Profile & Tributes
The Dauntless Crusader of the Environment |Suptendu P. Biswas
LA 55
|
 |
|
A tribute to Dr. Dhrubajyoti Ghosh, 1947-2018
Dr. Dhrubajyoti Ghosh- an engineer, ecologist, researcher and activist- was well known for his seminal work on East Kolkata Wetlands. Having devoted himself to sustaining the environment, he is fondly remembered by Mr. Suptendu P. Biswas and Ms. Dhruba Das Gupta as they recount instances from his dedicated and disciplined life.
Dhrubajyoti Ghosh (1947-2018) was a unique disciplinary mix. An engineer, ecologist, researcher and activist, he worked as a government official for long. It is a matter of pride for many of us that he was an alumnus from our alma mater, the erstwhile Bengal Engineering College, Sibpur (presently IIEST), where he also started taking a course towards the end to share his vast body of knowledge.
I knew of him because of his seminal work on East Kolkata Wetlands, but did not have the opportunity to interact with him till late 2016. Our trust, SEARCH (Trust for Sustainable Education and Action in Architecture), was then organizing an international workshop on the Canals of Kolkata. I emailed to him with a request to deliver a lecture on East Kolkata Wetlands that were significantly connected with the larger ecology and landscape of Kolkata city. His response was prompt. He congratulated us on our effort and humbly mentioned that he had been 'trying to understand the wetlands of Kolkata for long'. Since then, we spoke many a time. His warmth and affection was touching. It took little time for me, otherwise a formal person at least for initial interactions, to call him 'Dhruba-da', especially when we got to know that both of us were from the same college. A thorough professional, Dhruba-da was always willing to share an extra bit of information and advice to take any positive initiative forward.
It was amazing to see the zeal with which he gave his presentation at the workshop. Among the many slides in his presentation, he had projected only one slide on the map of East Kolkata Wetlands and completely forgot about its existence and that of the entire presentation he brought with him. He extemporized the talk drawing from his real-life experiences. His was a
deeply grounded talk, unorthodox in delivery and original in narrative, which is rare these days in academia and elsewhere. Everyone listened to him with rapt attention. I finally had to remind him to talk about the pioneering work of mapping that his team had undertaken.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| CURRENT ISSUE: LA-61 |
|
|
|
|
environment, ecology and biodiversity |
RESCUING THE URBAN POLLINATORS
MADHURA KHADE
WETLANDS AT WORK
UNDERSTANDING WETLANDS
With inputs from Dr. C. R. Babu
CONSTRUCTED WETLAND AT RAJOKRI, NEW DELHI
[Delhi Jal Board]
Ankit Srivastava
CONSTRUCTED WETLAND AT NEELA HAUZ, NEW DELHI
Landscape and Environment Planning Department,
Delhi Development Authority
CONSTRUCTED WETLAND AT HAUZ KHAS LAKE, NEW DELHI
Tarun Nanda, Evolve Engineering
RESTORATION AND REJUVENATION OF RIVER YAMUNA FLOODPLAINS, NEW DELHI
Landscape and Environment Planning Department,
Delhi Development Authority
REIMAGINING THE CITY
YAMUNA RIVER PROJECT:NEW DELHI URBAN ECOLOGY
[Authors Inaki Alday and Pankaj Vir Gupta]
Review by Geeta Wahi Dua
REJUVENATION AND RESTORATION OF URBAN PONDS, GURUGRAM
Future Institute
SPURRING ECONOMIC REVIVAL THROUGH ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION,
NANHU, CHINA
Uma Sekar
heritage, urban design, landscape architecture |
FROM MY HOUSE TO YOUR HOUSE
In conversation with Miki Desai
CITY MAPS: MAPPING NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT
Review by Rabindra J. Vasavada
A SENSE OF SPACE
Anuraag Chowfla
IN CONVERSATION WITH RANJIT SABIKHI
DEMOCRACY, PARTICIPATION AND CONSULTATION
In conversation with Bimal Patel
city and culture |
OUR CITIES CAN FIGHT COVID-19 PROACTIVELY
Mriganka Saxena and Puneet Khanna
LOCALIZING FUTURES
Geeta Wahi Dua
BOURGEOIS ENVIRONMENTALISM AND THE VULNERABILITY OF THE POOR
UNCIVIL CITY: ECOLOGY, EQUITY AND THE COMMONS IN DELHI [Author: Amita Baviskar]
Review by Nikhil Dhar
STREETSCAPES IN PUNE
CREATING A HEALTHY AND WALKABLE NEIGHBORHOOD: AUNDH NEIGHBORHOOD UPGRADATION | PUNE
Prasanna Desai Architects
ABOUT RETAIL, TREES AND YOUNG VIBES:
JANGLI MAHARAJ ROAD | PUNE
Oasis Designs Inc.
EMERGENCE OF THE EPHEMERAL
Bijoy Ramachandran
seeing the unseen |
ART FOR ALL
St+Art India Foundation
|
|
