A retired professor’s salute to his master & mentor

Jotirmay Thapliyal

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Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 1

Internationally acclaimed taxonomist Prof Wazahat Hussain, former Chairman, Botany Department, Aligarh Muslim University, has come all the way to Dehradun to express his gratitude to his Guru Somdev Sharma.

Eminent botanist Prof Somdev Sharma, who was a faculty with DAV (PG) College, Dehradun, taught Hussain in the 50s. Encourse his research, Somdev set up his personal herbarium, a monumental collection of specimens, particularly from Uttarakhand. He passed away a few years ago, leaving behind a precious legacy.

Prof Wazahat Hussain, did his BSc from DAV (PG) College in 1956, where he was greatly influenced by his teacher Somdev Sharma.

While talking to The Tribune, he recalled him as one dedicated to the sphere of botany.

Prof Hussain said Somdev was an authority on flora of the region. He travelled on foot to Yamunotri and Gangotri and collected specimens which are still preserved in his herbarium. Each and every specimen is identified by the date on which it was found and the location from where it was found. The flowering and fruiting of each and every flora also finds mention in the accompanying field note book.

“Somdev was immaculate and always gave his 100 per cent. He was a methodological person and his identification was thorough,” remembers Prof Hussain.

“His dedication to the subject was unparalled. I still remember once Somdev Sharma had a cardiac problem and was admitted to a hospital in an unconscious state. When I went to meet him at the hospital to enquire about his health, he told me that as he went unconsciousness, he had a dream of heaven that had rich and diverse flora. Somdev Sharma’s herbarium is a treasure of flora and I am happy that the Forest Research Institute (FRI) has now taken responsibility to preserve it,” quipped Prof Hussain.