MOHINDER SINGH RANDHAWA A Multifaceted Personality Mohinder Singh Randhawa (born February 2, 1909 at Zila, Punjab), had his early education at Khalsa High School, Muktsar and got his M.Sc. in Botany from the Government College, Lahore. He was selected for Indian Civil Service (ICS) in 1934 and was allotted to Uttar Pradesh cadre. Sardar Patel during the partlition posted him as Deputy Commissioner, Delhi. As Deputy Commissioner, he made all arrangements for the historic event of August 15, 1947, when at the destined hour, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru unfurled the Tricolour from the ramparts of the Red Fort in Delhi and delivered his famous “Tryst with Destiny” speech. One can well imagine the kind of responsibility of being the Deputy Commissioner of Delhi during those turbulent days when historical events of global significance were unfolding in the capital of the Republic of India. Later Dr. Randhawa was appointed Director General, Rehabilitation at Jhalandhar (Punjab) where he performed the most daunting task of rehabilitating millions left behind by the evacuees in Punjab. Dr. Randhawa was the founder Chief Commissioner of Chandigarh (Union Territory). During his tenure (1966-1968) he established the much famous Rose Garden and named it as Dr.Zakir Husain Rose Garden. He guided the plantation of flowering trees on various roadsides in the city. Dr.Randhawa has been synonymous with the beautification of Chgandigarh. It is only due to his efforts that Chandigarh is popularly known as the City Beautiful. In additon, credit for all the artistic activities in the city since 1966 goes to him, as he struggled hard to develop this town into an important art centre and in the process founded Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Sangeet Natak Akademi and Sahitya Akademi. Because of his untiring efforts, Chandigarh Museum, Punjab Arts Council and Museum of Cultural Heritage of Punjab at Ludhiana could be built. Even Nek Chand, the creator of Rock Garden had Dr Randhawa’s unstinted support and patronage in the early years of this great creation. Dr.Randhawa also served as the Vice-Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He was considered the soul of the University and is remembered as a great scientist, administrator, educationist, art critic and sport lover. As the Vicep-President of Indian Council for Agricultural Research, he guided all the research that later on bloomed as the Green Revolution in Punjab. As an administrator, Dr. Randhawa’s acumen was universally recognised though no less important was his contribution as a phycologist or an agricultural scientist or as a connoisseur of art and painting or as a culture scientist and folklorist and as a builder and promoter of institutions. As a writer some of his books like Kangra Paintings of the Gita Govinda, Basholi Paintings of the Rasmanjari, Flowering Trees, Beautifying India, Beautiful Trees and Gardens, A History of Indian Agriculture (4 volumes totallin about 2157 pages), Developing Village India, Farmers of India (4 volumes in collaboration), four collections of folk songs of Punjab, Kangra, Kullu and Haryana are everlasting. Dr. M.S. Randhawa, D.Sc., F.N.I., I.C.S. was much more than an administrator. He continued his love for ‘Science’ in general and algae in particular; all this with a high degree of enthusiasm, employing modest means and facilities arranged with his own private resources. He made some important discoveries particularly in relation to terrestrial algae of the Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic plains. He collected numerous algae while travelling for his official tours. He normally carried a microscope (now protected in M.S.Randhawa Library at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana) and a box of tubes and ampty ink bottles. In the evenings, he used to examine those collections and preserving the interesting ones. He had been utilizing his free time or vacations for making sketches, and clicking some others. He publishe more than three dozens original papers in leading national and international journals of plant sciences (Annexure 1). He authored a monograph on Zygnemaceae (Which was the first of the series of monographs on algae). This monograph is still recognized as a masterpiece and rated very high all over the world. As Vice-President of Indian Council for Agricultural Research during sixties, lhe encouraged preparation and publication of monographs on various groups of algae – A great service to the field of Phycology, indeed. He was instrumental in organizing an International Seminar on Algology in December 1959 at New Delhi under the joint auspices of ICAR and UNESCO. Since early days of my research at PAU, Ludhiana, the fascinating personality of Dr. Randhawa inspired me to take up Phycology as my research career. It is my pride to dedicate this volume to this great mentor, whose passion for Phycology will continue to inspire students for several generations to come. June 2002 Amrik Singh Ahluwalia (REPRODUCED FOR THE BENEFIT OF PEOPLE INTERESTED TO KNOW GREAT PERSONS CONTRIBUTED TO THE FIELD OF ALGOLOGY from Phycology Principles, Processes and Applications authored by Amrik Singh Ahluwalia, 2003, Daya Publishing House, Delhi) PUBLICATIONS OF PRO.M.S.RANDHAWA 1933 Notes On Cyst‐Germination In Protosiphon Botryoides (Kützing)Klebs. Curr. Sci. 2: 55‐56 1934 Chosella indica Gen. et sp. nov. A new member of the conjugatae. J. Indian Bot. Soc. 13: 11‐16. 1936a Marked periodicity in reproduction of the Punjab Freshwater algae. Prod. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 3(5): 401‐406. 1936b Genus Anabaenothrix and parallelism in evolution in freshwater algae. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 3(5): 407‐410. 1936c Occurrence and distribution of the freshwater algae of North India. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 4(1): 36‐44. 1936d Contributions to our knowledge of the freshwater algae of Northern India. I. Oedogoniales. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 4(2): 97‐107. 1936e A note on some attached forms of Spirogyra from Punjab. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 4(3): 246‐249. 1936f Three new species of Zygnema from Northern India. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 3(5): 407‐410. 1936g A short note on an Indian variety of Sphaeroplea annulina (Roth) Agard v. multiseriate var. nov. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 4(5): 405‐407. 1936h A new species of Cylindrocapsa from India (C. oedogonioides). Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 4(5): 408‐410. 1937a Some Zygnemopsis in Northern India. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 5(6): 297‐314. 1937b A note on aplanospores in a species of Oedogonium. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 6(4): 230‐231. 1938a Observations on some zygnemales from Northern India. Part I. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 8(3): 109‐150. 1938b Observations on some zygnemales from Northern India, Part II. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 8(4): 336‐366. 1939a Observations on some new and interesting algae from Northern India. Hedwigia 78: 273‐283. 1939b A note on cyst formation in Fritschiella tuberosa Iyengar. Archiv. Fur. Protistenkunde, Part I, 92: 131‐136. 1939c Genus Vaucheria in Northern India. Archiv. Fur. Protistenkunde, 92: 527‐542. 1940a Budding in Protosiphon botryoides Kleb. Curr. Sci. 9: 26‐27. 1940b Perennation in Oedocladium operculatum Tiffany. Curr. Sci. 9: 326‐327. 1940c Zygnema terrestris Randh. From the Kumaon Himalayas. Curr. Sci. 9: 373=374. 1940d Iwanoffia terrestris (Iwan) Pasher from Fyzabad. Curr. Sci. 9: 459‐461. 1940e A note on club‐shaped variety of Botrydium granulatum (L.) Gres. var. claveformis var. nov. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 11(5): 222‐224. 1940f Zygogonium kumaoensis, a new species of Zygogonium from Kumaon. J. Indian bot. Soc. 19: 247‐249. 1941a Some pecularities in conjugation in a new Himalayan species of Zygnema. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. Sect. B. 12(4): 129‐ 132. 1941b Notes on three species of Oedocladium from the Himalayas. Trans. Amer. Mic. Soc. 60: 417‐420. 1941c Sirocladium, a new terrestrial member of the Zygnemales. Bot. Gaz. 103(1): 192‐197. 1941d Genus Cylindrocapsa in India. Curr. Sci. 10: 292‐294. 1942a Akinete formation in Vaucheria geminata. Bot. Gaz. 103: 809‐811. 1942b Further observation, on Vaucheriaceae from N. India. J. Indian bot. Soc. 21: 263‐266. 1943a On akinite formation in Zygnema terrestris Randh. Curr. Sci. 12: 26. 1943b A critical review of some recently created new species of Indian Zygnemales. Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. B. 18: 73‐81. 1944 Species of Botrydium from North India. Bot. Gaz. 106: 483‐486. 1946 Further observations on Fritschiella tuberosa Iyengar. New Phyt. 45: 278‐279. 1948 Notes on some Uloytrichales from Northern India. Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India 14: 367‐372. 1956 Algae in relation to food and agriculture. Inaugural Address, Conf. of Indian Experts on Algae, ICAR, New Delhi, 1‐14 pp. 1958a A note on the species of Stichococcus and Hormidium from Delhi. J. Indian bot. Soc. 398‐399. 1958b A note on two new species of Spirogyra and Sirogonium. J. Indian bot. Soc. 37: 380‐381. 1958c Notes on some new algae from India. Bot. Gaz. 120: 25‐31. 1958d Further observations in the genus Sirocladium. Biot. Gaz. 116: 1959a Zygnemaceae. ICAR, New Delhi.1959b Historical review on algae. Proc. Symp. Algol. ICAR, New Delhi, 4‐24. 1959c A note on species of Stichococcus and Hormidium from Delhi. J. Indian bot. Soc. 38: 398‐399. 1959d Reproduction in Zygogonium cricatorum Kütz. Curr. Sci. 28:24 1962a A note on Zygogonium cricatorum Kütz. From Java. Phykos 1: 23‐24. 1962b A note on two interesting fresh‐water algae from Kerala State, India. Curr. Sci. 31: 259. Randhawa, M.S. & Venkataraman, G.S. 1961 Notes on Cladophorales from India. Proc. Natl. Inst. Sci. 27: 52‐55. Randhawa, M.S. & Venkataraman, G.S.