Opening up a forgotten world from pages of past

MUMBAI:More than a century ago, Evans Fraser ran a departmental store near FloraFountain to cater to the needs of thousands of Britons living in the city. Inhis spare time, he found a way of nurturing his instinct for adventure-bywriting and collecting books on Indian wildlife, western India and Bombay.Some of the books Frasercollected were written by others like him, who, along with the British army,police and railway officials, had taken a ship to India. They were so impressedwith the geography, wildlife and socio-cultural dynamics of "exotic India'' thatthey began writing about it, sometimes with a scientific approach, sometimes asanecdotes, sometimes as personal journals.Most of them amateurs, theBrits were the first to document studies on Indian wildlife. Many authors, likeElizabeth Gould, never actually came to India but prepared detailed lithographsbased on "preserved rare species'' that were sent back to Britain. "The beauty is that there wereno special scientists then and they wrote and painted out of sheer fascination.They were the ones who laid the foundation for us,'' says Dr Ashok Kothari,chairman of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) library committee.Fraser handed over most of his collection to the BNHS in 1925 beforehe packed his bags for his homeland. On Tuesday, December 16, the BNHS willshowcase these highly-valued old tomes replete with detailed lithographs andyellowing maps that will transport Mumbaikars to an India they never reallyknew, one that exists in some forgotten corner of the mind.Jewels ofIndia: The VIIth Rare Books Exhibition, which is a part of the society's 125thyear celebrations, will treat visitors to lithographs of rare Indian birds thatwere tediously hand-painted almost 200 years ago, but still shine bright in itsvegetable dyes.One of the highlights of the BNHS collection is theBombay Gazette and Courier, the city's first newspaper. From English letters onthe whereabouts of ships to Gujarati advertisements of lost dogs, the fadedjournal brings one face to face with the amusing reality of that time. Then,there are paintings of the stone elephant that is now parked outside theVictoria and Albert Museum in Byculla. "The elephant was originallyoutside the Elephanta caves and the British wanted to take it away for someunknown reason. It finally landed up near the Byculla museum and it's stillthere,'' smiles Dr B F Chhapgar, adding that one of the most delightful reads isCurry and Rice, written by Captain C F Atkinsen. "It's a satire on the Britishcommunity living in India, and a commentary on the ingredients of social lifehere.''Other highlights of the exhibition include John Gould's Birdsof Asia, Oriental Memoirs by James Forbes (1913), Memories of a Map ofHindoostan (1798) and Indian Serpents by Patrick Russell (1801). They are nowstacked behind a heavy metal door in the historic building, but their untoldyarns will soon be spun out.Surprise Appearance of A Tiger:Oriental Field Sports (1836): coloured panel Oriental Annual of Horses in India(first published in this book).