Dept of Geology, GOSAN, Thrivikramji, Geology Department alumni

“GOSAN IS BORN”

The time frame under reference is 2000. GOSAN, an alumni association of graduates of the DoG (Department of Geology, University of Kerala, Kariavattom Campus 695 581), is in fact the first of its kind to have come into being in the university of Kerala (UoK), when only informal deliberations and discussions were in the air, and especially in the office of VC Dr Ekbal. Seeking, earning and accruing monetary contributions from former graduates (who have prospered in life and career) was a moot point.

  

When I morphed into the HoD’s chair, in the DoG of the UoK (in July 2000), my colleague, Roy Chacko had raised an important point, regarding installation of an intercom system in the DoG, despite the fact that Department has been around for more than 40 yr. (The DoG came into being or let us say was born when Prof. KK Menon took over as Reader-in-Charge – perhaps in the month of June 1963). Such a system was not even considered in the DoG or even by the administration. For the question of funds for the project, Roy’s suggestion was approaching the willing donors among the former graduates of DoG.  

In fact Roy had informal exchanges in this regard with DSC Thampi (CGWB) and other cohorts. A list of all the graduates right from the class of 1965 (the first batch) were collated with the whereabouts etc. Some formal and informal meetings were held along side. Finally, a meeting of the professionals and academics in T’puram was held in the DoG and an executive committee was elected and put in place at that meeting.

Thrivikramji was thus the founder president and VP was Dr. MM Nair of GSI, Trivandrum. The other names really do not pop in my mental screen quickly. Jaikiran was the treasurer; but indeed unsure of the name of secretary or the detailed list of names of the committee members. The EC quickly swung into action and decided to have the alumni association inaugurated at the earliest. MP Muraleedharan (GSI) came up with the logo, while name GOSAN, sort of an acronym was proposed by MM Nair, and the EC accepted both with cheers. 

The inaugural ceremony was held (sometime during 2001) with much pomp and fanfare in the Botany Department Hall at Kariavttom and the chief guest and inaugural speaker was Dr.Ekbal, the then VC. The retired teachers of the DoG were formally re-recognized by decorating them (in the Kerala style of course) with a Kasavu shawl each. Being the first of its kind in any of the universities in Kerala, all the speakers wanted the GOSAN to grow and function as a model that will be emulated by others. GOSAN organized three seminars (solid waste disposal, construction sand and Prof. KK Menon commemoration discourse and a GEOEXPO in Museum Centenary Hall, T’puram. The AMD, CESS, CGWB, GSI, M&GD, GWD, DoG of University College actively participated in the program. The GEOEXPO ran for three days and was fantastically received by the High schoolers in the Trivandrum Dist. GOSAN had also released during the occasion an educational CD which sold like ‘hot cake’ among the visiting high schools. The CESS also had donated a hard copy each of the Kerala Resource Atlas, to the schools that had come to see the exposition.     

However, once my term of Presidency was over, the new President reactivated GOSAN. An exhibition on the theme of geological sciences was staged in the University Student’s Center, T’puram especially to keep the wind of Geoscience blowing into the school corridors of Kerala. I remember to have attended the inaugural function of this expo held in the University Students Center, T’puram. However, now GOSAN is a memory only.

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Creating Prof. KK Menon Endowment in the Geological Society of India, Bangalore

I took over as HOD of GoD on the 1^st July 2001, when PKR decided finally to relinquish the HOD ship to pave way for his smooth bowing out of the DoG on superannuation in the following Jan. On the evening of June 30^th I called upon Mrs. Menon (widow of late Prof. KK Menon) in her house in the Navarangam lane, Medical College PO, to inform her in person that that I will be HOD from the next day onwards and will continue to be so for the next 3 yr, i.e., till my retirement in Jan, 2004.

She was indeed gladdened by the news and immediately wanted me to help create an endowment in the U of K and in the name of her late husband, Prof. Menon. She added that she was waiting for the day of my taking over as HOD so that she could see her long cherished desire fulfilled. She also told that the required fund will be a donation of the Menon children and grand children. I replied affirmatively and agreed to work on the proposition earnestly.

The next day I took charge as HOD, but decided not to move out of the office space that occupied in Dec., 1968. The paraphernalia attached to the HOD were partly shifted to my small office from where I discharged the duties of HOD.

The Menon endowment was in my mind and after deep pondering over it I informed Mrs. Menon that Geological Society in Bangalore will be the right place to bequeath the funds with, rather than the U of K. Only if the Society declined the offer stiffly, there is the question of approaching the U of K for creating the endowment.

I knew quite well that BPR never liked or approved Prof. KK Menon as a geologist by any of his standards and getting his nod on the endowment is like asking for the moon. Nevertheless, I wanted to try my luck with the society. The fact remains that Prof. Menon was a member of the first executive council of the Geological Society of India, Bangalore, and thus a foundation member of the society.

One other thing happened alongside. Roy Chacko and DSC Thampi were working on a point I raised with Chacko regarding creating a fund by soliciting donations to the tune of at least one month’s current salary of our alumni (but certainly payable in convenient installments) to the department development fund for improvements and maintenance of the general facilities in department. These two heads jointly came up with idea of creating an alumni association of the DoG and making it a vehicle for seeking and earning financial support or donations. Dr. Ekbal was the VC and he was toying with the idea of formalizing alumni associations in the departments of the university.

I do not exactly recall the year date or month. But one thing was sure. The VC inaugurated the GOSAN or Geology alumni association - first of its kind in the campus. The ceremonial meeting was held in the Botany Hall and the distinguished retired teachers were invited and The logo of the association was visualized and crafted by MP Muralidharan –one of the alumni. I, as HOD, was the president. The name GOSAN was coined by MM Nair. GOSAN held an Earthscience Expo, in the Museum Centenary Hall, Trivandrum. Prof.KK Menon commemoration lecture delivered by TM Mahadevan, preceded the inauguration of Expo. GSI, AMD, CGWB, CESS, DMG, GWD participated. In fact the GWD displayed a working drill rig at the entrance of the arena. Mrs. Menon and relatives attended the commemoration lecture in the Senate chamber of the U of K and also went around the exhibits in the EXPO..

An educational CD was created and sold to the visiting students as well as schools and the proceeds went to the general budget of the Expo. By that time GOSAN came through the teething troubles very well. Science Film show organized by GOSAN in the YMCA hall was a flop. No one turned up but for the students of DoG of U of K. Then the GOSAN decided to go to the schools with the message of earthscience through the medium of films procured from the embassies.

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Clock was ticking and my HOD time was draining fast. I therefore decided to look into the endowment. I decided to approach the society with the request. I got a blunt reply. I vaguely recall the content. In the xxxx meeting of the council of the society the following resolutions were made. “Item 3. The council unanimously decided not to institute anymore endowments”. By implication my proposal also was dumped -very disappointing decision and news indeed.

I got back to M. Ramakrishnan (Society) over the phone and asked what he could do in this regard as he is very close to BPR. Quick I had the reply from MR. It was simple, and he said if a decision was made in the council only BPR could reverse it. But it happens rarely and as far as MR is concerned it is a closed chapter.

When I went to Kochi for an examination, I spoke to Narayana (now in HCU) as to what he could do in this regard. Narayana said that he will talk to BP during his next visit to Bangalore and fathom the mind of BP. On his return, Narayana called me and said he needed a write up on Menon’s work as a geologist etc. To me it was the spark at the end of the tunnel. I took at least two weeks to complete a write up on Menon’s contributions to Geoscience in Kerala. It was mailed to Narayana to act on.

Finally I decided to play the trump card. In a long letter I proposed to the society that a sum of Rs.100,000/- be send to the society for safe keeping/investing with the choice of keeping 50% by it and returning the balance of the interest to GOSAN to sustain itself. It is warranted by the fact that GOSAN, being a very young organization, could fold and go under at any moment (which it did) and the ultimate beneficiary would be a bank.

In fact a month after, the society required me through a letter to forward a DD for Rs. one lakh drawn in favour of treasurer of the society. I took the letter immediately to Mrs. Menon, who gladly offered me one lakh. But I suggested that I be given the DD for sending to the society. Thus was born the KK Menon biannual award for the best paper in sedimentology or related area. For me it is an unparalleled tribute.

In fact, this is the only award in the name of any Kerala geologist in the Geological Society of India. I am relieved, humbled and ecstatic.

Prof: KK Menon- Founder Professor, Department of Geology, Univ. of Kerala and Story of his Portrait

Prof: KK Menon- Founder Professor, Department of Geology, Univ. of Kerala and Story of his Portrait

I went back from CESS for good to the University of Kerala (Department of Geology or DoG) as Reader on the June 16, 1982, after two years of rather very enjoyable work and play. Obvious reason for vacating the CESS is basically the desire for peace of mind firstly and secondly the better work environment only the university can offer. The first task in the university was to look for some funding to proceed with my research pursuit. CESS of course had its own research fund (tax payer’s “charity” if I may say so), whereas the university basically has no funds earmarked for faculty research.

My friend and office mate Mr Kriashnanath (we shared the same room from 1968 Dec., till it was walled and divided into two smaller offices in mid 1986, during my absence as I was in PFU, Moscow, USSR on a UGC fellowship) informed me of a notification by the DOEn, calling for research proposals for consideration of funding, under the Western Ghats eco-development program. As I could not immediately locate the announcement to gather the details, in the same evening I dropped into the VC’s front office to know more on the matter. One man in the office gave me a sheaf of papers detailing the nature of support and the conditions of grant and the gentleman permitted me to keep it overnight. .

Interestingly, later I discovered that the same paper is available in the DoG office. That was the beginning of the birth of “River Metamorphosis due to Human Intervention: the Neyyar Basin, Kerala”. The DOEn generously funded the study with a handsome grant of Rs.3.45 lakh and for three years. Krishnanath’s project on “Slope stability issues in the transport arteries of the W.Ghats” was also supported with a little larger sum, which made Krishnanath quite happy. In all some eight projects were granted to the various teachers in the Kariavattom campus.

By 1983 June or so we had the final OK from the university and late DR PK Rajan (then member syndicate) came up with a new set of regulations in respect of implementation of sponsored research in the university which I once called a Magna Charta of research, which practically empowered the investigators with both administrative and financial powers enabling the smooth implementation of the programs, yet within the four walls of Kerala Financial Code.

For some reason, it occurred to me that only after displaying a portrait of Prof. Menon, I will start off with the new project. My friend Mr. Ramasarma (in University College then), collected a negative of a portrait of Prof. Menon, and I borrowed the same and entrusted it with late Krishnankutty (in Botany Dept. then) - a person with huge loyalty to Prof. Menon - along with some funds for the portrait project.

In fact Krishnankutty wanted me to pick a double weight photo printing paper from a shop near Padmatheertham, East Fort, which I promptly complied with. On the third day, the print landed on my office table. In the same evening I took the photo to a picture framing shop at Palayam (on the west side of the road but behind street front row of shops). The older man in the shop immediately recognized the man in the photo and asked why I was doing it to which I answered that he was my teacher and mentor.

I got it framed the next day evening. And obviously I cannot resist the thrill of taking it DoG and properly displaying it in my own office. On the inaugural day of the photo, I offered a cup of tea and piece of cake to all the staff and colleagues in the DoG through the usual agent Jagadamma (cleaner of the DoG).

This photo stayed in my office from 1983 till I sold it to the DoG, for Rs.2500/- and that too after the then HOD figured that firstly the core of anti-Menon group bowed out on superannuation (i.e., KVK, RK and RP) and secondly there was no way of going back to Mrs. Menon to request for lending the negative of a suitable photo. In fact I did not feel bad at all in collecting the money for the portrait, instead I proudly insisted that the photo will be only sold and not donated. In fact, my colleagues had to buy it from me (sort of a Hobson’s choice).Roy Chacko did all the talking and negotiations with me for the Menon portrait anyway. Indeed, it took a long 20 or so years, since the retirement of Prof KK Menon in 1979 that a formal recognition by a public display of the portrait of the founder professor materialized. From my office, the Menon portrait went to one of the walls of the DoG library and later to the seminar hall, i.e., on the wall facing the current photo gallery.

When I was retiring, Roy Chacko made a proposal to me that we shall display the portraits of all teachers instead of restricting it to the HOD’s especially when the rotation of the HOD was not even spoken about. I readily agreed and thus, on the Jan. 31, 2004, three more portraits (KVK, RP and RK), were added to the photo gallery of teachers of the department. It was the then PVC, Prof Kevin who unveiled all the one plus three portraits. In fact, I shot a portrait of Kraishnanath (after he retired and during one of his visits to the DoG), in the main portico with my Minolta digital. KVK and RP made their own photos and gave the negatives instead. These are the same photos that are displayed in the photo gallery of the seminar hall of the DoG.

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Rebuilding Bhuvanendra Sannidhi

Skinny dippers beware: Clever Fish Population hides in the pond

Skinny dippers beware: Pond has curious Fish

In the summer of 1967, as a young geologist, I camped in Muthalamada, S.India, in a large house given to us on gratis, along with buddy Kannan Nair (who later joined Oil Company). We used to go for an extended and relaxing bath later in the evening in a pond right in the middle of a large patch of paddy field. Thanks to the tour of duty.

We chose the bath time as later hours of the day for multiple reasons, one we will be practically alone in the pond where I enjoyed skinny dip and two the local folks of men, women and children would have done with their turn of bath after a long day of work or rest. In other words it is an air of peace, calm and quietude. Sky light was aplenty. There is yet another more valid reason to do so because our dinner will not be ready before 8 pm.

Rightly or wrongly we never took a flash light and only light were the skylight. Especially the low relief terrain of Muthalamada had a wide and expansive horizon all around. My buddy Nair and I were totally unconcerned about how we bathed in the veil of low or dim light of the dusk. On the first day itself before the first skinny dip, Nair warned me of the fish attempting to peck on the manly icon. I guessed that this man apparently had such encounters earlier while bathing in river water.

I was, at that age, very curious and ready to experiment with anything in life, if there was no threat to my life. We swam across the small pond in the chill waters saw fish and even water snakes either blocking our way in the water or avoiding us. Nair wanted me to avoid the water snake as one has to take rest for 24hr, and skip meals if bitten by the water snake.

I stopped the swim came out of water to get copiously lather my body, both reachable and hard to reach spots, with a white cake of “Lux” soap. While I was bend down and doing the lathering, Nair jumped out of water nearly screaming, which put me in a fix. On enquiry he said he was pecked by fish on the top of his nearly frozen icon which threw him into jitters. And he also announced that he is finished with the bath and would wait for me on the shore.

I had a big laugh by the fish story because; I too had gone through it earlier on some occasions while bathing in the local pond in my hometown. Most of the time I took it sportively as it was quite harmless. Yet I agreed to finish the bath quickly and sort of flooded all over my body with water by doing squats in waist deep water – sort of jigging. The first dozens did not attract any rogue fish to my icon though. Soon they started attacking the head of icon which to tell you the truth I enjoyed. I am not sure whether I polluted the waters or served a desert for the fish.

On our way back to our camp-home I told Nair that enjoyed the pecks which led to a plateau. To my luck the pond did not have any large fish. It always kept me wondering how the women folk in spite of the bright anatomy escaped fish pecks in this pond or ponds elsewhere.

I am not sure if you ever had a fish attack.

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Thrivikramji in Wichita State University & in Belize

Thrivikramji in Belize (Former British Honduras)

An award of a Fulbright PD fellowship in Aug. 1989, took me to the Geology Department in the Wichita State University (WSU). My immediate host was Bill Full – a Bob Erlich Student from South Carolina State University, who was perhaps the brightest among the third line of mathematical geologists. In fact it was my request to Bob Erlich to permit me to enjoy the PD award in CSU with him, made the door open for me to WSU and with Bill Full. Wichita is in the southern edge or border of Kansas state known for tornados and blizzards. To my own surprise when I landed in Wichita and in the department I realized that my own MS thesis advisor Prof Dan Merriam also was in the faculty at WSU. Interestingly I never saw Dan and Bill even exchanging salutations to each other. Some behavior I thought was only India specific. Yet, the bottom line is that Dan was very much instrumental in university’s hiring Bill as Assistant Professor. Duane Eppler, a contemporary at Syracuse with me, was also a good friend of Bill. Both were groomed into two dimensional shape analyses by Enrlich in the SCSU.

AT WSU, I had a golden opportunity to learn and practice the art of edge digitizing of the grain images under a microscope, so that the data set could be used as input in a unmixing algorithm based software to discriminate the environment and sources (?) of sand samples based on the particle shape. I had a very nurturing stay in WSU and in the town of Wichita. Wichita sits over a landscape reflecting the basement folds or plains type folding special to Kansan Geology. The Friday evening sessions in the Petroleum Club across the street from the main gate of the university –rather the gate closer to the Geology & Geography building, truly gave an occasion to unwind, rewind and relax over a pitcher of Beer or two. Surprisingly, my friend Bill was a teetotaler, yet he gave a good company for me over his favorite club soda.

My hostel, arranged by Bill, was in another edge of the campus and closer to the Boeing Lab., and had a roofed swimming pool attached to it. I had routinely my lunch at the cafeteria while the other two meals I had in my apartment. Oatbran cereal with skim milk and handful of raisins, juice and milk was sumptuous and indeed mouth watering even these days. When I came back home to Trivandrum, India and checked my cholesterol it was surprisingly only 163 m/dl. See the way the bran cereal enabled that low number.

One Friday, Dan drove me to Univ. of Kansas and especially to Kansas Geological Survey to see face to face John Clement Davis the director of the survey then. We started driving at about 6 am in the morning and before hitting the highway had a breakfast at a truck stop. The breakfasts in the truck stops are only one of the coziest things you may enjoy. But for the fellow truckers, the menu is quite long and attractive. We got to the U of K campus around 9 am. And Dan and me walked straight into John’s office. After the preliminaries, I wanted to go about the multi storey complex that housed the KGS. The office once used by Dr Raymond Moore (remember the Moore of Moore, Lalicker and Fisher-Paleontology text), even that day and now should be standing out there as a living memorial for that great paleontologist. I saw the museum, library and a series of laboratories housed in the complex. In fact the Dept of Geology & Petroleum Geology of the U of K shares the expertise from the Kansas Geol Survey too - A nicest arrangement beneficial to newer generations of Geoscience students.

During fall break, on invitation I joined the team led by Bill to Belize for geological foot work, in central America. Belize formerly known as British Honduras, is a wonderful patch of tropical land (a British colony and a destination for deported convicts from India), with quite a bit of Indian community mainly from north India. The waves of both Pacific and Atlantic Ocean lashed the beaches- more so by the Atlantic. The warm and calm sea on either side attracted hordes of Canadian and American Tourists every summer. The tourist dollar was the primary revenue for the state and provided several thousand mandays of work for the natives- generally colored people.

The warm, clear and calm waters also offered an idyllic setting for the luxurious growth of coral reefs as barrier reefs and patch reefs protecting the back shore from the occasional fury of the rogue seawaves. Our cruises in the tidal creeks crisscrossing the vast stretches of mangroves bordering the wetlands and provided a closer view of the exotic plants and animals and fish life in the waters of the wetland. The giant Food companies of US has their Banana plantations (may be others too) here in Belize. For the first time in my life I saw the high degree of care given to the banana gardens and banana bunches by the profit oriented farming company. All operations A-Z are scientific and hence they could repeatedly get bumper harvests and perhaps bumper profits.

The villages along the backshore had houses (most of the time entirely built of timber) standing on the stilts to allow a storm surge to pass by and under without damaging the property and possessions of the home dwellers. A technology to emulate but we in Kerala never do so. We, Indians, are rather technology unsavy.

The weeklong stay in Belize took us from the south to north. The landscape was dotted with very large sinkholes, as the bed rock here happened to be limestone. The solution activity by the carbonated rain water spanning over millions of years have created very large sinkholes. But this did not deter the tropical forest trees to re-establish in and along the edges of such spectacular sinkholes.

In fact, we had hired two Samurai jeeps to cover the area we wanted to cover. The food was exceptionally fantastic- loaded with sea food and Hotels reasonably priced and neat and clean. Shops and shopping malls were not that impressive. The locally sourced “dead” coral stone from the depths of the ocean is carved and shaped into beads to make ornaments of dark green colour. I did buy a garland and ear drops for my wife any way. The price was so cheap that it tempted any American visitor to fall over it.

We on returning from Belize, landed in Huston International Airport. I had a hell of a time in the immigration as the officer denied my entry to USA, as my visa had originally stamped for a one time entry. However, I had a visa stamped later in Belize for a second entry. This did not correctly register with the man. Other members of the team walked away, after Bill giving me his credit card to use just in case I had to sleep in the airport hotel, to the gate to catch a flight to Wichita. Luckily for me yet another immigration official went over to a telephone contacted the desk in Department of state (it was a sunday though), Washington DC for a brief talk, and then he walked toward me with a broad smile to shake my hand. He led me through the door to USA and I ran to the gate 10 (roughly one hundred meters) to catch the flight with the rest of the crew from WSU.

My stay in Wichita lasted till the 3^rd week of Dec. 1989 so that I will have a taste of nearly less snowy but high blizzard prone winter in Wichita. However, you should know that on a bad blizzard day, you better stay indoors and not try going out unless you had at least four layers of warm clothing to beat the cold and spiked by the windchill factor. The day I left Wichita was so cold that the jet engines of the twin engine Boeing aircraft refused to turn over. The engine was dead frozen in the cold. But the air port has truck mounted hotair blowers to warm the cowling and the engine. This little giant helped to start the plane and we a team of just nine passengers took off to Kansas city – the hub.

I landed in JFK domestic terminal enroute to Connecticut to spend time with them during Christmas of 1989. It is the Dr Jose family and Dr. Roy Chacko’s brother in law- a MRI specialist working for the local VA Hospital system – perhaps the only system totally federally funded and run. I had a comfortable stay with the Joes. Joes mom was staying with them and she made puttu for me. I joined the celebrations in the local church and home. They lived in a million dollar home set in a two acre wooded lot. On the 29^th of Dec 1989, they saw me off at the JFK. I came back home fully realizing that the infrastructure was not available in the University of Kerala to continue to practice or preach what received a specialized training in. But the exposure to new technology was a great newer input into the armory of my knowledge. I rejoined the Dept. of Geology on the Jan 1, 1990.

thrivikramji@gmail.com

Kerala Construction Sand-reservoir sourcing flops

Reservoir sand extraction flops

Gladdening news that Thomas Issac informed the house of Kerala Assembly in the Q&A session today was the dismal performance of the mission launched to win sand from the reservoirs of Kerala to supplement the need by the EMS housing scheme to start with. In fact, a geologist like me, knew better that this mission of the Issac-Rajendran duo will fail ultimately. Either these chiefs were incorrectly briefed by the concerned directorates, or they made an attempt to overestimate the human decidedness over the basic tenets of science.

Well it is high time that we as a society pay little more heed to the science rather than to emotion or blind enthusiasm. The administrators are only a slice of the society at large and hence the scientifically unsound decisions mirror the IQ of the society. I am sure that the entire society need not be blamed; instead the sycophants are to be put under limelight.

The rock weathering is the process that generates sand and the rock in general has less than 27 percentage points of quartz which goes into making of the sand. An to convert a meter thick layer of rock in our tropical climate takes a pretty long time of close to a million years.

Another “blunder” is in the anvil. It was announced in the house today – decision to recover sand from the Akulam-Veli kayal in the NWern suburb of Trivandrum. The suction dredging or whatever type of dredging to win sand will be futile to the ecosystem of the Kayal and the sand will be substandard as it will be laced with sea-salt, and perhaps with a modal size of 0.5 mm or less and will not be a graded sand desired by the construction industry.

Hence let us stand warned: Laws of nature are inviolable, but they may be modulated. Respect Gaia.

thrivikramji@gmail.com