The Sanctuary Interview: Meet Murad Futehally

First published in Sanctuary Asia, Vol. 43 No. 6, June 2023

Born to Laeeq and the celebrated birdman Zafar Futehally, with the legendary Dr. Sálim Ali as his uncle, the self-effacing Murad Futehally is a surprisingly private person, who was not particularly keen on doing this interview! Bittu Sahgal, however, prevailed upon him and met Murad and his creative wife Irmela at their family home by the Kihim beach front. The exquisite bungalow, their ancestral home, was where his illustrious family lived for close to a century. He speaks of bygone days and his desire to restore some of the biodiversity of the magical Kihim landscapes, across the harbour from Mumbai.

Let’s start at the very beginning! Tell me about the early years.

Well… I’m one of the original Bombay wallahs! I was born in Juhu Lane in Andheri at a property that belonged to my grandmother; half of it was given to my parents, on which they built our home, which was spacious enough for all of us children to have their own space, plus it could accommodate the many guests who would frequent our home. Bombay was different then and we had a lovely garden that was both aesthetic and  possessed a sense of ‘Gestalt’,  which is difficult to define. It combined simplicity with sophistication and gave us a real sense of security and well-being.

The Futehallys at their home in Juhu Lane, Andheri in 1960. Murad Futehally learned to identify birds and their behaviour and calls from his father, famous birdman of India, Zafar Futehally and his uncle Dr. Sálim Ali. He and his wife Irmela are determined now to work with ornithologists and social workers to return Kihim and its surrounds to a measure of their former aesthetic and ecological health. Photo Courtesy: Murad Futehally.

It was indeed another world and you must have so many indelible memories.

Too many to recount! I was born post-Independence and it was a carefree time. My father – we called him Baba – filled our lives with humour and fun, particularly at every meal. Just sitting in our garden with friends left one with a calm feeling of joy at being alive. You know, that comfortable ‘all is well and God is in his heaven’ kind of feeling that made you happy to come back to everyday.

Those were days when Bombay was wild, as in really wild!

Indeed! We were out on family picnics almost every weekend. Particularly in the monsoon, the family would find itself at Borivali, or Karla, or Khandala, where, under the supervision of the elders, we splashed around in streams that ran pure, quaffed cold coffee and egg sandwiches, and gambolled around as though we owned the forests we played in. As you might imagine, we soon learned the names of most birds by default as Baba pointedly identified them, familiarised us with their calls, and taught us their habits.

People would have given their eye teeth to learn at the feet of the great Zafar Futehally!

True, but I can’t separate the influence of Baba from that of my Ama! My mother Laeeq was the Literary Editor of Quest – ‘a quarterly of inquiry, criticism and ideas’ – and my parents’ joint influence on my sisters, Zai and Shama, and me enhanced the attributes they wanted us to imbibe and live by – honesty, simplicity and sincerity, in all aspects of our lives.

I never met Shama, but I have known Zai for decades. Were you three drawn into your father’s conservation world?

Well, Shama, my hardworking sister who died young, was every bit as talented as Zai, who was responsible for setting up and managing the now-famous Crocodile Bank in Mahabalipuram with Romulus Whitaker. Zai’s dedication, commitment and courage, and her incredible management skills and focus made me, her brother, very proud indeed.

Those were different days with different values, were they not?

Undoubtedly, a totally different zamaana (era). At home, back then, we grew up in an atmosphere of natural discipline, reading, learning and respect for elders. Sloth, self-praise, and false pride were looked down upon. For us, Baba was an outstanding example of someone who never allowed personal likes or dislikes to affect the purpose of his work.

Murad Futehally and his siblings were influenced by both his Ama and Baba (mother and father), seen here in Kihim in 1990. He credits them with gifting him the attributes he lives by – honesty, simplicity and sincerity, in all aspects of their lives. Photo Courtesy: Murad Futehally.

Even when differences arose in the nascent days that Project Tiger was being set up, and everyone had strong views on how it should be shaped?

Yes, even then! I recall the immense amount of time he spent working on shaping Project Tiger. Many experts on the committees posited themselves as adversaries, and some were downright nasty! I was occasionally in earshot and saw how nevertheless he treated offensive people with dignified civility. More importantly, he never opposed their suggestions if he believed their ideas to be beneficial to the ultimate goal – saving the tiger. It’s a lesson that sits deep and well with me even today.

Is the Bombay Natural History Society – the BNHS – which you so obviously love and continue to support, still a part of your life?

The BNHS and our family were inseparable. For all of us, it went way beyond love. There was, and remains, a psychological need to see the venerable institution succeed and retain its aura, gravitas and credibility. As Honorary Secretary of the BNHS, my father dedicated himself to strengthening it. Mine is not nearly as deep an involvement, but I would like to spend much of my life now spreading the knowledge, beliefs and motivation that Sálim mamoo (uncle) as President, and my father as Honorary Secretary, had assiduously woven into the BNHS.

And what of Sálim Ali and Humayun Abdulali? They spent their lives building the BNHS as we know it today, yet they were like chalk and cheese!

They surely were! But within the family, they were both imbued with those two loves our family shared – nature and sport. They were also greatly influenced by my great grandfather, the legendary Badruddin Tyabji (October 10, 1844 – August 19, 1906) – lawyer, judge, social reformer and educationist, who was the President of the newly-born Indian National Congress. Both Sálim and Humayun therefore grew up in an ethos of high morality and ethics, and in surroundings that nurtured their natural lifetime involvement with birds and all things wild.

Having grow up in a time when Bombay was not the concrete jungle it is now, Murad recounts fun-filled family picnics almost every weekend, such as this one at the Tulsi lake with his sisters Shama and Zai. Photo Courtesy: Murad Futehally.

Back to chalk and cheese for a moment. How did Sálim Ali and Humayun Abdulali, who shared such a common upbringing, end up being poles apart?

Well, both had Kihim as their laboratory and both used the BNHS as their place of learning. They shared the same passion, but they were hugely different personalities! Their lives were dedicated to wildlife, but their strategies were different. Sálim mamoo would think things through to the end, right down to what needed to be done, when and how. Humayun was more spontaneous and, some would say, short tempered and often unreasonable. Both had genuine differences that would end up in verbal altercations on issues concerning the BNHS. But when my father, Zafar, became the Honorary Secretary, tensions were almost immediately reduced. Zafar knew how to compromise and avoid stalemates, and a story is told of how an enraged Humayun once actually slapped him at a particularly contentious BNHS Executive Committee meeting! Zafar, I am told, maintained his dignity and refused to allow the discussion to deviate from the agenda. When push came to shove, neither did anything that would harm the objective of protecting wildlife.

Yes, that story has been told and retold down the many years that I served on the BNHS Executive Committee in the 1980s and 90s. Shifting focus, may I ask, what really motivates you today, Murad?

Bittu, you cannot live and breathe all your life in the company of legends without having some of their values and beliefs rub off on you. But yes, I must confess, I’ve been pre-occupied with my work and had to be nudged by close family and friends, who would politely chide me for working long hours on my business, instead of for the greater good. They would say, “Dekh Zafar ne kya kya kiya, aur tu?” (Look at what Zafar did with his life! What have you done with yours?). I never could quite fill my father’s boots, but when we sold our two manufacturing units in 2012, I gravitated to the idea of working in Kihim to protect and enhance the biodiversity, and help improve the lives of young children who needed help for their education. These children will grow up to be the real caregivers for Kihim, a natural university that has moulded some of the finest naturalists in India, and is now the focus of life for my wife Irmela and I.

Zai Futehally is responsible for setting up and managing the now-famous Madras Crocodile Bank with Romulus Whitaker. Photo Courtesy: Murad Futehally.

Have you a specific vision for the return of Kihim to a measure of its former self?

The vision was laid out for me by memories of bygone days. Our Kihim home was built in 1939; as toddlers we would play barefoot on the beach on soft white sand, and swim in seas that had not witnessed plastic pollution. Ours was one among 27 homes that never needed to be locked. Bee-eaters nested on our property and vultures were common sights on palm trees. Hurricane lamps and kerosene fridges were the order of the day.

I am realistic enough not to expect the clock to be turned back, but with the help of the BNHS, I believe I can help restore the ecosystem to allow the birds a fair chance to multiply, through pond and lake restoration so migrant birds have a safe haven once more. I also hope we can influence newcomers to Kihim, Mandwa, Alibag and its neighbouring villages, to help the natural ecosystems regenerate, with the support of local villagers.


The family patriarch Badruddin Tyabji, one of the most influential heroes involved with the lead up to India’s Independence Movement. Photo: Public Domain/Wikipedia.
Serving India
Murad Futehally’s illustrious family extends beyond his father and uncles. The family’s great patriarch was none other than Badruddin Tyabji (1844-1906), the Chief Justice of the Mumbai High Court, the third President of the Indian National Congress, a passionate advocate of women’s rights and secularism, and the founder of the Anjuman-I-Islam Education Trust, that set up various schools and colleges. Several other family members were active in India’s Independence movement, and yet others contributed significantly to India’s administration post-Independence. His grandson, also Badruddin Tyabji, is credited with designing the final form of the Indian national flag, with the Ashoka Dharmachakra in the centre.

Well, I envy you your adventures and promise to help move your dream forward as best I can with the involvement of the wonderful children you helped us meet when last I was here.

Visit us often Bittu, and you will probably find me moving about on horseback as Baba once did, looking wistfully at the place where the polygamous Baya Weaver Ploceus philippinus nests used to hang from the babul trees on the banks of the nala (stream). This is where, in the 1930s, Sálim mamoo began serious studies on Baya Weavers (JBNHS Vol. 34(4): 947–97). Today, it’s a garbage dump! Hopefully I can persuade you to put Sanctuary’s large Kids for Tigers network to work to join us in restoring the habitat, so the weavers start nesting, and wintering birds visit our lakes again. That would undoubtedly please my late father Zafar Futehally, who would say to me “Murad, do something about Kihim, its seashores, wilds and lakes.”


 

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