This land was mortgaged by his father to establish N. Futehally & Co., one of the first Indian companies to deal in the export of cotton to and import of textiles from Japan.

Graduating with a BA in economics and political science in 1941 he wrote the public service commission examination, stood 84 among 3400 candidates and went through several interviews but did not get selected.

[4] Zafar's maternal grandfather was Badruddin Tyabji, the eminent lawyer and president of the Indian National Congress and was a distant cousin of Salim Ali.

Shama (d. 2004) was the author of novels "Tara Lane" and "Reaching Bombay Central", a translator of the Meera Bhajans and Urdu poetry apart from numerous other literary works.

[10] A dacoit attack in 1987 at their home in Dodda Gubbi forced the couple to move to Kodaikanal with their daughter Zai for four years before returning to live in Koramangala in Bangalore.

Around the 1950s Laeeq joined Quest magazine produced by the Indian Committee for Cultural Freedom led by Minoo Masani[16] which was partly sponsored by the CIA.

[18] The "Newsletter" included Salim Ali, Biswamoy Biswas and other eminent ornithologists of its time on the editorial board and was for many years mimeographed and distributed to subscribers in India and outside.

The newsletter encouraged an essay style of writing and some authors like Ramachandra Guha found their first opportunity to publish in it.

[5] In 1973, Futehally was a member of the committee that was set up to study the impact of a dam on the river Kuntipuzha which threatened to destroy the forests of the Silent Valley region.

[23] Futehally founded the Bangalore Environment Trust along with Satish Dhawan, Venkatraman Radhakrishnan (Sir C.V. Raman's son) and others in 1987.

[28] During his position at the BNHS and the World Wildlife Fund he was able to lobby for action, chiefly by influencing the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The project met with considerable resistance, with Kailash Sankhala and Madhaviah Krishnan suggesting that Indians could conduct such studies on their own.

Ripley's past in the OSS and politics related to PL 480 grants in India were also to influence the refusal of the Indian government to permit Smithsonian research.