Edakkal Caves, Wayanad, Kerala

1.    The Edakkal cave is not a cave; instead it is a cove (or a sheltered nook in a cliff face) on the near vertical face of a rocky hill. A typical cave has an entrance created by tens of thousands of dissolution by natural waters and the entrance will lead to a hollow chamber. It is typically formed in limestone terrains only. In the crystalline basement rocks of peninsular India natural caves does not exist as the rock is insoluble practically, in spite of the monsoon rains and water supply.

2.    Edakkal cave is then only a nook or cove in near vertical face of a rock cliff. In fact the “aboriginals” took shelter in such spots and during leisure time got involved in carving and painting the free and clean, algal growth free face with their mental impressions of what they went through daily or whatever.

3.    Obviously the tropical monsoon season with more than 100 t0 140 moist days not only endowed our rocky hills with a universal black coat of dead algae, but made it indelible through decades and centuries and millennia of rain fall.

4.    However by the sheltered nature the nooks on the near vertical face escaped the intense black coat instead the coat ended where the water drops disappeared or escaped by evaporation.

5.    Evaporation is a process that takes place even at the ambient temperature. But the path of the water drops on the roof of the nooks will receive some degree of lichen  growth and to that extent some degree of camouflaging of the details of the lithogyphics  like it happened in the Edakkal cave.

6.    The proposition before us then is the either removal of the pathways of water drops to the roof and/or wall of the cave, or limiting it entirely or completely.   Perhaps this is the only recourse before us now. This process needs to be implemented by doing no harm to the natural setting and perhaps very unobtrusively. This therefore needs very careful analysis of the topographic, climatic and environmental setting of the Edakkal cave.

7.    The orientation of the rock ridge, dominant rocks forming the ridge, their internal structure like joint systems, their depth of penetration, foliation sets, quartz veins and their attitude, and such others need a detailed mapping in a 1:200 or 400 scale and not more, like we do the lithological and structural mapping of a dam site.

8.    A slope map of the ridge, like when we make a plan for landscaping, in a 1:200 or 400 scale needs to be created as an aid in designing a system of sheet flow diversion away from the cliff façade.

9.    Once this is achieved one need to assess the volume of surface water flow over the ridge in all directions to assess, whether or not most of the rain water follows downward through cove or nook face.   Luckily if the major surface run off is away from the nook’s façade then solutions will be far more easier and repair or maintenance more cheap and Affordable in the longer run in the deeper future.

10. If the structural discontinuities in the ridge are proved to be leading water away from the nook, it is a great relief in the refurbishing of the cave and its treasures.

11. This can be proved only by an experiment in the field by a dye test in several selected points on the ridge and during the early or late stages of monsoon. As we do not hold power knowledge about the end of monsoon it is better to do the same during the early days of onset of SW monsoon.

12. This will unequivocally tell us a) there is influx of water into the roof of the nook or not. If the latter is proved true, then we have to implement a host of designed interventions to divert the “gushing” of drops and droplets or micro-sheet flow of water over and through the roof and then over the cave face.

13. Now the next set of experiments is meant to quantify the water volume wetting the roof and face as well as the humidity and temperature in the cave. Once such data are with us and then we could go for a design of diversion measure of the streams of rain drops freely entering the cave roof and then to the face.

14. Remedial measures for avoiding the lichen growth, primarily address the removal of the growth conditions (Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a fungus and a photosynthetic partner growing together in a symbiotic relationship. usually either a photosynthetic green alga or cyanobacterium.)

15. The design shall be construction of micri-gutters across the slope3 of the hill face or side to take the flow off the façade of the cave. The spacing frequency, dimensions etc need to be designed on the basis of knowledge on the quanta of sheet flow down the face. Such solutions are to be based on the actual data and not general presumptions of conjuctures.

16. The Lichen growth and the ambient environment for their healthy growth need to be understood unequivocally to design certain measure that will deflect such conditions for growth and then at the end infestation by lichens.

17.  Therefore, the GoK may order a study to assess the physical and biological environment before a conservation plan is designed for the Edakkal cave – a heritage site that may one day come under the umbrella of UNESCO. 

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 thrivikramji@gmail.com

Singing Sands of Sankumukam beach, Trivandrum, India.

Singing Sands of Sankumukam beach, Trivandrum, India.

Singing sands are known to exist in some beaches in different parts of the world. One example near home is the beach sands of Sankumukam, Trivandrum. In fact, the Sankumukam beach sand is near glass quality sand and its black sand component is noticed in the beach immediately to the north of Kovalam headland where the former ITDC hotel complex stands.

Now some points about the singing sands. What is this sand and why is it designated so? Unfortunately, the masonry construction in the backshore to erect a Broad walk, is an intrusion into the natural system. The SW monsoon wave erosion removes practically all the sand stored in the summer berm.

However, when the beach is rebuilt after the monsoon, with a distinct summer berm there is a wide backshore. If one walks over this beach bare footed, and kicking the sand under the feet with the heel an audible squeak is created due to rubbing of the sand by the heel. Such sands are described variously as booming or roaring sands.  In fact, this nature of the sand earned the name singing sand for the beach sand of our own town beach.

What is the source or what are the attributes of this sand that generates an audible squish? According to Sir C V Raman, (who took time out to walk this beach in the early 1950’s, when his flight was delayed by two hours or so and decided to check out this character of the sand in the Sankumukam beach), the moisture content, shape of the sand particles, size and degree of sorting as well as nearly uniform mineralogy, or pure quartz are contributing factors. Sir Raman made this comment to the young geologist, Mr. kVK Nair (then of the Division of Mineral Survey and Research Central Research Institute, the Travancore University) in the presence of Dr. CS Venketeswaran( then Principal, University College, Trivandrum). However, so far an instrumented study of this characteristic never came under scrutiny. The only attribution is that the Sankumukam sand qualifies for designating as glass quality or glass sand like the Chertala Glass sands deposits and makes the audible squeaking sound.

Similar sand occurrences have been reported from other parts of the world, like California and Nevada (dune sands), Kazhakastan, UAE,  Abu Dhabi etc). 

A NOTE ON VIZHINJAM CONTAINER PORT SUBMITTED TO THE CHAIRMAN

A NOTE ON VIZHINJAM CONTAINER PORT SUBMITTED TO THE CHAIRMAN

(of the Public Hearing on June 29, 13)

I wish to bring to the attention of the chairman (Dist. Collector) of open forum discussing the EIA /EMP of Vizhinjam Container Port (VCP) under planning. I am very concerned about the impending siltation into the harbor basin by “wrongly” placing the gateway to the port facing southerly along a shoreline with dominant northerly drift. Inspection of the google earth scenes or the topographic sheets of SOI published in the 1920’s as well as the 1980’s and the bathymetric chart, is just enough to get this insight on the sediment drift. This port’s gateway is facing southerly to let in sediment that travels from Kanyakumari to Vizhinjam. There are three small rivers (Rao ‘s terminology) viz., the Neyyar, the Kuzhitura ar and Pazhayar. The following points are in support of my concern.

1. The Kannur Fishing Hof Kannur (KFH) and the Vizhinjam Fishing Harbor (VFH) are the textbook examples of correct design based on a poor data set including waves and currents.   The break water of Kannur port was designed by Perr Brunn (who also designed the Alexandria harbor, Egypt and one other major harbor in Australia), a world renowned harbor engineer who regularly came to India to the National Institute of Oceanography for academic exchanges and research pursuits.

2. However, design of breakwater of KFH due to “bad” data, became a text book example (in Brunn’s own text book) of right design leading to adverse results. The result is very simple, siltation in the sheltered harbourwaters. The dominant northerly current in coastal waters of Kerala drove the sediment straight into the boat basin, as the gateway to the harbor faced southerly. (This warranted construction of a second breakwater/wharf to block the northerly drifting sediment from getting into the harbor basin).

3. The same bias persisted in the design of the breakwater in the VFH, which led to intensive silting of the boat basin and erosion of bluffs facing the breakwater shelled tetrapods, (on the backshore over which a large church building stands). Consequently then, the authorities had to develop a second breakwater in the VFH to rectify the error.

4. The Chinese designers while designing the Sri Lankan Container Port apparently understood the scientific nuances on the west coast of the island nation (as well as that of India0 and consequently to curtail siltation and consequent dredging, kept the gateway to the port facing northerly.

5. I am indeed upset by the designers of VCP, choosing to keep the gateway oriented southerly which invites huge sediment influx into the harbor basin. I am very uncomfortable with this design.

6. In 1980-81, a team that I led to study the sediment drift around the VFH, reported to the harbor engineering department of the state the intense northerly drift of sediment and hence into the boat basin. Huge volumes of sediment are mobilized during the SW monsoon season. VFH added the second break water after our report.

7. The depth to the seafloor in this region is projected as an excuse for keeping the gateway facing southerly.

8. Well, I am suspicious of the claim hat siltation will not be a major problem hence. All that I would caution about is the fury and intensity of the SW monsoon wave climate is something very difficult to predict by modeling.

9. The monsoon cycles can be intensified by the climate change phenomena affecting all the littoral nations of the world, and VCP is no exception. I am sure with severe monsoons the intensity of sand transport will be on the rise and I am sure that northerly dominant drift along the Kerala coast will not reverse by itself to save the VCP.

10. Thank you very much for allowing me to voice my concern about the southerly orientation of the gateway, in spite of the scientific basis.

Sd/-

(Dr. Thrivikramji.K.P.)

Professor Emeritus

thrivikramji@gmail.com

94464 25842 (M)

Thrivikramji earns shipboard break

Thrivikramji earns shipboard exposure.

It was like the last quarter of 1980, I believe, that I was introduced to Comdr. Duke, who was then stationed at the Naval Base, Kochi. I did not know how Director C. Karunakaran of CESS got acquainted with Cdr. Duke, but one thing was sure they were very good friends. Whenever, Duke had free time he used to come down to Trivandrum to see the pursuits of the MSD group. hen I joined, Cdr Duke came down and held fairly long discussions with me as to the programs I was planning for the MSD, CESS.

One of the visits, Duke asked me if I ever went to the sea. My answer was yes, which made him quite curious. I narrated my experience, and I did not think my narrative impressed that man. (Details, elsewhere). In fact, CK sort of chided me for not having gone for a cruise in a ship out to the open sea in spite of being the Head MSD. Duke also suggested if I were ready he will work out a plan that will give each one in the MSD a cruise break in the ocean.

In fact, I suggested that I will show the lead and go for the cruise as soon as Duke could arrange one. CK was impressed and so was Duke. Within a week of that meeting, on a Wednesday I took the morning Venad express to Kochi. Baba’s driver picked me up from the Ernakulam south station and dropped me at the Kochin Naval base where I was received by some cadet officer. In fact, I met the station commander briefly and that man ordered a tour for me in the INS Venduruthy. In the late afternoon I boarded a naval frigate berthed in the naval jetty. It was sort of one escort taking me over to another official or station where someone else will take over.

The commander (I cannot recall the man’s name) welcomed me on board. After a brief chat about what I do and what the research plans of the MSD are, he walked me through the ship right from the engine room to the bridge explaining everything to me. By sunset we sailed off, through the Kochi channel out to the sea and then on a line toward east of south, and roughly parallel to the sea coast.

The bridge the controls in there and A to Z of what happens in the bridge etc were explained to be briefly but not losing the content. A mistake on my part was that I did not do any noting of the points.  The commander sits in a very tall chair at the rear end of the bridge room, while the men take charge of each instrument. There is a voice pipe connecting the bridge and the engine room, and all the verbal commands were shouted out through the voice pipe. The same pipe functions as the mouth piece and ear piece. The voice pipe is made of brass and the visible part of duct is kept with neat polish and shining brassy yellow.

A navigator is in charge of a navigational chart spread out between the commander’s chair and the crew manning the bridge. The navigator will read out the azimuth of the course, which is repeated through the voice pipe to the engine room from where another set of crew will steer the vessel. N fact there is a rudder in the bridge too. It was quite a new experience for me.

In fact the commander told me in private that he has a sort of prohibition during a cruise. But liquor is allowed once the vessel is berthed. I think the vessel was like INS Krisna or so, which was later decommissioned and these days it is sort of a museum.

I had a dinner with commander anyway in the late evening. Then one of the men camein and escorted me to  the sick bay in the ship on the star board side. I could see the nightlights on land. Or else everything was dark. In the bunker I had a glass window through which I could see the outside. It was announced that we will call on shore in the early hours of the following day.

I could here the wave splashing on the iron sheets of the ships body. As night became really late the noise was louder. But that did not bother me and indeed I had a good night sleep, but for the intimation that we were somewhere south of the latitude of Kollam and turning around on there to begin the return leg of the journey.

When the day broke, the vessel was waiting in the sea off the mouth of ship channel to Kochin port. The sailing from the sea to the berth at naval jetty was indeed slow and took almost forty minutes. Once we berthed, the Commander invited me for a brunch, beer and liquor. I profusely thanked the team for the wonderful experience I earned in the trip on my behalf and on behalf of CESS.

Around twelve noon, Baba send the office car for me to go to town to the Rgional Center of CESS. I had a discussion about the shipboard experience without any sea sickness. Premchand in fact told me, if I had downed couple of large drinks, the sea sickness will not brush with me.

By mid evening I travelled to Ernakulam south to catch Venad express to Trivandrum, reaching around 9:30 pm at Trivandrum central. It was wonderful for me and CK never had asked me or nudged me on this account.

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Glauconite in the Quilon Limestone, (Age:Burdigalian) India.

Thrivikramji’s Glauconite story.

Glauconite is one of the minerals that is essentially a product of marine environment and entirely an authigenic mineral formed during diagenesis. The Glauconite I started on as a piece of research, when I "rejoined" the Department of Geology as Lecturer in the University of Kerala. I resigned my position as Asst. Geologist in the Mining and Geology department to join the university as a teacher. Those days the department was housed in the west wing of the first floor of the Finance department of the university. In fact 18-3-1968 was my entry to the Geology Department of the University of  Keraka.

The Glauconite is a interesting mineral and it is a clay in respect of structure and purely of marine authigenesis and hence of great repute in respect of correlating unfossiliferous sedimentary formations. The work I did with pyrite framboids, had in fact indicated the presence of green pellet all grains which were in the fine to very fine sand grade. So it was easy for me to get to the samples, and line up the laboratory to quickly launch the study.

I aggregated sufficient quantity of Glauconite, needle picked for purity and about half a gram of the stuff was safely forwarded to SV university, where then Prof. Chakrapani Naidu was presiding in the geology department. A geochemist in the department had agreed to do a chemical assay of the sample to verify whether it was Glauconite. The answer was negative. The sample had no element potassium, a critical chemical element for the sample to qualify as Glauconite.

When a portion was send to USSR, to Rajendran Nair, he too did the examination and verification of the stuff with help of a senior faculty there who too could not agree that my Glauconite indeed is Glauconite. I was not disappointed or displeased. I went back to the library and to the American Mineralogist, where one Burst had a paper or two on Glauconite, where he suggested the chlorite may occur along with typical Glauconite in the pellets which in fact are fecal pellets only. These pellets are created by the filter feeding organisms in the sea, which cast the injected micro grains of minerals into pellets. Among these the capsular pellets are commonest.

Those days like in the early 80's a review paper on Petrology of Glauconite authored by DM Triplehorn appeared in the journal Earthscience Reviews. This paper was in fact a game changer as far as the Glauconite of Quilon limestone was concerned. This researcher divided Glauconite into four categories, of which one is mixed mineral Glauconite (it is exactly like mine) which was a great "eureka" moment for me. Then time was moving past and by the fall of 1972, I joined Syracuse University on a Fulbright Fellowship. I continued my Glauconite studies after the conclusion of my PhD and rejoining the department of geology at Kariavattom campus.

At Syracuse we were a trio in the geology department. Swapan ghosh, Ghan srivastava and me in the department. Swapan did geochemistry, Ghan computer applications and me in hydrodynamics. Swapan joined the Shiraz Univ, Iran, Ghan joined CITGO and I rejoined U of K, Kariavattom.

I then forwarded some samples of Quilon limestone to Shiraz for Swapan to do some minor and trace element chemistry. but when the results emerged Swapan was in trouble due to the revolution that brought Khomeini to Iran to the presidency. When revolution peaked in 1980 Swapan wanted to know if I can help find job somewhere in India. I immediately went and saw Prof. C . Karumnakarana, the founder Director, CESS, Trivandrum and made a strong recommendation for the case Swapan. The Director then asked me to get the biodata and in about two months Swapan's CV was given to Director. In fact Swapan had SE job offer quickly and he joined like Dec.1980, roughly six months after my joining CESS.

Swapan had the results of analysis ready. We sat together in the late evening hours to put together a joint paper on the "Pyrite-Glauconite assemblage in the Quilon Limestone (Age: Burdigalian) from the type area etc.." It was forwarded to the Geological Society of India, Bangalore, which was promptly published without any revision in about six months from the date of submission.

 I also read a paper on the Glauconite in the Indian Sedimentologists Congress, at Banares Hindu University, in 1981.After the presentation during lunch break Dr. R.A.K.Srivastava, came to me and said it was an interesting presentation and he would like the full paper for inclusion in a book he was planning on Glauconite. My paper appeared in the book "Glauconite -form and function" that Srivastava edited and published.

There was also a nasty incident in regard to Glauconite. There was one Dr.Raha, PK in CESS and another Dr. Sinha Roy, both were from the GSI. When the manuscript that I and Swapan made was accepted for publication, this Raha-Roy team preempted our publication through another short paper that reported Glauconte for the first time to Bangalore Current Science. This happened in spite of the diligent Director's office and Swapan more of a compatriot of Raha-Roy duo.

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Prof. Anirudhan Sahadevan officially bows out from University of Kerala.

Prof. Anirudhan Sahadevan officially bows out from University of Kerala.

This month of March, 13 is quite important to me as my good friend Prof. Anirudhan (aka ani) is getting ready for the mandatory retirement. I wish to flag some among many of miles we walked together in the road of research, until I retired in Jan., 2004 leaving behind the ENVIS Center and the tech. staff of the center. When I look back, the closing down of the ENVIS center in the Department of geology, Kariavattom campus gave an opportunity for the staff to re-energize and fly new heights in their own lives. Now back to ani and me.

I met ani as a young and determined man for the first time in my office in CESS, at Sasthamangalam, Trivandrum. He dropped into my office; say in the afternoon to get acquainted with me. We did not meet each other earlier anyway. For some reason, ani knew that I am planning to get out of CESS and to the free world of th university.

The universities are by far the most unique places where freedom is immense, formalities are rather informal. It is place where professors work like hermits. If one wanted to work hard to look for answers to issues and phenomenon, university environs are the right place. There is absolute freedom to think or not to think, think the way you wish to think, Work or not to work, and work on such mundane stuff you wish to work on. The work load of teaching is less compared to others. So, I was thrilled by the idea of getting back to my dream job in the department of geology of the University of Kerala.

All that ani needed to know was, the gossip about my jumping off the CESS boat was for real or just gossip. Ani felt good when I answered in affirmative. And he expressed his desire to work for a PhD degree under my counseling and directions. May be we went out of the office to the front street for a cup each of parting tea on that evening. Then, by mid June of 82, I departed to the Kariavattom campus of the university and from the next day onwards I restarted as reader in geology.

I would imagine that from the very first day on we struck a very friendly relationship, talking about the research topic. In a week or two the choice was narrowed down to the study of sediments of Bharathapuzha. This river had sort of attracted me like a magnet. It is a medium class alluvial river with seasonal floods like others in Kerala and otherwise a calm flowing system with large side bars and flats of sand.

In fact the original proposal was sort of open ended. In geology, our research questions are not very refined nor finite. Our path is what we call multiple workings hypothesis, credited to W Chamberlain, a famous American geologist and academic.

The field data collection and foot work indeed were tailored into the MSc student dissertation project. So ani and I used to go to field with the boys. We had very interesting groups like Shyam Sarma and team (camping at Chittoor), Varma, Mohan, Razak and Jose James (in Sreekrishnapuram camp), Vinod, Pradeep, Gangadhar and Abraham (in Manimuthar, TN) and so on. Chittoor camp was indelible as we were denied accommodation in the inspection bungalow by the caretaker, on the false basis that the room was already allotted. But we chose to sleep in the verandah of the inspection bunglow for the first night. We did that in spite of endless pleas by the caretaker, who initially said the place was full. The next day onwards we had absolutely no problem whatsoever regarding the sleeping place. Ani and I stayed there with the boys for all the ten days the teachers were ordered to stay.

However, Sreekrishnapuram camp was equally memorable but on a different count. In fact the place or rather two rooms we got on rental basis was the second floor space of a row shops. Second floor had  all kinds of guys living. Most of them are vending stuff in the villages to make a living. Everything from bangles to vessels and fake medicines to food stuff can be seen in the list. Expensive items like children’s and ladies garments were vended. These guys after long day of roaming about in the villages, in a bicycle or even by foot are nearly passed out when they get back to their room. Hence they are practically silent at night. But our boys were the opposite, and keep on chatting with us for long hours at night.

The fun part of the lodge is the toilet. The mornings we need to go to the toilet to ease the bowels. This had to be done in open air inside a walled property. Entry is illegal as we had to jump over a wall on specific points to avoid landing on feces. Inside the compound, it is like the old roman style. You squat inn such a way that you butt does not hit the neighbors. Every one smoked, to overcome the stench of human excreta. The butt washing is also a community activity, whereby one uses a bucket and rope to lift water from the bottom of well. In fact, the bucket takes turns to meet the needy. You smile at the man’s face to get the bucket for yourself.

The women in the small town never passed by this walled property during the evening and morning busy hours. We initially took a bath from the water well. However, we soon discovered a temple tank and with permission from the temple authority we used to go to the small pond. Ani did not know how to swim. But all others did know. So we decided that we will put ani in the pond and make him practice swimming. Mohan took the lead to coax and coerce ani to start swimming. Really the truths of the matter was that by the seventh day in the camp, ani could swim across the pond, which is only say 15 feet roughly.

Another surprise was Mohan after bath along with us went to the temple. Being strangers there people were curious to figure out our intentions in the town. Our boys are very smart in conveying the purpose of our visit to the town and the mission at hand. This always earned some degree of reputation for us. The priest gave us routinely, fried flavored and sweetened rice cake to share and eat.

Mohan being what he is, offered to sit with the small crowd or choir and sang devotional songs say for about 30 mins or so. Mohan sang well and this led to a higher esteem for us. Plus two or three extra sweet fried rice cakes.

The work out in the field was tough but no way to avoid. This man Razack cleverly avoided the hard hot field days and went to Angadipuram, where he had a Railway employee uncle, in the pretext of treating tooth ache. The others stayed back to complete the work. But I and ani packed off back to campus.

The chitoor camp was good, but for the first night. The entire team took a night bus to Palani for darsan and stay overnight. We ran up the 900 or so steps, of course taking breaks.

The Manimuthar camp was equally good but for the first nights sleeps again in the veranda of the inspection bunglow. V.Radakrishnan (now Professor, Bharathidasan Univ., TN) joined us as he was looking at the sediments of Thamirabarani river for his doctoral degree. Ani and I went to Manimuthar in my Mahindra jeep, and en route at Tirunelveli gave the jeep to a workshop for some repair work.

Ani wrote the thesis in piecemeal and I sat and read the manuscript and did the essential modifications. It was nearly an eight month long mission. If this man was ready with one page I will read and finalize that page. Or if it is 20 pages long we sat right through the late evening to finalize that segment. My policy is to do whatever given to me in one go. That is what my teacher Bryce Hand did with my thesis. He would say Vic hand in whatever you have. The length is of no consequence. This great man never failed to give me back what I gave the previous eve, in the very next morning when he walked up the stairs at my office-end in the Heroy Lab., Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York

Finally, ani was kind of confused about my language skills. When we were closing in on the final leg of thesis, he wondered if, the thesis need be read by a language expert, late Dr Rajan. I politely told ani that this thesis will go to foreign examiners and let us wait for their comments.

Before I was leaving the country to Wichita State Univ., USA on PDF, I personally took say five copies of thesis to the concerned section in the administration section. It was like Aug 89, or so, and I flew out to JFK and then to Wichita, where Bill Full and his girl friend and step son received me.

When I rejoined on the first of January 90 two reports, including the one by Lee Suttner of Indiana was in the office. And ani was formally awarded the doctorate by the university, in April that year.

Later we were together in several research projects. I and ani supervised thesis work of Dr Sabu and ani sooner than later was appointed as professor of geology. So this young man is now senior and is readying himself to quit the active service as a geoscientist and academic.

Wish him very best wishes.

THOMAS RUSSELL MacLAREN LAWRIE

THOMAS RUSSELL MacLAREN LAWRIE
BSc(StAnd)
Russell Lawrie was born at Sillyearn, Grange, Banffshire, on 30th May 1913. He spent most of his early years in Fife, where his father was a schoolmaster at several locations and he himself was thus educated at various schools, latterly at Buckhaven Secondary, where he was Dux Medallist in 1931. From there he gained a Taylour Thomson Bursary to St Andrews University, graduating BSc in 1935 with a First Class Honours in Geology, also being Class Medallist for that year. He had an active extra-curricular life and was a founder member of the University Mountaineering Club, Captain of the Hockey team 1935-36 and a Hockey Blue. In 1937 he took part in a University scientific expedition to NW Iceland, a trip which not only provided valuable experience for his later work in Skye, but stimulated his lifelong interest in the pastime of bird watching, an activity in which he became expert.
He commenced a postgraduate research study of the Ballachulish Granite, but gave this up after a year when offered a post with the Geological Survey of Great Britain (GSGB), some of his work being eventually incorporated in the revised GSGB memoir to Glencoe and Ben Nevis (1960). On joining the GSGB in 1937 he was first appointed to the relatively new Water Department in London and also worked as a field
surveyor in the Chepstow area. In 1939 he was transferred to the Edinburgh office where his Iceland experience was put to good use in the geological survey of North Skye, while he also worked in Fife. These surveys were discontinued on the outbreak of the War, when, in common with most of the GSGB staff, his work was directed to investigations more immediately concerning the War effort.In Lawrie's case this was the attempt to find alternative sources of strategic minerals and he was especially involved in the Scottish
Highlands in the search for, and the eventual discovery of, small but vital deposits of sheet mica, then needed for the electronics industry whose previously imported supply had been severely interrupted. (Although important at the time, winning this material proved too labour intensive to survive the War.) He was also concerned in the location of new sources of water supply.

Soon after the War ended his broad experience both in field geology and applied studies resulted in his secondment to the Government of Travancore State, India, as Director of Mineral Survey and Research. There he set up a small Geological Survey HQ and trained staff, but most unfortunately this work was much hindered by the transfer of power in India and he found the appointment personally most frustrating. On his departure in 1950 the Indian Central Government took over the work.

Back in Scotland he joined the small Highlands and Islands Unit (HIU). Basically engaged in the primary 6-inch survey of the Locheil (62) Sheet, much of the time of the Unit was taken up with advisory work for the North of Scotland Hydroelectric Board's construction schemes, at that time an innovative cooperation between geologist and engineer. Lawrie was particularly involved with the Garry-Moriston, Fannich and Strathfarrar projects. He also served as Geological Assessor to the Mineral Resources Panel of the
Scottish Council (Development and Industry).

In 1957 he was appointed District Geologist in charge of HIU, transferring in 1965 to take charge of the North Lowland Unit. He retired in 1973, but was reappointed to the HIU as a temporary Principal Geologist for a further two years, mainly organising records of mineral resources and assisting in an editorial capacity.
Lawrie was Vice-President of the Edinburgh Geological Society 1957-59 and Joint Scientific Editor of its Transactions 1952-59. He was also a Fellow of the Geological Society of London. He was elected FRSE in 1960. Over the period when Russell Lawrie worked in GSGB (now BGS) the emphasis was of course in its cooperative studies on which the maintenance of the National Geological Data Base depended (i.e. Maps, Memoirs, Borehole Records etc). His considerable director input to the science can however be seen in the credits to the 1-inch (or 1-50000) maps of Chepstow (England 250), and Scotland maps (40) Kinross; (41) North Berwick; (52) Tobermory; (53) Ben Nevis (2nd Edn); Northern Skye; (62W) Loch Quoich and (62E) Loch Lochy. He contributed to the Memoirs of Chepstow, Ben Nevis and Stirling, and was a part or main author of six 'Wartime Pamphlets', a title which does scant justice to the importance of the work carried out at that time.

When 'Russ' joined the HIU it consisted of myself and J E Wright, the 50% increase in staff being most welcome as we were engaged in the rather daunting task of mapping the mountainous area of Lochaber, then only known in the barest geological detail. West of the Great Glen the terrain was wild and inaccessible. It was also wet, and as the only practicable means of operation was working from small hike tents, personally carried, the life was rather rugged. Russell's early love of wild country of course helped here, but he also had an equable, humorous personality well able to cope with the conditions and we all became personal friends as well as colleagues. The 'Pioneering' aspect of the work was stimulating and he subsequently looked back on these days - as we all did - with nostalgia. Not the least of the plus points for him was the opportunity afforded to observe less common birds and he always carried a heavy pair of powerful binoculars to add to the load of rock specimens. I well remember his excitement when for two successive camp sites we inadvertently chose Blackcock 'Leks', on which our tents provided impromptu hides.

As DG of the (much enlarged) HIU and latterly of the NLU he was well liked and respected by his staff several of whom have made mention of his unstinting scientific and editorial help in the preparation of papers and reports. For a man who was certainly not extrovert, his rather pawky humour, especially on social occasions, made him very popular office-wide.

On his retiral he ceased to take an active interest in Geology. His wife Berne (MacDonald, whom he married in 1939) was much involved in Club bowling, and he joined her in this activity, which turned out to be a considerable commitment. With her he also continued his interest in birds and in orchestral music.
Suffering rather poor health in his latter years, he died in Edinburgh on 14 July 1993.

SCOTT JOHNSTONE

Road to Career-Thrivikamji and Baskaran

Road to Career-Thrivikamji and Baskaran go to Dehradun, Aug.  1965 .

In 1965 May or early June or so, and after  the M.Sc  results were announced, I was indeed happy and thrilled about the prospects of getting a very decent job in one of the professional organizations employing fresh PGs in Geology  from the colleges and Universities. Even in those days in spite of being a very lowly organization those days, ONGC was a good employer, especially because it was autonomous. The largest employer on the other hand was the Geological survey of India. 

My class mates all decided first to go to the employment exchange to register as job seekers especially in the field of Geology. In fact for some reason, in August 65, I and Bhaskaran (B.K.Nair hailing from Vellanad) to the NE of Trivandrum, were called for an interview for the post of Senior Technical Assistant (Geology) in the ONGC and the excitement for both of us was that Commission would reimburse the travelling allowance.

We decided to go for the interview in Dehradun.  It was a pretty long train journey in the II class coach. We took the Madras mail leaving TVC around 7:00 am in the morning to reach Madras the next day morning. The train chugged along the beautiful Quilon-Shencotta segment of the meter gauge through several tunnels before emerging into the plains adjoining Shencotta around 4:00 pm. From there on, train zipped through the various big and several small stations finally to stop at Madras Egmore. From the Egmore station we hopped into the electric train to Park station opposite of Madras Central. There around 12 o’clock or so we got into Grand Trunk express to New Delhi- another long haul taking nearly 40 hr or so.

We were very confident about ourselves and were unconcerned about the uncertainties of the trip and that too a maiden trip on our own. There were jawans in the coach and some Malayalees too. These guys were very helpful and properly guided us especially to run to the dining car for the three meals. The coaches those days were not vestibuled from one end to the other. Only upper most classes were that way connected to the dining car. Instead, we got our meals served in the coach from the dining car by the food vendors. On occasions the kitchen will run out of prepared food and occasionally even drinking water.

Anyway, finally around morning we reached New Delhi crossing the Akbar and Tilak bridges. But our next Train to Dehrdun was from the neighboring old Delhi station. Reaching that station, even though it is our first trip, was quite easy. The jawan crowd was always there to help us and guide and lead us correctly. We got into a II class coach (that is where we saw some empty seats), and proceeded to Dehradun say by the evening. The train reached Dehradun by the next day early hours. PKRN had suggested that there is a Birla Choultry in Dehradun that any Tonga (a one horse drawn wagon) man will take you safely. The attraction is that you do not pay any room rent as you slept in the verandah like place in front of a mini ward-robe fitted to the wall. But to be on the safe side one must use own lock and key to prevent possible burglary. Otherwise it is comfortable and safe place. 

In the afternoon the duo went out to locate the ONGC HQ. It was a large compound that ONGC had with several two story frame houses and inside a mango orchard.  We tried to pick some attractive looking mango fruit boldly to chew. There was no problem from any quarters on account of it. But when we started jumping to catch the low hanging frits we were apprehended, and of curse warned not to repeat it. We said sorry and escaped.   

One other thing we enjoyed in Dehradun was the indoor roller skating rings, where college age and affluent boys and girls teamed up for roller skating. They were unlike in the deep south in Trivandrum holding hands and walking around tightly in the hall. Well the girls were good looking and of course at our age and their age all girls have good looks where ever we chose to look. We also found time to sit through two or three Hindi movies in the local theatre. 

I believe on the third day the appointed day for the interview, we dressed up and walked over to the ONGC main office. We were promptly asked to go to canteen for breakfast, against coupons that were given to us. We also filled in certain forms as desired by one of the staffers. We finished all that and then waiting in the guest room to be called to appear before the selection committee. Even by one o clock, the interview did not happen. But then one staffer asked us to for lunch – courtesy of ONGC. After lunch we loitered back to the guest room again,. But then to our surprise our TA was disbursed by the office.

On our prompting only the office realized that the interview did not happen. Then they rushed through the process of putting together a selection committee. Around four I think I was asked to go in. I went in. I was greeted by the chair and I in my turn greeted the chair and members. Some questions were put to me. It was not at all a tough session. After 20 min or so I finished and it Baskaran’s turn. He also came back rather quickly say in 15 min. We were informed by the office that the result will be informed to us by registered post within a month or so.

The interview process was so light that we thought perhaps they already have posted the fellows or identified the persons and our appearing for the interview was just some formality so that they can complete the appointment process.

Anyway, in spite of the outcome of the interview, both of us decided to go to Mussorie, a hill station in the lower Himalayas. We took a morning bus to the hill station to reach there by about 11 O clock. We walked around the streets, ate jilebi from the street side shops and did lot of window shopping. We probably missed our lunch but not hungry though. The sunset is at about 8 pm as the winter was just around the corner. The presence of sun in the sky deceived us from the real time of the day. On realizing that chillness was setting in we discovered that the last bus to the Dehradun town is just passed by and we missed it. Then it is a field day for the taxis. The resnts were way high in several hundreds. There was no question of sleeping in the bus station premises as we were ill equipped for the cold night. We had only one choice left, get into a taxi and go to choultry. The cabbie charged Rs.150/- per person. Both of us got in. As the car wound down to the hair pin curves to the plains, the fare came down to as low as 50 rupees per head. We got annoyed by the fact that we were plainly cheated. But no point in complaining anyway.

Anyway we safely got back to the choultry and bundled up to a good night’s sleep. The following day by noon we got back to Dehradun train station to catch a train to New delhi- an overnight journey. Roughly, we were away from home for about seven days. We already made plans to see New Delhi in Panikkers Travel bus and to Agra to see the Taj again by a Panikkers Travel bus. On nights we slept in the platform no 1 of New Delhi station. All that we had to pay way was like five rupee per day to some police personnel. They took care of our hold-all luggage during our absence. We did not have cameras of any sort. After the Delhi darsan and Taj visit we promptly boarded a south bound train to reach Bhopal the following day to spend couple more days with Baskaran’s elder brother who those days worked in the Bhopal Steel Plant or so.

We lived in Bhopal for about four days and then started our homeward journey. Bhaskaran’s brother saw us off in t he station. On the third day of departure from Bhopal we we were back in Trivandrum in the evening by Madras mail to Trivandrum.

His and my parents were furious and agonized about our failure to contact with the families at least by letters. In fact the families were totally upset about the black out for about 16 days or so from the day of our departure. The family rage subsided the moment they got to see our live faces and bodies.

The final outcome of the interview was that we were not elected. The communication arrived promptly after a fortnight or so after our reaching home. That was no shaker of our minds. We had other things on our future path of life in the waiting. Yet it was a rich and rewarding experience and adventure. Anyway thanks to the ONGC.

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