Who was Sunjoy Monga? Mumbai's ‘bird man' passes away at 63 after battling blood cancer
Mumbai: Award winning wildlife photographer and veteran journalist Sunjoy Monga was to go birding in Lokhandwala this weekend. Unfortunately, he passed away on Wednesday, May 30, succumbing to a nine-year battle with blood cancer.
Sunjoy Monga was 63-years-old. His death has left nature lovers and activists in deep shock. Apart from his award-winning photography, Sunjoy Monga also left his footprints in 'Bird Race' — an annual bird-spotting event that inspired the love of birds among hundreds of Mumbaikars over the years.
In 2005, Monga launched Mumbai's first-ever bird race—an event that has since become an annual tradition known as 'Wings – Birds of India.'
Monga's idea of launching a bird race was inspired by the Hong Kong bird race. As part of the Mumbai race, Monga invited birdwatchers to dedicate 12 hours to spotting as many bird species as possible.
The inaugural race saw around 100 enthusiasts record 277 different species in and around Mumbai. Since then, Monga expanded the event to 33 cities across India, with the tradition still thriving today.
As per experts, Sunjoy Monga started his bird-watching journey with other prominent names in the field such as Humayun Abdulali and Salim Ali.
'A great tree has fallen,' Pravin Subramanian, who organised the Bird Race with Monga since 2007, told HT. 'Back then, there were only two books for bird enthusiasts to follow. Monga filled this void by writing comprehensible books for all,' added the Bird Race co-organiser.
Sunjoy Monga served for several years on the governing council of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a testament to his deep-rooted expertise as a naturalist.
Monga's knowledge and passion for the environment made him a valuable contributor to several key conservation bodies. The 63-year-old was also a member of the Executive Committee of the MMRDA's Environment Improvement Society, the Maharashtra Nature Park Society, and also held the honorary post of Warden at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
Raju Kasambe, programme manager, lands, at The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organisation, told HT: 'At the end of each race, Sunjoy would put together an amusing presentation with a lot of takeaways. It took a lot of grit in the early years to put together a checklist of birds and hand it over to 30 groups, then analyse each sheet and the data, but he did it every year. A lot it has migrated to the e-bird app.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
19 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
‘A lot of hard work, dedication and discipline go into success'
For 18-year-old Rajit Gupta, large banners and hoardings displaying photos and names of previous year's toppers of competitive exams acted as an inspiration, reminding constantly of his aim to find his own photo and name on one of those advertising spots. A resident of Kota, considered India's coaching capital, Gupta bagged the top rank in JEE advanced, the qualifying paper for admission to premier IITs, results of which were announced on Monday. Gupta, an IIT Delhi zone candidate, scored 332 out of 360 marks in the entrance exam. 'My seniors and teachers played a huge role in inspiring me to do well in the exam,' Gupta told HT, adding that watching the faces and names of previous years' toppers also 'truly inspired' him. Having scored a perfect 100 percentile (AIR16) in JEE mains, he was confident about JEE advanced. 'I'm very happy with my result,' said the 18-year-old, whose father Deepak Gupta is a sub-divisional engineer with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and mother Shruti Agrawal teaches home science at a Kota college. 'I have been preparing for this exam for the last three years,' Gupta said, adding he plans to pursue BTech in Computer Science from IIT-Bombay. 'My parents have really helped me throughout the process.' Apart from school hours, he studied 5-6 hours every day, without stressing about the results. 'I play cricket and badminton whenever I get time from my studies,' he added. On his immediate plans, Gupta said he is concentrating on the upcoming international Physics Olympiad. 'I'm going to France and will be representing India on July 18 in the Olympiad,' the JEE topper from Rajasthan said. On the opposite spectrum geographically, Devdutta Majhi of Katwa in West Bengal's East Burdwan district focused solely on the tested combination of 'hard work, dedication, and discipline' to achieve success. A candidate from IIT Kharagpur zone, Majhi topped among female candidates in JEE Advanced, scoring 312 (she was 16th on the common rank list or CRL). 'I studied for 10-12 hours every day and followed a daily routine. Sometimes my mother scolded me when I used to study too much. She cares for my health. Excellence doesn't come overnight. A lot of hard work, dedication and discipline go behind it,' Majhi said. She had topped the Madhyamik examination (Class X board) in West Bengal in 2023 and earlier this year, Majhi hit the headlines along with Archisman Nandy, another student from the eastern state, for scoring perfect 100 in the JEE Mains. 'The only challenge I faced was the dearth of good teachers in the district. For that I had to depend on online classes with teachers from both Kolkata and Delhi,' she said, adding that she wants to pursue research after securing a seat at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. An animal lover, Majhi is also known in her locality as the one who cares for the strays. 'I love to read story books, particularly detective stories. I also play violin,' she added. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated Majhi for making the state proud. '…Today's JEE Advanced 2025 examination results show that you have been topper among all girls in the entire country, and the highest rank holder in the IIT Kharagpur zone. You achieved top ranks in our Secondary and Higher Secondary examinations earlier, and now you are the topper girl of India! Wish you the very best, and congratulations to your parents and teachers too!' Banerjee said in a post on X.
Mint
5 days ago
- Mint
Who was Sunjoy Monga? Mumbai's ‘bird man' passes away at 63 after battling blood cancer
Mumbai: Award winning wildlife photographer and veteran journalist Sunjoy Monga was to go birding in Lokhandwala this weekend. Unfortunately, he passed away on Wednesday, May 30, succumbing to a nine-year battle with blood cancer. Sunjoy Monga was 63-years-old. His death has left nature lovers and activists in deep shock. Apart from his award-winning photography, Sunjoy Monga also left his footprints in 'Bird Race' — an annual bird-spotting event that inspired the love of birds among hundreds of Mumbaikars over the years. In 2005, Monga launched Mumbai's first-ever bird race—an event that has since become an annual tradition known as 'Wings – Birds of India.' Monga's idea of launching a bird race was inspired by the Hong Kong bird race. As part of the Mumbai race, Monga invited birdwatchers to dedicate 12 hours to spotting as many bird species as possible. The inaugural race saw around 100 enthusiasts record 277 different species in and around Mumbai. Since then, Monga expanded the event to 33 cities across India, with the tradition still thriving today. As per experts, Sunjoy Monga started his bird-watching journey with other prominent names in the field such as Humayun Abdulali and Salim Ali. 'A great tree has fallen,' Pravin Subramanian, who organised the Bird Race with Monga since 2007, told HT. 'Back then, there were only two books for bird enthusiasts to follow. Monga filled this void by writing comprehensible books for all,' added the Bird Race co-organiser. Sunjoy Monga served for several years on the governing council of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), a testament to his deep-rooted expertise as a naturalist. Monga's knowledge and passion for the environment made him a valuable contributor to several key conservation bodies. The 63-year-old was also a member of the Executive Committee of the MMRDA's Environment Improvement Society, the Maharashtra Nature Park Society, and also held the honorary post of Warden at the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Raju Kasambe, programme manager, lands, at The Nature Conservancy, an environmental organisation, told HT: 'At the end of each race, Sunjoy would put together an amusing presentation with a lot of takeaways. It took a lot of grit in the early years to put together a checklist of birds and hand it over to 30 groups, then analyse each sheet and the data, but he did it every year. A lot it has migrated to the e-bird app.'
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Wings snap long losing skid with victory over Sun
It was a winning homecoming for Paige Bueckers and the first win of the season for the Dallas Wings. Playing her first game as a pro in her collegiate state, Bueckers had a career-high 21 points and seven assists to lead the Wings to a 109-87 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday. Dallas broke a 13-game losing streak dating back to last season. The Sun fell to 0-5, matching its worst start since 2020. The Wings' 109 points was the most scored by any WNBA team this season and eight off a franchise record. Bueckers, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, was greeted with cheers throughout the game from the sellout crowd familiar with her exploits for the nearby Connecticut Huskies. She led the Huskies to the Final Four on four occasions, including the national title in April. Arika Ogunbowale had 19 points for the Wings, including a stretch in the third quarter where she made long threes on three straight possessions. DiJonai Carrington, making her return to Connecticut after playing for four years with the Sun, had 16 for Dallas. Tina Charles led Connecticut with a game-high 27 points. Dallas shot 56 percent from the floor and scored 19 points off 16 Sun turnovers. The Wings shattered their season high with 56 first half points, shooting 54 percent from the floor, with Bueckers leading the way with 15, mostly on pull-up jumpers near the free throw line. Both teams came out firing in a first quarter that saw seven lead changes and the Sun lead 24-23 at the horn when Bria Hartley sank a three with 1.6 seconds left. Dallas dominated the second quarter and took control with an 11-0 run sparked by a three from Aziaha James, which were the first points of her WNBA career. The lead grew to as much as 17 in the first half. Connecticut responded with a spurt, getting five straight points by Saniya Rivers to pull to 56-42 at half. The Sun pulled to 88-76 when Charles scored on a spin move to start the fourth quarter, but Dallas pulled away with an 8-0 run. Bueckers checked out for good with 4:09 left. The Wings lost reserve guard Tyasha Harris to a knee injury and she did not return after halftim
