Pranay Lal talks of the importance of conserving India’s natural history in museums and outside

Pranay Lal, author of Indica, feels that we need to inculcate a love for the sciences in students by creating museums and conserving natural spaces

January 06, 2018 04:00 pm | Updated 05:44 pm IST

Pranay Lal’s first book, Indica: A Deep History of the Indian Subcontinent , which hit the stores a year ago, ties together India’s geological history with its ecological past through the skilful use of fossil records, tracing the formation of the subcontinent. It has been acclaimed as the “first compelling narrative of India’s deep natural history.” Excerpts from an email interview.

From a biochemist to author of Indica : what inspired the book and how has the 20-year journey been?

I was an incredibly curious child with endless questions. My questions were seldom answered by teachers or elders, so I kept a mental note of questions. Often I stumbled upon answers by myself, which filled my heart with joy. I also seize every opportunity to meet experts and polymaths and learn from them. I love questions and the process of finding answers. Unlike individual disciplines of the sciences, natural history can offer several explanations to a phenomenon. I find this fascinating.

Do share with us one memorable experience you had in the course of your research for the book.

Nothing beats the exhilaration of finding your first fossil. My first was of a palm frond from central Maharashtra, found about 23 years ago. There is awe involved in the fact that you may be holding an undiscovered species of a creature that died millions of years ago. There are fossils in our backyard and open grounds in many parts of India. All we have to do is look carefully.

You have used a lot of information about fossils discovered in India to piece together the story of the subcontinent’s geological, palaeontological and ecological histories. What were your sources and was it difficult to access them?

I was blessed to have mentors like Professors Ashok Sahni and Rajeev Patnaik, who are wonderful scientists. Several subject specialists like Prof. Jayanta Pati, who discovered the incredible Dhala meteor structure, also provided advice which made this book rich with stories from India. Prof. Parth Chauhan explained to me the origins of the ancestors of humans, and Prof. K. Thangaraj helped me understand the peopling of India when our ancestors crossed over from across the Indus. I also read papers and sneaked into conferences to listen to experts. I volunteered to join geological field trips and wildlife expeditions. Over 23 years, I had collected copious notes which are summarised at the end of my book.

The book required visualising a completely different, ancient world — of both life forms and geographies. The process must have been enjoyable. Was it challenging as well?

As a biochemist I try imagining what processes would have taken place to create the minerals and rocks, and how they would have influenced lifeforms and landscapes. I had a hard time imagining the prehistoric world, and it took me several months to find the right illustration. All images in the book are generous gifts from artists, photographers and cartographers. Where I could not find them, I decided to draw them myself. Imagining prehistoric creatures and a world they lived in have been a wonderful roller-coaster ride. But the journey of Indica is not over as yet. Important discoveries are made every year, and I will need to update it. Indica is therefore a living document.

You mention in the book that many of India’s fossils have never been displayed to the public. Indians would still relate to the American Tyrannosaurus better than the similar-looking Rajasaurus that scientists discovered in Gujarat. How can we improve the coverage of India’s ancient biological wealth?

I think there is a deeper malaise that exists in our education and also in the way we transmit knowledge. Plain textbook teaching is grossly inadequate and fails to interlink disciplines — geography with history or music with maths. Schools and universities which continue to train children of diverse abilities with a cookie-cutter curriculum will only create blind conformists and less inquisitive citizens.

We need to make learning fun. Schools and colleges need to engage deeply with museums. But for that to happen, first museums need to improve; most in India are unwelcoming and boring. They need not be large, but [they can be] theme-based like museums of the Deccan, Ganga (without an overload of mythology), Indian Ocean or Gondwana. Missing in all this are scientists and a culture of fostering rigorous and accessible science. If scientists receive pitiful research grants, it is partly because society and government see very little value in their research. Scientists therefore should step forward and speak more effectively about their work. We need to understand the deep connections between the sciences, and the first step would be to inculcate a love for the sciences by creating museums and conserving natural spaces.

What are the main challenges that some of these formations/ existing species face?

The current rate of devastation is unprecedented. Massive construction using heavy machinery, for example, can wipe out amazing geological features and fossils within days. Palaeontologists can tell you horror stories of how buildings, roads and waste dumps have come up on sites of major discoveries. Our conservation strategies must include landscapes and rock formations. It needs to look at not only what is visible to us but also what lies beneath our feet, our soils, rocks and groundwater.

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