Gerald Durrell, the author, the naturalist, the conservationist has become my latest addiction. He has engulfed me into his world of animals, insects, birds, sea-creatures and also the human beings that surround him.
Though he is long dead after doing much for the animal world by researching, collecting and starting a zoo in Jersey, Britain, his legacy lives on.
When I read his work I am not just a reader, he doesnt let me sit at a distance and be a mere spectator. He entices me, involves me into the nuances of the creatures, the places that he explores. I have sailed with him on numerous ocassions to look for rare flora and fauna in the sea next to Corfu. When he describes cuttlefish or terrapin…I imagine them as the most beautiful creatures but when I Google them for images they are ugly ones…but not in the eyes of Gerald Durrell and not for me either.
He inspired me to work with wild animals and I have been on the look out for voluntary organisations who genuinely work for such animals.
Not only his description of animals leaves me in awe but also his account of his family and other people he mixes with is equally interesting. When I start reading I have a smile and that slowly broadens. Infact Aamya has caught me giggling many a times when I am immersed in his world.
So far I have read
– My Family and other animals
– Birds, Beasts and relatives
– A Zoo in my luggage
– Marrying of mother and other stories
– The overloaded Ark
I am sure I can’t stop before I read all his books!!
The 'indulgent'...bystander 