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V.K. SANTOSH KUMAR
When Sheryl D., an American living in Singapore, learnt that her son Benjamin was indifferent to studies in school and spending more time in other pursuits, she approached Subaraj Rajathurai for help.
"Subaraj did not hesitate for a second," said his wife Shamla, recollecting that incident from two years ago, at their apartment in Pasir Ris last Sunday.
"He said the boy would benefit from learning about wildlife and took him under his wing.
"Then he gave the boy practical lessons about wildlife by taking him to forests and nature parks which helped him develop an interest in learning. The mother is ever thankful to Subaraj for changing her son's mindset."
According to Mrs Shamla, her husband, who died at the age of 56 after suffering a heart attack at home on Oct 22, enjoyed teaching school children about the wonders of nature because they grow up in an urban environment.
"Not only school children, his mission in life was to educate as many people as possible about the importance of protecting nature," she said.
"He was born with this love for nature."
In fact, when they were dating and on the verge of getting married 25 years ago, Mr Subaraj told her that two things would come before her and their children.
"First nature, second God, then wife and children," Mrs Shamla, 54, remembers him telling her.
The former nurse did not initially think much about his passion for nature. But he was so enthusiastic about it that it rubbed off on her and she agreed to join his Strix Wildlife Consultancy, which he founded in 1996 to do detailed projects on nature and take people on tours to wetlands and wildlife sanctuaries in Singapore and Malaysia.
"Subaraj was a self-taught naturalist," said Mrs Shamla.
"My father-in-law (late Rajalingam Rajathurai, a Ceylonese Tamil who was originally from Ipoh) told me that during a family trip to Cameron Highlands, Subaraj, who was aged nine, went missing. He was later found staring at a waterfall.
"My father-in-law later told Subaraj to go into forests and learn about nature and wildlife himself. Subaraj would do that dutifully carrying a notebook with him. Now we have countless notebooks with Subaraj's observations on flora and fauna from around the world."
Subaraj's mother, Manoanmony, was a Ceylonese Tamil from Singapore.
According to Mrs Shamla, her husband's love for animals and the environment further developed when he dropped out of Stamford College "after he was asked to dissect a frog".
"He simply refused to do that as his philosophy was that animals should remain free in the wild," she said.
Even earlier, while growing up in Siglap and studying at Tanjong Katong Secondary School, instead of playing with other children in the neighbourhood, he would flip through magazines, hunting for pictures of animals which he would painstakingly compile in a scrapbook.
"Subaraj's favourite places were Sungei Buloh, Pulau Ubin, Bukit Timah and MacRitchie," said Mrs Shamla.
"You could often see him there observing nature and making notes. He was a pioneer who educated a whole generation of young Singaporeans about the importance of protecting nature."
Subaraj's conservation efforts date back to the 1980s. In 1988, he was part of a group who drafted a proposal to save Sungei Buloh, a mangrove forest in the northwest of Singapore which was slated for redevelopment. In 1993, the Sungei Buloh Nature Park was opened. He was also part of a research team that helped save 123.8 hectares of forest at Lower Peirce Reservoir in 1992.
Among Mr Subaraj's other achievements were his role in drafting the Master Plan for the Conservation of Nature in Singapore and spearheading the Nature Reserve comprehensive survey in 1993.
He also conducted nature walks since 1990, becoming the first tour guide licensed by the Singapore Tourism Board to specialise exclusively in eco-tourism.
"He began an effort to preserve Singapore's environment at a time ('80s and '90s) when concern for biodiversity and nature wasn't high," said Mrs Shamla. "The fact that he persevered under difficult circumstances and achieved success was a source of inspiration to many."
For more than three decades, Mr Subaraj was well-known for his passion and knowledge of nature and for being an outspoken advocate for Singapore's native wildlife.
In 2017, he was featured in the Government's Passion Made Possible branding exercise - to market Singapore to tourists and businesses.
Mrs Shamla said her husband's love for nature was so strong that every family holiday trip out of Singapore would be nature based.
"He was able to adapt to everything and learn," she said.
"For him, everything was nature based, even when we went on holidays to Australia, Sri Lanka or India. He would spend time observing nature and we had to follow suit."
The giant of a man - who was 1.79m tall, wore his beard and hair long and sported a trademark bandana - could whistle like a bird.
And it was this interest in birds that made him want to name their sons after birds.
"Our names begin with S, so we searched for names of birds starting with S," said Mrs Shamla. "It also had to reflect our Tamil ethnic identity."
So, their elder son, 24, who is studying wildlife conservation and marine biology at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, was named Serin - a species of finch. The second boy, 19, who is doing National Service with the Singapore Air Force, was named Saker, after a falcon.
Mr Subaraj also educated his sons about the nuances of wildlife from when they were young.
Saker wants to do a course related to geography after his national service commitments, while Serin is determined to follow in his father's footsteps.
He is already the co-founder of the Herpetological Society of Singapore, after developing an interest in reptiles and amphibians under his father's guidance.
"Serin showed an interest in wildlife from age two," said Mrs Shamla. "He would turn over stones to see what was underneath. After his studies, he will take over the consultancy business."
Mr Subaraj had a history of heart disease. Mrs Shamla said he had a heart attack in 2014 and two stents were implanted.
The veteran wildlife enthusiast had regulated his lifestyle since. Yet, he would still venture out into forests and animal sanctuaries if people needed his help.
At the funeral ceremony held at the family home on Oct 23, hundreds of people who were touched by Mr Subaraj's teachings turned up.
"What I saw that day was an outpouring of love," said Mrs Shamla. He has touched everybody. He never said no. 'If I don't teach them, how will they learn?' was what he often said.
"Not only school children, his mission in life was to educate as many people as possible about the importance of protecting nature. He was born with this love for nature."
- Mrs Shamla Subaraj
