The truth is that the Birdman of India chanced upon bird watching entirely by coincidence. Discovering the fast growing hobby through an initial interest in sport-shooting, Salim Moizuddin Abdul Ali went on to become one of India's best known ornithologist and naturalist and played a key role in popularising ornithology in the country and supporting related organisations.

It is truly serendipitous then, that on his 123rd birth anniversary tomorrow, the conductor for the commemoratory Know Dr Salim Ali's Bird trail, too, stumbled upon bird-watching through a twist of fate. Amey Ketkar has been birding for a decade but he says that his foray into the form of wildlife observation began with a love for trekking that blossomed into an attraction for jungles with the years and in 2009 he found himself visiting tiger reserves across India.