A horticulturist bids adieu to the magnificent trees of TIFR

MUMBAI: For over three decades, Rajendra Gumaste has tended to the acres of greenery in a pocket at the southern tip of Mumbai set up by scientist extraordinaire Homi Bhabha. Now, as he prepares to move on to other pastures, he leaves to it the distilled essence of his years of work there, sprinkled with archival finds and curiosities, in the form of a coffee table book titled 'Trees of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research'.
'When Dr Bhabha got this piece of land in Colaba in the 1950s to house TIFR, it was mostly barren reclaimed land,' said Gumaste, speaking before the book's launch at the seaside campus on Thursday. 'Even though this was to be a den of scientific inquiry, he gave as much importance to nature in over 20 acres, almost half of the campus.'
When Mumbai was in its teething stages, sacrificing trees to make way for people, Bhabha was making space for the former. 'Around half the trees here are transplanted from other parts of Mumbai, including Banyan trees, baobabs and peepal trees,' said Gumaste. 'He also imported rare species like the Melaleuca leucadendra and Tabebuia rosea.' Today the campus has over 2,000 trees in 110 varieties.
The unmistakable star of this transplanting effort lies in the campus: a gigantic Banyan tree, one of the approximately 20 on campus, whose canopy spreads out over 6,000 square feet. 'This is not the oldest Banyan tree in Mumbai, but it is the only one that has been given this much space to spread its wings to its heart's desire,' said Shyam Palkar, assistant professor of botany at MES' DG Ruparel College.
Gumaste met Palkar, who is part of a group called 'Friends of Trees', back in 2024 on a tree walk he was conducting at TIFR. They became great friends, and Palkar came on board as the book's editor and added botany and taxonomy details to it.
Another feat of transplantation is one of the four baobab trees on campus. 'This baobab was transplanted from Nepeansea Road in 1972, when it was approximately 50 years old,' said Gumaste. 'The archive notes that Bhabha's brother, J J Bhabha, saw the tree being cut and asked the then director if it was possible to transplant it. Despite being an expensive endeavour, they still went ahead with it, with funding by Telco. There is a photo of the night it was being transplanted, with JRD Tata and J J Bhabha, looking up to its branches, a banner about its transplantation hanging between two trees in the background.'
For Gumaste, who began his role as the head of gardens and parks at TIFR—he retired in 2024 but continues as a consultant—the challenges of tending to the trees have increased over the years due to the change in weather, temperature and rainfall patterns. 'Every monsoon, there are a few tree falls, especially those trees that are not native to Bombay like the gulmohar and spathodea, and the newer ones planted to fill the gaps,' he said. 'It is even trickier over here, as this is reclaimed land, and soil does not always allow the roots to bind firmly. During Cyclone Tatukae in 2021, we lost 48 trees.'
Following in the footsteps of Bhabha, Gumaste and his 40-50 gardeners hoisted 32 of the trees right back up. Gumaste has also continued adding trees, preferring to choose the native varieties for a better survival rate.
A few acres ahead, the greenery changes shape and leads to well-manicured French-style lawns with a hedge of Putranjiva trees around it and flowers decorating the borders. In the centre is a flower arrangement. Gumaste explains, 'While the flowers in it change according to the seasons, its shape—an amoeba—stays the same, as that is what Bhabha wanted.'
Step another three acres ahead, and the greenery once again changes form into one mimicking a forest of wispy Casuarina equisetifolia trees, again at Bhabha's behest.
'This is a tree great for the seashore, as it bonds well in the sandy soil, breaks the wind, and prevents soil erosion,' said Gumaste. 'We keep reconstructing small gazebos here, as professors like to take lectures here, but the younger trees often fall during the monsoon and break them.'
Gumaste credits his band of gardeners with keeping Bhabha's dream alive. For the book, he thanks the contributions of Palkar, designer Neil Daptardar and two TIFR photographers Vijay Shinde and Jatin Acharya, as well as Friends of Trees and the TIFR Alumni Association. 'We desperately need to bring back that sense of reverence and exaltation of trees,' he said.
('Trees of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research' is available with the TIFR Alumni Association for ₹1,500)

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Economic Times

11-06-2025

• Economic Times

We got rare in abundance

Go forth and stumble on it The physicist Homi J Bhabha, the father of India's nuclear program, sought to extract power from the beach sands along India's vast coastline. Eighty years later, Bhabha's foresight might help India and the world break free of a crippling dependence on China for rare earth the height of the arms race during the Cold War, Bhabha switched to using thorium, which is in abundant supply in India, when the US restricted the enrichment of uranium for nuclear energy. The hunt for thorium led to the finding and extraction of neodymium as well. Kerala, Orissa or Tamil Nadu are rich in monazite, a key mineral source for both thorium and neodymium. With estimated reserves of 11.93 million tonnes of monazite which in turn contains ~1.07 million tonnes of thorium, a fourth of world's known thorium reserves are in India, making us the top source for the radioactive resource. Compared to rare earth magnets like samarium cobalt, neo or neodymium magnets are far more powerful with the highest energy product of all the magnet materials. They are high in magnetic strength, more versatile and less brittle than samarium cobalt, thereby most cost effective. Even without any heavy rare earth elements like dysprosium, terbium which we have no access to, a neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnet, will only be 10-15% weaker but fully functional and will be able to handle 95% of all applications, Vivek Vikram Singh, Group CEO of Sona Comstar -- among the biggest importer of rare earth magnets into India at ~200 tons/year estimated for FY26 – told me. By adding copper further improvements is also possible, he added. But unlike China, we never really took the next step forward – converting neodymium oxides to metal. Neither did we process that metal to make permanent magnets out of it, for modern manufacturing usage. They are called so since they don't lose their magnetic property once decades back, Beijing had the strategic vision to figure out that heavy rare earth magnets will one day run every motor in the world. By curbing its exports, China has brought the whole world to a grinding halt. This is not the first time. Back in 2010, following a spat with Japan over the East China Sea, Beijing used a similar strategy and weaponized rare earth exports. But what's worse, since we failed to see the future, Japan Inc came piggybacking on our critical minerals. Hitachi Metals and TDK joined forces and sourced neodymium from Indian Rare Earth Limited (IREL) -- a sarkari monopoly similar to Coal India of the past – for sourcing. That seeded Japan's own magnet manufacturing and were soon stockpiling to insulate their domestic industries from future supply shocks. Today 94% of the world's rare earth magnet capacity may well be in China, but Japan has managed to eke out a 4% share. The rest is scattered worldwide. If necessity made Japan wiser and innovative, it's high time India – that got 53,700 tonnes of rare earth magnets shipped for multiple industry usage -- starts focussing on investing in these critical building blocks. China has exposed global vulnerabilities to retaliate against President Trump's Liberation Day tariff announcements. We should liberate ourselves too from such of anything that needs a high temperature motor, very high torque and is confined in a small space, heat resistant magnets are a must. From wind turbines, space, smartphones, robotics, fighter jets, even the missiles used in Operation Sindoor to pinpoint enemy targets inside Pakistan or domestic appliances, much of the world's modern technology relies on these magnets. Electric vehicles alone have 33% of total usage of these rare earth magnets that allow their motors to function at high speed. But they are also used in less exotic, though no less critical, functions performed by such parts as windshield wipers, headlights, starters, speedometers, speakers and seat belt are no cars in the world – electric or ICE – where usage of these magnets is zero. It may weigh just 200 grams and cost $2, but just one small component can shut down entire production. Being the 3rd largest automobile market, we are among those hardest-hit as suppliers of OEMs are staring at the last leg of their inventory that may last till mid-July. Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest automaker, is slashing the production forecast for its upcoming electric SUV did we land up on such a brink of chronic shortage? Raw materials or rare earth mining has not been the bottleneck. Value addition has. 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23-05-2025

• Hindustan Times

A horticulturist bids adieu to the magnificent trees of TIFR

MUMBAI: For over three decades, Rajendra Gumaste has tended to the acres of greenery in a pocket at the southern tip of Mumbai set up by scientist extraordinaire Homi Bhabha. Now, as he prepares to move on to other pastures, he leaves to it the distilled essence of his years of work there, sprinkled with archival finds and curiosities, in the form of a coffee table book titled 'Trees of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research'. 'When Dr Bhabha got this piece of land in Colaba in the 1950s to house TIFR, it was mostly barren reclaimed land,' said Gumaste, speaking before the book's launch at the seaside campus on Thursday. 'Even though this was to be a den of scientific inquiry, he gave as much importance to nature in over 20 acres, almost half of the campus.' When Mumbai was in its teething stages, sacrificing trees to make way for people, Bhabha was making space for the former. 'Around half the trees here are transplanted from other parts of Mumbai, including Banyan trees, baobabs and peepal trees,' said Gumaste. 'He also imported rare species like the Melaleuca leucadendra and Tabebuia rosea.' Today the campus has over 2,000 trees in 110 varieties. The unmistakable star of this transplanting effort lies in the campus: a gigantic Banyan tree, one of the approximately 20 on campus, whose canopy spreads out over 6,000 square feet. 'This is not the oldest Banyan tree in Mumbai, but it is the only one that has been given this much space to spread its wings to its heart's desire,' said Shyam Palkar, assistant professor of botany at MES' DG Ruparel College. Gumaste met Palkar, who is part of a group called 'Friends of Trees', back in 2024 on a tree walk he was conducting at TIFR. They became great friends, and Palkar came on board as the book's editor and added botany and taxonomy details to it. Another feat of transplantation is one of the four baobab trees on campus. 'This baobab was transplanted from Nepeansea Road in 1972, when it was approximately 50 years old,' said Gumaste. 'The archive notes that Bhabha's brother, J J Bhabha, saw the tree being cut and asked the then director if it was possible to transplant it. Despite being an expensive endeavour, they still went ahead with it, with funding by Telco. There is a photo of the night it was being transplanted, with JRD Tata and J J Bhabha, looking up to its branches, a banner about its transplantation hanging between two trees in the background.' For Gumaste, who began his role as the head of gardens and parks at TIFR—he retired in 2024 but continues as a consultant—the challenges of tending to the trees have increased over the years due to the change in weather, temperature and rainfall patterns. 'Every monsoon, there are a few tree falls, especially those trees that are not native to Bombay like the gulmohar and spathodea, and the newer ones planted to fill the gaps,' he said. 'It is even trickier over here, as this is reclaimed land, and soil does not always allow the roots to bind firmly. During Cyclone Tatukae in 2021, we lost 48 trees.' Following in the footsteps of Bhabha, Gumaste and his 40-50 gardeners hoisted 32 of the trees right back up. Gumaste has also continued adding trees, preferring to choose the native varieties for a better survival rate. A few acres ahead, the greenery changes shape and leads to well-manicured French-style lawns with a hedge of Putranjiva trees around it and flowers decorating the borders. In the centre is a flower arrangement. Gumaste explains, 'While the flowers in it change according to the seasons, its shape—an amoeba—stays the same, as that is what Bhabha wanted.' Step another three acres ahead, and the greenery once again changes form into one mimicking a forest of wispy Casuarina equisetifolia trees, again at Bhabha's behest. 'This is a tree great for the seashore, as it bonds well in the sandy soil, breaks the wind, and prevents soil erosion,' said Gumaste. 'We keep reconstructing small gazebos here, as professors like to take lectures here, but the younger trees often fall during the monsoon and break them.' Gumaste credits his band of gardeners with keeping Bhabha's dream alive. For the book, he thanks the contributions of Palkar, designer Neil Daptardar and two TIFR photographers Vijay Shinde and Jatin Acharya, as well as Friends of Trees and the TIFR Alumni Association. 'We desperately need to bring back that sense of reverence and exaltation of trees,' he said. ('Trees of Tata Institute of Fundamental Research' is available with the TIFR Alumni Association for ₹1,500)

Time of India

20-05-2025

• Time of India

Jayant Vishnu Narlikar: Astrophysicist who reached for stars, brought them closer to us

PUNE: In his last blog on March 24 this year, celebrated astrophysicist Jayant Vishnu Narlikar wrote about the importance of stepping back and looking at one's creations in a detached manner, and delegating work to youngsters. "This is where the IUCAA story is supposed to end," he said. "Karmayoga advocated by Bhagwad Gita shows the way for a graceful exit," the founder-director of Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics concluded, almost like a prophetic farewell. Narlikar - rationalist, cricket lover, science communicator, author and scientist who dared challenge the Big Bang theory about origin of the universe - passed away at 86 early Tuesday in his sleep at his Pune home. Just the previous day, Narlikar - who recently underwent hip surgery - had spent three hours reading in the massive wooden recliner that belonged to his father. He then stepped out of his modest home and went for a drive. Later that night, he told his daughter to give him a hug before he went to sleep. Narlikar's wife Mangala, a mathematician, passed away in 2023. The couple's three daughters - Geeta, Girija and Leelavati - pursue research careers in science. Narlikar is best known for Steady State Cosmology, an alternative to the widely accepted Big Bang theory. He also worked on Mach's Principle, quantum cosmology and problems related to quasars and black holes, earning the epithet 'Father of Indian cosmology'. 'Life beyond earth was another topic that interested him. Since 1999, he also collaborated with Isro and a group of scientists to design experiments that sampled air at altitudes of up to 41km to search for microorganisms. The samples collected in 2001 and 2005 found live cells and bacteria, opening up new possibilities to be explored through experiments,' IUCAA director RSrianand said. Born in Kolhapur, Narlikar graduated from Banaras Hindu University, where his father was a mathematics professor, before going to Cambridge. His mother was a Sanskrit researcher. JNV became a household name in India in 1964 when newspapers across the country wrote about the research by the young Indian and his senior, Fred Hoyle, at Cambridge. Their research looked beyond Einstein's Theory of Relativity to give an alternative model for gravity that fits into the quasi-steady state model of the universe. At Cambridge, Narlikar became a Wrangler and Tyson Medallist in Mathematical Tripos, was awarded the Smith's Prize in 1962, and the Adams Prize in 1967. He returned to India in 1972 to join TIFR in Mumbai. It was there that he worked on the idea of founding IUCAA. 'It was considered crazy to leave a secure job at TIFR for an unknown, undefined idea. But we did it anyway, setting up IUCAA in 1988, where Narlikar remained founder director for three terms till his retirement in 2003,' Ajit Kembhavi, one of the other founding members and ex-director of IUCAA, said. Carl Sagan's 'Cosmos' At heart, Narlikar was as much a science communicator as he was a researcher. Arvind Gupta, known for his creative ways of explaining science through toys and other means, points to the IUCAA tradition of hosting lectures for schoolchildren every month. This has continued for over 40 years. 'The science centre in IUCAA was set up with funds from Pu La Deshpande's trust, but I was sceptical as it was a govt institute. But I got a free hand to shape it and was told I could leave after six months if it felt too bureaucratic. We owe science popularisation to Narlikar. He believed that good PhD students don't fall from the sky — we have to nurture and inspire them from a young age,' Gupta said. Narlikar's love for explaining science led to him being featured on Carl Sagan's popular TV show Cosmos: A Personal Voyage. Colleagues remember him as a remarkably structured individual — someone who, despite wearing many hats, was never in a hurry; despite his fame, never unreachable; and a person who always made time for badminton and tennis during his IUCAA days. His love for cricket was probably only a notch less than that for science. In his blog, he wrote about playing matches during his time at BHU, with Pakistani students when in Cambridge, and recalls being complimented for his batting and bowling by former Test cricketer Chandu Borde during a chance match in Birmingham in July 2002. Rationalist above all For a man who loved science, belief in rationality came naturally. Hamid Dabholkar, son of slain rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, said Narlikar spoke out against the tendency to find pseudo-scientific reasoning in mythology, published a research paper debunking astrology, and even provided a mobile planetarium to activists working to dispel superstition — enabling them to travel to villages and explain eclipses and other natural phenomena. Narlikar's friendship with eminent Marathi writer Pu La Deshpande is well-known. But even among ordinary citizens, he had a lasting impact. Jasin S, who works for a private firm in New Delhi, said he may not remember what he recently read online, but vividly recalls two chapters from his Class VIII and IX NCERT English textbooks. 'One was 'The Comet' and the other was 'The Adventure' by Narlikar. That was my introduction to science fiction. I didn't know who he was, but he was an amazing writer. I was fascinated by the concept of a parallel universe in The Adventure. Now, I read everything I can about black holes, astrophysical discoveries, and life on Mars,' he said. Narlikar's body will be kept at IUCAA from 11.15am till noon Wednesday before the final journey to Pune's Vaikunth crematorium.