IIHMR University Jaipur Birds: Haven for Birds

Nature has bestowed the Indian Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) University  Jaipur with a unique ecology that is inhabited by a  variety of birds, some of which are as follows:

Name

Rufous Tree Pie

Shikra

Brahmny Myna

Asian Pied Starling

Common Myna

Oriental  Magpie

Indian Robin

Indian Silverbill

Purple Sun bird

Loten’s  Sun Bird

Lapwing Marshall's Iora

Egret

Oriental White Eye

Koel

Coucal

Lesser Flame back Woodpecker

Hopoe

Drongo

Jungle Babbler

Common Babbler

Tickell's Leaf Warbler

Ashy Prinia

Tailorbird

Redstart Wheater

Grey Wagtail

White Wagtail

Grey Hornbill

Peacock

Common Pigeon

Yellow Legged Green Pigeon

Partridge

Rosy Starling

Laughing Dove

Collared Dove

Green Bee Eater

Brown Shrike

Barn Swallow

Spotted Owlet

Red vented Bulbul

House Sparrow

Copper Smith Barbet

Weaver Bird

Night Heron (Juvenile)

Oriole (Juvenile)

Indian bushlark

Shikra Coucal Hopoe Lesser Flameback Woodpecker Oriental White Eye Purple Sunbird

Ashy Prinia Compiled By: Rahul Ghai, Faculty, IIHMR University, Jaipur For more on exciting birds life @ IIHMR Click here and Read :

Noor Mohammed Haji Ahmed Gamthiwala: Mesmerizing tales of vibrant colours of textiles by craftspeople of Gujarat:

Every time an old man dies it is as if a library has burnt down –

An African saying

Noor Mohammed Haji Ahmed Gamthiwala or simply Ahmed bhai as he was popularly known was a gifted connoisseur of craft traditions, a creative and successful businessman with a compassionate camaraderie with printers, dyers and weavers whose creations he sold to the world. Having known him as an encyclopedic repository of knowledge and insights on textile traditions of Gujarat and their makers, the news of his having succumbed to a cardiac arrest was bone chilling and sent shivers down my body. For some moments did not quite know how to face up to this morning trepidation aggravated with numbing thoughts of having lost the company of a radiant presence that had profoundly influenced the manner in which one understood, shopped, talked, wrote about handicraft traditions and products. And, more significantly, how one worked with craftspeople for their dignity and improved quality of life.         

To recuperate from the terrible news of his sudden demise, mind plunged in desperation to reach out to the recesses of memory about several meetings with him over all these years. The imposing gates of Teen Darwaja continue to serve as an entry to the crowded market complex and street shops of the old city of Ahemdabad. What is striking about the hustle and bustle of these busy market roads, where men and women children from different communities jostle with each other, is their ability to woo you with fragrances of past periods particularly of the colonial times when the market place grew and the older medieval times when the grand monuments, that give the space its soulful reverberation were made.

From exquisite tessellations of Persian motifs on stone jalis which illumine the walls of this medieval monument of Ahmed Shah’s tomb emerges Ahmed bhai with his characteristic smile and warmth greeting you into the tiny shop called Gamthiwala. Who could imagine that this tiny shop tucked away in one corner of the gate of the Badshah ka Hajira Complex would be a ‘happening traditional textile point’, the mecca of lovers and buyers of traditional textiles. Gamthiwala shop can be barely seen as it is the last among the row of tiny glittering shops lined on both sides of the street that lead to the Badshah ka Hajira built in 1440 A.D. Grand monument of the fifteenth century famous Gujarat style of Indo Islamic architecture is the resting place of the founder of Ahmedabad, Sultan Ahmedshah and his sons. The lit of shehnai and nagara from the naubat khana on the parapet above the gates of the complex transports one many centuries back in time. Indeed this music was ordained by no less than Badshah Ahmed Shah himself to punctuate the passage of time. The family of Amir Sheikh and Sheru Sheikh has been playing this music for over six centuries at the tomb of Badshah ka Hazira.

 Ahmed bhai had amazing story telling abilities and could engross you for hours with his thick descriptions of crafts and their makers, a wide repertoire ranging from queer anecdotes, tales of creativity and improvisation to empathetic reflections on lives of craftspeople and their traditions. “Ilm roshni hai (knowledge is light) as he often used to say and would go on to unroll yardage of different textiles, colours and patterns and with his beaming face  and  intimate poignant style begin expounding  on mashru weaving, block printing traditions, resist printing and mordant dyeing techniques of Kutch.

His aesthetics flowered in companionship of block printers of Jamalpur and Pithapur, bandhani, ajrak printers from Ajrakpur, Dhamaka, Bhuj in Kutch and mashru weavers from Patan and was further honed by a keen study of the changing tastes and preferences of the market that grew around handicrafts not only in Gujarat but even in other parts of India.    

“Mujhme seekhne ki talab thi, baat shauk ki hai” (I had the keenness to learn, it is all a matter of interest) as he once said at the end of a long conversation, tells you about this man who has left his firm imprint on the textures and patterns of vibrant textiles of Gujarat.


Ahmed bhai’s life long engagement with hand crafted textiles was a rich journey of creative entrepreneurship contributing  to the famous handicraft market of Gujarat, of passionate zeal to contribute to knowledge generation about crafts and design. And a robust reminder of the rich contribution of musilms in in contributing to sustaining diverse textile traditions of Gujarat. 


Photo Credits and References: 

 http://tybarchhistory.weebly.com/gujarat-style.html

 https://www.flickr.com/photos/shweta_w/4514664672/

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/undying-love-for-music-in-their-veins/1/179297.html
Ahmedbhai Gamthiwala: Sustaining Marvels of Textile Traditions through creative entrepreneurship, Swasti Singh Ghai, Dsigned, NID, Ahmedabad, 2009