make the magazine Journal more attractive on the tables of libraries and clubs by inscribing a coloured illustration on the cover. The Great Indian Hornbill was invariably associated with the Society and so was contentedly exalted to the status of a mascot.
Actually, the Society’s date with the Hornbill goes back to William, the Great Indian Hornbill, who landed at the premises in 1894 and made the society’s rooms his fixed abode. William, apparently, was very happy during his stay in the Society, and lived in a cage behind honorary secretary W.S. Millard’s chair for 26 years as the office canary. It is from him that the building got its name!
Dr. Salim Ali has been the mainstay of the Society since independence and his name has become synonymous with that of the Society. He has been the guiding force behind the extension of the Society’s activities in new directions of nature education, bird migration studies, the Mumbai University department, and other major projects in the past. The Society declares itself to be an heir to his library and film collections.
As a special case, the Government charges Re. 1/- per annum as rent from the Society since 1983. Credibility is the fuel that has been propelling the Society to do good work. Projects in collaboration with corporates, selling their own products, and foreign endowments make BNHS self-sufficient. The Bombay Natural History Society has done voluminous work in environmental research, conservation and protection.
Hornbill House attracts students of scientific bent, researchers, ecologists and the common man, who come to utilise the excellent library of natural history, and view the specimen collection. One can also register for nature trails and outings, or for a membership with the BNHS at this venue.
The legacy of ‘scientific research’ continues to be the most revered practice of this historical structure – a tradition exemplified by its late president, Dr. Salim Ali.
Gerish Khemani
Address:
Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Opposite Lion Gate, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road, Mumbai – 400 023
Tel: 2282 1811
Acknowledgements:
Mr. Isaac Kehimkar,
Public Relations Officer
Bombay Natural History Society
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