Memoirs of an Indomitable Geologist by N.R. Ramesh. Dharani Prakashana, No.108, 'Dharani', 13thA Main Road, BTM 2nd Stage Bengaluru - 560 076, 380p. Price: Rs. 599/-
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Autobiographies of geologists in English are few and far between, the well-known one in India had been 'The Recollections of an Indian Geologist' by Dr. B. Rama Rao, who was the Director of the Mysore Geology Department which was published in 1953 and reprinted by the Geological Society of India in 2018.He had shared his experiences as a field geologist and brings to life the pre-independence period in India.It was on 4 th March, 2025, the 175 th year of founding of the Geological Survey of India (GSI), Vasudha Bhavan, following the inaugural function of the founding, that I met Dr. N.R. Ramesh and obtained an autographed copy of his 'Memoirs of an Indomitable Geologist'.The Kannada version was published in 2018.This Memoir in English contains twenty-two (22) chapters in 274 pages followed by a record number of thirty-two (32) Appendices, that support the text in different Chapters besides two burbs, an appreciation and quotes from eminent individuals and friends.Thus, this autobiography of the brave and determined Geologist, Dr. N.R. Ramesh is a unique chronicle and compilation of people and places linked from his childhood days at Nittur, Hassan Dt., of Karnataka (early 1950s) to reach the level of Additional Director General of the GSI in 2014.. Chapters 1 and 2 provide a brief account of his native place Nittur in the Hassan Dt., Karnataka around the picturesque eastern parts of the Sahyadri or Western Ghats.There are excellent details of his native village, ancestral places of worship besides early and high schooling at Arisikere staying in the Shri Sankaralinga Ashram.Chapters 3 and 4 details his high school and college education at Bengaluru, especially his stay and services at the Sri Rama Krishna Student Home, Bengaluru, which is considered as the 'Palace for the Poor'.Ramesh had excelled in his studies and was a gold medallist in his MSc course.In Chapters 5 and 6, Ramesh details his research exploits with a UGC Fellowship, attempts to join the Indian Air Force, followed by his first job as an Asst.Geologist in the Groundwater Unit at the very prestigious Mysore Geology Department of Karnataka, and worked in Dakshin Kannada.There are interesting accounts of his UPSC interview in 1976 in the biting cold of December in New Delhi.Chapter 7 provides a vivid account of his joining the GSI's mapping unit in NE Region with Shillong as its HQ on 24 th December 1977 as an Asst.Geologist.The narrations of his journey by train from Bengaluru, Kolkata and Guwahati and then the taxi journey to Shillong by midnight and staying with his fellow traveller as a forced-guest makes a fascinating reading.The chapter also details the challenges a vegetarian encounters in these parts besides the pioneering studies of the Quaternary Geology in the Bramaputra Valley and the leech-infested Duliajan Reserve Forest and the Digboi jungle which helped the Bose Institute of Palynology from Kolkata working on the Quaternary characteristics of the paleoclimate and vegetation from this part of India.
Author: P. Krishnamurthy
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4411980283