Thanks Aparna ji For writing this very interestingly. We members may not know about theses things unless told by somebody... Regards Dr Phadke
2009/11/23 Aparna Watve <[email protected]> > Dear All, > Sorry for this late mail! Was in transit- but it gave me time to plan > a brief note on Swapna ji!!! It is the great opportunity I have been > waiting for!!!! Thanks Garg ji for asking all to write about her. And > I see that others have already had their say. > Well, Dr. Swapna Prabhu alias Swap is the person who can irritate me > most : ) Because she is EXTREMELY talented and does not let others > know even about 10% of it. > We have known each other for all our botanical lives (starting from > MSC) and it seems like eternity. We worked together in Mahrashtra and > those were the "wild" times we had on field trips and her knowldege of > taxonomy and knack of building rapport with the local people are just > unparalleled! > She travelled widely in Nagaland and Arunachal for work, in the most > inaccessible places and in strangest of conditions (often on foot) and > fell irreversibly in love with the NorthEast. That's why she went to > Shillong (NEHU) university and worked for her PHD in ecology in Nokrek > biosphere reserve in gruelling conditions and life threatening > diseases. her thesis is the first major work on the area and a great > reference to have. > She has so far done field work in : Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, > Delhi, Haryana but her major work has been in Nagaland, Arunachal > Pradesh, Meghalaya and she has travelled widely in South and Central > India (including Bihar!!). This wide experience has led to her deep > knowledge of indian vegetation ecology which very few botanists have. > In any area she travels, she can pick up any language with any accent > very fast and could speak Konyak (Naga) dialect and Nagamese after her > first trip to Nagaland. She also can converse in Khasi language. > {However she is a talented actress too, and can fool you by > confidently speaking gibberrish and passing it off as a little known > mizo dialect : ) } > I will not call her a taxonomist , as it is too restricted a term- she > is truly a "BOTANIST" with knowledge of taxonomy, ethnobotany, > vegetation ecology and conservation science. > Someone called her mild mannered- that is generally true, but she has > a very strong mind, which is like steel when the need arises- > We were all waiting for very long to have her in role of a teacher- as > she is excellent in it too. So am glad that so many people are > benefitting from her knowledge (-and she has enthused even someone as > lethargic as me in writing.) > As for her students, I would say that- if she scolds you for > something, you obviously deserved it!! She would never lose her > patience unless it is necessary and her criticism is always positive- > so take it in that manner and you will learn more about botany that > way. > There is so much more to write but I will stop here. > Thanks again Garg ji > Regards, > Aparna > PS: She sings very well too, so try your luck during some field trip > (Swapna- please dont kill me for this tip!) > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "indiantreepix" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<indiantreepix%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=. > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "indiantreepix" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix?hl=.
