Robin Banerjee

Robin Banerjee (12 Aug 1908 - 06 Aug 2003) was a noted wildlife expert, environmentalist, painter, photographer and documentary filmmaker who lived at Golaghat in the Indian state of Assam.

Biography

Robin Banerjee was born on 1908-08-12 at Baharampur in West Bengal and received primary schooling at Santiniketan. He went on to pursue medical education at the prestigious Calcutta Medical College in Kolkata, and later at Liverpool (1934) and Edinburgh (1936).

Banerjee had joined the Royal Navy in 1937 at Liverpool, and saw action in World War II. He became romantically involved with a nurse from New Zealand, who died a few months before the cessation of hostilities.

After the war, Banerjee decided to move back to India. In 1952, he visited Assam as a Locum-tenens to a Scottish doctor. in 1952 he joined Chabua Tea Estate, Assam, as Chief Medical Officer, and later shifted to the "Dhansiri Medical Association", Bokakhat as the Chief Medical Officer.

During a visit to Kaziranga National Park some time in the 1950s, Banerjee fell in love with the wilds of Assam and decided to settle down at Golaghat, near Kaziranga. Banerjee’s first film on the Kaziranga National Park (one of the most important refuges of the Indian Rhinoceros) on Berlin TV in 1961 was one of the first widely distributed media on the park to Western audiences. It also garnered him international recognition as a wildlife film-maker. He made 32 documentaries in his career as a film-maker, and was the recipient of 14 international awards.

Banerjee remained a bachelor, and worked actively as an environmentalist besides his film-making career. Well known and loved among the local community as "Uncle Robin", he donated lands for setting up the local school, and health camps. He was particularly active regarding issues concerning Kaziranga National Park and was the founder of the non-governmental organization "Kaziranga Wildlife Society", which actively protects the interests of the park. His house in Golaghat is a tourist spot for wildlife lovers, and based on his will and testament, has been converted into a natural history museum and contains a large number of his photographs and paintings. It is named Uncle Robin’s Museum, containing natural history items from all over India (especially Kaziranga), and other personal collections of Robin Banerjee, including a set of toys from across the world that he collected.

Recognition and remembrance

He was awarded the Padmashree in 1971, an honorary Doctorate of Science from Assam Agricultural University (AAU) in 1991, and also an honorary Ph.D. from Dibrugarh University.

Robin Banerjee passed away at his residence suffering from old age ailments on 2003-08-06. The pyre of Dr Banerjee was lit by his caretaker "Jitoo Bora". The cremation was attended by Assam Minister of State for Tourism Ajanta Neog. The Golaghat district administration declared a half-holiday in memory of Banerjee.

Robin Banerjee told everyone ,"Think twice before kill an animal,think twice before you catch a butterfly,think you before you cut a tree, because it may be the last species of the world."

Filmography

Robin Banerjee altogether made 32 documentaries, as listed below :

* Kaziranga (50 min)
* Wild Life of India (35 min)
* Rhino Capture (30 min)
* A Day at Zoo (45 min)
* Elephant Capture (20 min)
* Monsoon (20 min)
* Nagaland (30 min)
* Echidna, & On wild fowls (Australia)
* Lake Wildness (35 min)
* 26th January (India) (40 min)
* Flying Reptiles of Indonesia (50 min)
* Through These Doors (35 min)
* Animals of Africa (50 min)
* Underwater (50 min)
* Peace Game (30 min)
* Flowers of Africa (40 min)
* Adventures of Newfoundlanddn (45 min)
* Dragons of Komodo Island (35 min)
* Underwater World of Snakes (50 min)
* White Wings in Slow Motion (winner of the Madame Pompidou Award) (60 min)
* The World of Flamingo (50 min)
* Wild but Friendly (55 min)
* Birds of Africa (45 min)
* Dresden - (60 min)
* My Nature (60 min)
* Birds of India (50 min)
* Wild Flowers of the world (45 min)
* The Monarch Butterfly of Mexico (60 min)
* Alaskan Polar Bear - (180 min)
* In the Pacific (55 min)
* Call of the Blue Pacific part I & II (45 min)
* So They May Survive (40 min)

Awards

*1971 : Padmashree
*1991 : Honorary Doctorate of Science from Assam Agril University, Jorhat
*1994 : Honorary Ph.D. from Dibrugarh University
*2001 : ‘Prakiti Konwar’ from "Prakiti" (an NGO), Jorhat, Assam
*2001 : Service to Society through individual excellence NECCL, Guwahati, Assam

References

* [http://golaghat.gov.in/PERSONAL.HTM Personalities of Golaghat district] . Retrieved on 2007-03-22
* [http://golaghat.gov.in/rabin.htm Another government article on Robin Banerjee] . Retrieved on 2007-03-22
* [http://www.sentinelassam.com/sentinel_en/archives/aug0703/story5.htm "Lover of the wild, Uncle Robin no more"] . The Sentinel (Gauhati) 2003-08-06 Retrieved on 2007-03-22
* [http://www.hindu.com/mag/2008/02/03/stories/2008020350210700.htm An article about Robin Banerjee]