OBITUARY

Manoj Shukla (1951-2006) For many, the death of Dr. Manoj Shukla on 06 June, 2006 came as a shock. An active Fellow of the Geological Society of India and a leading Palaeobotanist of the country passed away in a tragic accident near Lucknow. Dr. Shukla carved out a special niche for himself in the Precambrian palaeobiological world. He was busy shaping the International Field conference being organized by the BSIP till the end. Born on 12 November, 1951, in the non-descript town of Nagina, he received his early education in several cities moving with his parents on each transfer. Each shifting gave him a unique opportunity of mingling with different persons and adjusting himself with changing situations. This ability became an important aspect of his charming personality. After obtaining his B.Sc. (1971) and M. Sc. (1973) degrees from the University of Lucknow, he joined the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany (BSIP) in 1974 to pursue research as his career. Those were hey days of active research in Gondwana palaeobotany and palynology at the BSIP. He joined the Gondwana palynology group under the tutelage of Dr. Keshav Mukund Lele, where he worked on the lithostatigraphic and biostratigraphic correlation of Hutar Coalfield in the erstwhile Bihar. With his training in geology, an additional advantage, he not only mapped parts of the Hutar Coalfield but also established altogether a new Formation. For his work on Hutar Coalfield, he was awarded Ph.D. in 1979 by the University of Lucknow. In November 1980 he married Savita, a simple pious lady. His early academic pursuit was marked by the biometric
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analysis of the pollen and spores, a method which became popular in following years. Soon after completing his Ph.D. he was asked to strengthen the Precambrian palaeobiological research at BSIP. Though a difficult and not so rewarding area of research, once again he threw all his energies in understanding and pursuing the nuances of Precambrian palaeobiology. His expertise of biometric analysis of spores and pollen came handy while studying a peculiar group of acritarch Chuaria found in plenty in Middle Precambrian sediments. His early research papers on Chuaria are the most cited works in Precambrian palaeobiology. Gradually he attuned himself in the Precambrian palaeobiology. A mega joint-project among BARC, BSIP and NGRI was initiated to investigate the Archaean sediments of the India in 1986. This project gave him an opportunity to work in a tough and challenging endeavour in palaeontological research. For this project, he was the natural choice of Drs. M. S. Chadha, B. S. Venkatachala and S. M. Naqvi, the leaders of the project, to be the team member for the study of Archaean palaeobiology. Discovery of microfossils in Archaean metasediments is as difficult as establishing the age and genuineness of microbial remains. His untiring efforts helped in discovery of microfossils and stromatolites from Dharwar Craton. It is a no mean achievement that some of these discoveries are quoted in recent books on Precambrian palaeobiology. Over the years, his experiences in Precambrian palaeobiology resulted in several contributions on the Cuddapah, the Kaladgi and the Vindhyan Supergroups and the Bhima and the Kurnool Groups and also in Lesser Himalayan belts. He will probably be best

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remembered for his many landmark papers on Archaean, Proterozoic plant and animal fossils in Tertiary ambers. Shukla published a large number of research papers on diverse aspects. His latest paper on the fossils in amber appeared in the June, 2006 issue of the Journal of Geological Society of India. The books published and compiled by him include: Plant Fossils: A Link with the Past, and A Catalogue of Fossils Plants from India: Archaean and Proterozoic Palaeobiology. A new vista of palaeontology came up in the form of palaeobiochemistry of fossil plants. He attempted to introduce this new dimension of palaeobiochemistry in the discipline of palaeobotany in early nineties. He crisscrossed the entire country for collecting suitable samples for such a study. In this course he studied the samples from higher Himalaya, from Mahandaur locality of Bihar and Western Ghat amber deposits. This endeavor might not have yielded the direct results but he was successful in investigating the ambers of India for fossils remains. His series of papers on fossils in amber earned him and his team the prestigious H. S. Pareek Award of the Geological Society of India for best paper in coal science in the year 2000. Several leading organizations viz. GSI, WIHG, Geology Departments of several universities approached him for collaborative work, a reflection of the recognition of his expertise among a wide range of researchers. Like most Indians, he felt pride in Indian Science and therefore submitted nearly all his important discoveries to Indian journals some of which could have been easily published in International journals. He was contended with the work in India and not very keen of trips abroad and presenting work outside. Because of this he left Indian shores only twice to visit New York and Prague to attend IGCP and ISSOL meetings respectively. During these visits he consulted Dr. H. D. Pflugs laboratory for Nama Metazoans. During his life time, Shukla served on various committees of the Institute and different universities. He was the Fellow of the Geological Society of India, the Palaeontological Society of India and the Palaeobotanical Society of India. He was the Editor of Geophytology, Treasurer of the Palaeobotanical Society and member of the Executive council of the Palaeontological Society of India. He was also a member of several IGCP National Working Groups. His immediate concern was the organization of International Field workshop during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the BSIP scheduled for November 2006. Less than a week before his demise he had returned on 31st May

after marking the spots and making arrangement for the stay of the participants in Lesser Himalayan sequences of Krol Belt. No one would believe that the end of an eminent palaeobiologist was so near and so tragic. In fact the news of his demise broke in Lucknow when National Convenor of IGCP Working Group called on his mobile, soliciting his participation in the meeting but unfortunately instead, got the information of his death from the site of accident. I had the opportunity to be associated with him since 1986 and feel the void left by him intensely. We had several plans of strengthening the palaeobiology group at BSIP and undertaking new investigations, particularly establishing the unit of Astropalaeobiology. Organization of the National Conference, on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, last year brought us very close and we together learned many organizational aspects. We shared a common interest in Precambrian palaeobiology and mutually enriched our professional potential and strategy, particularly in fostering the study of Precambrian microfossils. The encouragement and enthusiasm shown by him in the organizational activities will be for ever missing. In spite of his many scientific accomplishments and honours, Manoj was a very humble person who was kind to everyone. He was extremely generous with his time and expertise. One could not ask for a better advisor than Manoj. Apart from his scientific achievements, he was an avid plant lover. He had good and rare collections of cacti and a beautiful garden which he used to personally water. He not only collected plants from several places but also shared his plant treasure with family and friends. Dr. Shukla had a pleasant personality and special knack for solving difficult problems and convincing everyone. It was part of his life. He had clearly defined objectives to which he stuck all through his life. He never cared how he dressed and what other thought of his attire or for that matter, of his work. He had strong leadership qualities and took care of all the members of the team. He is survived by his wife, two sons and a large number of friends to mourn his death. In Shuklas demise we lost a true friend and it is impossible to fill his place in palaeobotany.
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany, 53 University Road, Lucknow - 226 007, U.P. Email: sharmamukund1@rediffmail.com

MUKUND SHARMA

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