"There is no doubt that the fragrance of the jasmine, the blush in the horizon at dusk, the incessant lapping of the waves in the ocean, the splash of colour on the wings of the butterfly, the joy of the birds in flight and the infinite mysteries of nature will continue to astonish Man as long as humanity exists. Human beings destined to live in this world bereft of these will be mere machines with no soul."
K. K. Neelakantan (Induchoodan)
Prof. K. K. Neelakantan(1923-1992) was a pioneering amateur birdwatcher from Kerala. Though he was a Professor of English, he chose to pen all his major works in Malayalam. His 'magnum opus' KERALATHILE PAKSHIKAL (1958) is a masterpiece of popular science and Malayalam literature. Much before the days of 'citizen science', he was a true pioneer in popularizing natural history among the lay public in Kerala. He was also an accomplished artist, illustrating all his major works himself. He was an active presence in some of the major environmental movements in Kerala in the last decades of the 20th Century.