India, May 29 -- "Birds teach, they are always revealing some secret, they act as a barometer of the city's general health," Sunjoy Monga had once told HT. He was to go birding in Lokhandwala this weekend," said Ravi Vaidyanathan, his friend and partner in his lifelong obsession. It's a date he couldn't keep, for on Wednesday evening, Monga, 63, succumbed to a nine-year battle with blood cancer.

An award-winning wildlife photographer and author of several books on nature and birds, Monga was a beloved son of Mumbai. His advocacy for the natural world saw him write a regular column for HT titled 'Mumbai Safari'. He will also be remembered for his 'Bird Race', an annual bird-spotting event that inspired a love of birds in hundreds of Mumba...