Aasheesh Pittie

Content Description

The accession consists of type-written and handwritten letters, emails, postcards and other correspondence between Aasheesh Pittie and various ornithologists and birdwatching specialists of the time, including Zafar Futehully, Humayun Abdulali, S. Sridhar, Krys Kazmierczak and others. These letters date from the early 1980s to early 2010s. They include corrected proofs of books and birding lists, sight records, birding notes and indexes, including those pertaining to the Newsletter for Birdwatchers and other birding journals and newsletters. Some issues of the Newsletter for Birdwatchers from 1963-1969 are also part of the accession.

Condition Description

Most of the letters are in good condition. The newsletters from the 1960s are in fragile condition.

Accession Date

2023-05-11

Dispostion

The accession will be transferred to a new collection called ‘Aasheesh Pittie Papers’, which will have four series. The first series is the Zafar Futehully correspondence. This has been divided into four sub-series, viz. correspondence related to the Newsletter for Birdwatchers; correspondence regarding other projects; Ornithological Society of Indian correspondence; and personal correspondence and other miscellaneous documents. The second series is titled Humayun Abdulali correspondence; it is arranged chronologically into the three sub-series titled, Correspondence 1980-1989, Correspondence 1990-1999, and Correspondence 2000-2009. The third series is titled Correspondence with other birders, and it is divided into four sub-series, viz., Bombay Natural History Society Correspondence, BirdLife International Correspondence, Kryz Kazmierczak Correspondence and Correspondence with fellow birders. The fourth series Newsletter for Birdwatchers contains issues of the Newsletter for Birdwatchers from April 1963 to September 1969 and an excerpt from 1971.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

The accession contains papers that belong to Aasheesh Pittie. They were given to Anjali JR in Hyderabad on May 11, 2023. This included correspondence between Pittie, Futehally and Abdulali; as well as early issues of the Newsletter for Birdwatchers. A second batch of material was picked up by Anjali JR from Pittie at Hyderabad on May 25, 2023. This contained correspondence with Indian and foreign birders and ornithologists, and printouts and photocopies of emails and letters. The material reflects the life and work of bird watching enthusiast and author Aasheesh Pittie.

Retention Rule

The Aasheesh Pittie Papers fits under the scope of the Archives at NCBS as part of the history of ecology in India through its focus on the histories of amateur and professional ornithology and taxonomy, and the workings of birding journals and ornithological societies in India. The Archives shall have full authority in handling the material in the future.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

Yes

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for access unless mentioned in specific folders

Use Restrictions

Copyright may not have been assigned to Archives at NCBS. Permission for reproduction or distribution must be obtained in writing from the Archives at NCBS (archives@ncbs.res.in). See access guidelines for more information (https://archives.ncbs.res.in/access). The Archives at NCBS makes no representation that it is the copyright owner in all of its collections. The user must obtain all necessary rights and clearances before use of material and material may only be reproduced for academic and non-commercial use.