JC Daniel

Lifetime Service Award (2000)

Spanning a lifetime, Jivanayakam Cyril Daniel's tryst with nature began as a young boy. Born in Nagercoil and brought up in Trivandrum, his childhood memories include jackals howling into the night, to the accompaniment of the haunting calls of Hawk Owls. His mother's empathy towards animals and his father's scholarly pursuits encouraged him to frequent Trivandrum's excellent public library, where books on African wildlife whetted his budding curiosity for the natural world. Influenced early in his life by Dr. Sálim Ali, "J.C.", as he is universally known, has been a part of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) for four decades. When he retired as its Director in 1991 he was promptly elected an Honourary Member and is now its Honourary Secretary.

Read more about him in this interview with Bittu Sahgal.