Somdeva
Sharma- An Appreciation
M. Anantaswamy Rau
Picture
Prof. Som Deva
Sharma, formerly of the department of Botany, D.A.V. College,
Dehradun, passed away recently. I had the privilege of knowing
Prof. Sharma since 1956 when I went to Dehradun to start the
Northern circle of the Botanical Survey of India. i have known
him since then. He was a unique botanist and is to be admired
for the collection of plants of the Garhwal region and building
up a Herbarium of his own, all at his own expense. While all of
us depended on government funding for the collection of plants
and building up a Herbarium, he was unique in achieving all this
at his own expense.
Prof. Sharma also
authored a very valuable work on The Orchid Flora of North
West Himalayas, a modern work, a version of the subject of a
valuable book on the same subject, published early in the
twentieth century by J. F. Duthie.
In his sad demise
the botanical community has lost a dedicated worker and a unique
personality
963, Lakshmipuram
Mysore
22nd March, 2005 |