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In the greeting of June 11, if immoderate birder successful the tract noticed a abrupt driblet successful chirps verging connected stillness, fto them cognize that these birds sensed an instinctive snapping of a tie, the departure of a psyche that sought to recognize them selflessly. Not to marque it to technological journals and enactment connected learned airs; nor to prosecute successful social-media engagement farming. In their world, helium discovered his own, 1 devoid of artificiality and filled with effortless comfort.
That morning, V. Guruswami departed for different sanctuary. A agelong beingness (he was 95), 1 spent with a large grade of autonomy (he bounced backmost to afloat wellness aft a changeable successful the fag extremity of 2011 and was successful good fettle till the past week of his life) is surely a measurement of blessing. But what was genuinely Guruswami’s blessing was his quality to bless others with his knowledge, unconditionally without expecting thing successful return. He leaves down a flock of friends (nay, much admirers than friends) astatine Madras Naturalists Society, a repository of section naturalist wisdom. But anyone who has known him beyond birding tract visits would instantly defy the temptation to pigeonhole him into the individuality of a naturalist-birder.
The breadth of his cognition was indisputably vast. To springiness an inkling, helium could clasp distant connected the legendary kite flyers of Madras successful the 1940s and successful the aforesaid enactment stock the contents of his correspondence with Jim Corbett. He was rooted locally, profoundly connected with the twin jheels (Manali and Madhavaram) arsenic good arsenic the verdant Simpson Estate successful Sembium (all of them adjacent to his erstwhile code successful Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar), but helium had a planetary consciousness, ever sharpened by a tendency for knowledge, again not acquired for self-aggrandisement but to freely stock with others.
His program vitae would indirectly uncover however helium went retired of his mode mining for cognition successful assorted fields.
“Guruswami was calved connected September 25, 1930, studied astatine CSI Kellet Higher Secondary School successful Triplicane and graduated with a chemistry grade from Presidency College, Madras. He started moving with the Ordinance Factory astatine Khamaria, Jabalpur, aboriginal moved to Addison Paints astatine the Simpson Estate successful Sembium wherever helium joined arsenic a chemist and retired arsenic a accumulation manager.”
That enactment is oddly familiar; 1 comes crossed that benignant of a bio each the time; lone that this 1 is soundless connected an other beingness of pursuits. Silent connected reams and reams connected the koel vocalisation, listening successful to the antheral koel’s plaintive calls during the breeding season, twelvemonth aft year.
Silent connected the unthinkable conservation communicative astatine the Simpson Estate, wherever helium helped support a heronry. Silent connected the trends of assorted vertebrate taxon helium had documented and shared with journalists including this reporter. And soundless connected the galore notes connected the drift of things successful assorted different fields helium had penned, conscionable for his delectation and those known to him. Unfortunately, overmuch of this accusation was mislaid successful the shifting of addresses. When helium was precocious successful years (in the aboriginal 2010s aft his almost-magical betterment from the stroke) Guruswami and 3 different seniors successful the household took the determination to determination from Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar to a senior-friendly artifact of an flat successful Sholinganallur with the enactment of the younger relatives successful the family. Guruswami remained unmarried, and enjoyed a heavy transportation with his family, contiguous and extended, and helium was the favourite uncle and grandpa, nary contests there.
And it was successful this abstraction connected June 11, Guruswami breathed his last, nay, fto retired his past chirp, not acold from the Pallikaranai marsh synonymous with winged residents and visitors.
