PROF. M.A.ROMANOVA (A SOVIET MATH-GEOLOGIST) IN THE DEPARTMENT OF
GEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF KERALA, (~1970 AD).
The
Department of Geology moved from the city campus to the University Park,
Kariavattom, during Dec. 1968. We, the faculty were only four in number; Prof.
K.K.Menon, Shri.K.V.K.Nair, Mr.R.Krishnanath and me, Thrivikramji.K.P. Dr.Rajendran
Nair rejoined the Department after his Ph.D(from Leningrad U), say in the academic
year 1969-70. Mr. Raju Philip was in IITKh, with Prof. Asok Mukherjee doing his
Ph.D.
This
was closely followed by, a Soviet exchange visitor Prof. Maria A.Romanova (a
Math-Geologist and an associate of Academician A.B.Vistelius) choosing to come
to Kerala to be attached to the Dept. of Statistics. Soon after her arrival in the University
Park, Kariavattom, Maria discovered that a geologist (trained in USSR), versed in
Russian language sat just one floor below her own host, the Statistics
Department. In fact, after a brief discussion between Prof. Menon and Dr. (Ms.)
A. George of Statistics, an office space was carved out for Maria in the room
where Rajendran Nair sat.
This
was like two birds in one shot for Dr. Romanova. For one thing, she is a
Mathematical Geologist and had a geological troupe for her to mingle and
discuss with. Secondly, presence of a Soviet returned scientist with good
Russian language skill is an added attraction.
She
had also brought along copies of the first issues of the journal of
Mathematical Geology (a journal of the International Association Mathematical
Geologists) edited by Daniel Merriam and Published by Plenum Press, NY.
According to Dan (later narrated to me when I was in Syracuse), the idea of an
association or platform for Mathematical Geology was mooted in one of the IGC’s
(the 1968 IGC in Prague, which coincided with the march of Soviet tanks through
the main street in Prague in order to tame the Check communist Party).
During
my several hours of audience with Maria, there was frequent mention of names,
like A.B. Vistelius (Soviet Academy of Sciences), Richard McCammon (Univ. of
Chicago, Illinois circle), W.C. Krumbein (North Western University), John
Harbaugh (Stanford), John Griffiths (Penn State), D.F, Merriam and J.C. Davis
(Kansas Survey), S.V.L.N. Rao (IIT Kharagpur). The acquaintance with Maria,
made me to resolve that I should go for a Ph.D. in Math-geology.
Interestingly,
Dr. Romanova wanted to look up the geology around parts of southern states like
Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Though, the Dept.
of Geology had no van or car for field visits of faculty and students, Maria
had funds of her own to meet car hire costs etc. I had the great and fine
opportunity to be part of the Romnaova team (others are Rajendran Nair and
K.V.K.Nair) that toured the southern parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. We had
camped in Kanyakumari (Vivekanandapuram) and Courtallumb(Guesthouse) before driving
back home via, Shencotta. In the northern tour, it was the turn of Mr. Krishnanath
to go along.
Now
some geological details of the southern trip; the team always made a point to
stop over to check out the exposures of crystalline rocks occurring either as
sheet rock, or exposed in quarry floors and walls or along the right of way of
the NH47 or the other arterial roads.
During
the southern trip, we stumbled on calc-granulite, calc-gneiss exposures along
the southern edge of the right of way of the Amaravila-Perumkadavila road,
roughly 4-5 km away from the Amaravila check-post. It was interesting to note
that neither the British Geologists (King, W or Foote, B) who covered south Travancore
Geology nor the native ones who later reported on the Geology of south
Travancore, did not make any report/mention of this outcrop or occurrence. However,
in the 90’s, Santosh, M (CESS) and his co-workers had carried out extensive
research on these rocks.
Yet
another piece of ‘new’ geology, is the serendipitous discovery of an occurrence
of Kankar, at Kaliyikavila, again by the side of the Kanyakumari road and
behind the Kaliyikavila Panchayth office compound.The weathered profile exposed in a
cut at the foot of a hill slope, and on the eastern side of the NH47, but
immediately after passing the TNSTC garage at Kaliyikavila.The thin sections of
samples of kankar, the transition rock and parent rock eminently displayed the
process of gradual alteration of feldspar and replacement and its substitution withKankar.
Outside
of this, we did not make many other geological discoveries. At Kanyakumari (our
first overnight stay), we stayed in the Vivekanandapuram complex. Saw both the
sunset in the evening as well as the sunrise in the following dawn. At
Kanyakumari, the team inspected the beach rock platforms (on calcareous
sandstone) to the west of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial. (We don’t see it any more as
some‘wise men’with authority, decided to build a retaining wall to make a wider
road with parallel parking strip). Then, we checked out the pocket beaches with
quartz sand, garnet sand and ilmenite sand. The legend has it that these rice
(quartz sand), bran (garnet), and charcoal (ilmenite) were thrown away
intentionally to the sea, so that the she god in the temple at Kanyakumari will
stay as a virgin. In fact the grain
etc., were meant for the feast after the marriage ceremony. Naturally, sea
being what it is brings back every thing to the shore, instead of keeping it.
After
watching the sunrise, we had breakfast Tamil Nadu style, at the Canteen. As
usual, Maria got her thermos fully filled with sugar free black tea – a drink
she deeply cherished and enjoyed both in the office at the University park, as well as in the field. From, Kanyakumari we
then drove down the Tirunelveli road toward Kavalkinaru but with a stop at
Vattakottai- a historic fort along the Bay of Bengal waterfront and overlooking
the ocean and at Leepuram beach.
The Vattakottai
is now under the watch of the Archaeological Survey of India. The court yard of
the fort is under one ha or there about in area. In the Maharaja days of the
early 19th century, this place used to have a garrison, ammunition,
canons etc. The rampart is connected to the courtyard with a wide ramp, through
which men, canons, other supplies etc. could be quickly moved up to the rampart.
The outer parapet of rampart has wide enough vertical slits to allow aiming of gun
barrel against any enemy troupe. The entrance to the fort faces northerly.
There
is no moat around this fort anyway. Perhaps, the expected enemy approach, was
from the seaside made the builders to do away with the moats. The fort is
constructed primarily with granite blocks and granite dimension stones. In
contrast, the nearly a meter and a half wide walkway plus the slited parapet
are made of brick, stone and plastered (where ever needed) with surki – a
mixture of quicklime and sand in a ‘certain proportion’ along with some secret
additives. The lore has it that primarily raw egg and molasse are some among the
secret additives. Well, surki is the same building
material that went into making of the Mullaperiyar dam. This fort is one of the
last sea-side out posts of Maharaja of Travancore, who those days lived in the Padmanabhapuram
place (the Maharaja and family). Adjacent to the western and south western
basement of the fort, one could spot presence of a fossiliferous limestone with
a huge semblance to the Quilon limestone, (Age:-Burdigalian).
Then
the party briefly stopped at Leepuram beach to take a closer look at the black
sand concentrate in the beach. Maria was making comments about the vast plain
land extending from the foot of the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats toward
east and to the sea, and wondered if the sea waves had once crashed against the
foot of the hills.
Another
distinct and fresh recollection is about the water shower of the bathroom in
the Courtallum guesthouse instantly going dry. I was only half way through the
bath, and in fact laced with soap lather.
So were others. Maria, our Soviet math-geologist had her own room in the
guest house while the rest of us shared a common room. She too had the shower going instantly
waterless, but never made any fuss about it. The ‘boys’ in the team had a bath
in the Five falls (Ayyaruvi) at
Courtallam, before we packed off to Campus on the nest day. In fact, when Maria
went back to Soviet Union for good she left behind in my mind a fire to do a
PhD in Math. Geology.
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