Dr. Noazesh Ahmed (1935-2009) an environmentalist, was a scholar who earned his PhD degree in 1960 from the Wisconsin University for his research on Plant Genetics. In his professional life he did consultancy work for several international agencies, such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of United Nations in the Southeast Asian countries. He was a visiting faculty in the Asian Institute of Technology.

Known as plant genetic scientist through his research and academics, Dr. Noazesh Ahmed was a freelance photographer with many contribution in photography too. He took pictures of wild flowers, and had always been an admirer of the natural beauty that the world possess. He used his camera lens as an itinerary of his life. The type of photos ran a gamut of portrait to landscapes, from East to West. Dr. Noazesh Ahmed's photos show his dexterity and avidness towards analog photography.

His unique skill and display of the fervor for it remain neglected by the concomitant people and organizations. Hardly anyone from this era are aware of his contribution in photography. Even many known photographers are obscured about his work of art, as his family members regretted.

During his lifetime, he established a family foundation named after his parents, Nowsha-Najib Environment Development Foundation, to preserve the family treasure. This foundation has his notable works, and an agglomeration of the negatives of the photos.

To illuminate people of his oeuvre, Nowsha-Najib Environment Development Foundation and Noazesh Knowledge Center collaboratively arranged an event 'WildHour: The Roots of Dr. Noazesh Ahmed' on July 29, 2018. The event had speakers from NKC, WildTeam and his family members.

Md Mahbubul Alam, Chief of Party, USAID's Bagh Activity, began the event describing the projects and visions of WildTeam to conserve animals, especially the Royal Bengal Tigers.

Later Dr. Ahmed's nephew Nasim Ahmed Nadvi shared his experience with him as a person. Founder of Bangladesh bird club, board member of WildTeam, Enam Ul Haque told about his encounter with Dr. Ahmed in 1997, and how knowledgeable he was on matters even outside of his research arena. Their words helped the participant to know the person Noazesh Ahmed, his outlook on life, his thirst for erudition. Nasim Ahmed's son Najmal Ahmed Nadvi shared video clips of Dr. Ahmed, which showed his fun loving family persona and photography mentorship as a grandfather.

Najmal Ahmed Nadvi displayed some of Dr. Ahmed's best works. He gleaned all the photographs taken by Dr. Ahmed, and segregated them to different categories. Najmal Ahmed Nadvi also showed a camera lens used by Dr. Noazesh Ahmed, given to him as a family heritage. Participants witnessed an array of the photo artist's captures.

The event was memorable with presence of the only surviving sibling of Dr. Ahmed, Tahmina Khan and many other family members. Members of NKC and WildTeam moderated and operated the event's functions with diligence.

Among participants, we had students from different universities and professionals from diverse background. It was an event with eclectic participation. They enjoyed the session, and imbued with the will to thrive in life learning from Dr. Noazesh Ahmed's biography. n

The writer is an Intern at WildTeam