Ravi Sankaran Memorial Lecture — Bangalore, August 2, 2012

As many of you know, Dr Ravi Sankaran, one of India’s leading ornithologists and champions of conservation, passed away suddenly in January 2009. To quote from the obituary by TR Shankar Raman and Divya Mudappa (Birding ASIA, 2009, 11:126-127):

“Ravi’s life and work were marked by a deep passion for conservation of birds and natural areas, an unbridled exuberance and enthusiasm for his work, and the fire of a pioneer spirit that made him take on the most challenging, difficult and remote assignments. This took him from the deserts of western India and the swamps and grasslands across northern India to the snow-clad mountains of the Himalaya (Nanda Devi Expedition) and the dense forests of both north-east India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. His well-honed field skills and adventurous exploits, wading into mangroves and walking the beaches, exploring caves and remote forests, enduring heat and cold in the desert, rain and flood in the rainforest, and battling multiple bouts of malaria, made him a legend among field biologists in India.”

We are pleased to announce an annual Ravi Sankaran Memorial Lecture in honour of his memory. This first lecture in the series will take place at the JN Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science Campus, Bangalore, on 2 August 2012, at 5:30 pm.

Prof. Mahesh Rangarajan will deliver this lecture, titled “Conservation as if democracy mattered”. The lecture will be preceded by a brief introduction to Ravi’s life and work, for the benefit of
those who did not know him well.

This memorial lecture is organised by the Ravi Sankaran Foundation in association with the Student Conference on Conservation Science–Bangalore. All are welcome to attend and help honour Ravi’s
memory and celebrate his life.

This lecture series is the second major event set in place in Ravi’s memory, the first being the fellowship programme run by the Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation.