The girl from Perumbavoor

Jainy Kuriakose belongs to Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala. She has been interested in birds since childhood, becoming familiar with the white-breasted water hen ( Amaurornis phoenicurus ), the white-breasted kingfisher ( Halcyon smyrnensis ) and the cattle egret ( Bubulcus ibis ) that frequented her garden. After she completed her degree in chemical engineering, she got a job in a big firm in Bengaluru. Some of her colleagues introduced her to serious birdwatching. Jainy Kuriakose's interest in bird spotting and photographing birds became so intense that she resigned her job in 2007 and became a full-time bird photographer. She has travelled to the highest points in the Himalaya and other biodiversity hotspots all over India. When she expressed her desire to resign, her family, including her husband, Dhanesh, supported her wholeheartedly.