BENJAMIN PEARY PAL (1906 -1989 A.D.)

“The gate of life swings to and fro,

And soon, too soon, it closes,

And that is why beside my doors,

I grew red roses.”

This quotation from the book ‘The rose-Its beauty and science’ is a vivid expression of his personal philosophy. His life was a combination of dignity, courtesy, compassion and love of beauty.

                The man who saw science behind the beauty of roses is Benjamin Peary Pal. He was not only the father of Roses but also was the harbinger of green revolution in India.

                Though Peary Pal was born at Mukundpur, Punjab, on 26^th May, 1906. He spent his early life in Burma. He was addicted to winning prizes and scholarships. He passed his M.Sc. in botany from Rangoon University. In 1929, he left for Cambridge to do research on wheat. When he returned to Burma with aPh.D.five years later, he was appointed as Assistant Rice Research Officer at Central Rice Research Station at Himawbi.

                In 1933, he came back to India as a second Economic Botanist at the Imperial Agricultural Research Institute at Pusa in Bihar. He soon headed the botany division of the Institute which is now Indian Agricultural Research Institution in New Delhi. In 1950, he was appointed as the Director of the Institution. When Indian Council of Agricultural Research(ICAR) was recognized in 1965, Dr. Benjamin Peary Pal became its first Director General.

                In the pre-independence and early post-independence days, there was not much accent on agricultural research in India. A multitude of various diseases destroyed the crops and the country had to depend on imports from affluent countries to feed hungry mouths.

                Pal enters such a scenario. Rice and wheat are staple diet of the country and Pal made a mental mission to develop new varieties of wheat which could resist diseases. He gave a clarion call to search for new genes. The outcome was new breed NP (New Pusa) 700 and NP 800 series, which could resist a certain type of rust, a common form of disease killing wheat crops.

                He was not satisfied. After eighteen long years of conscientious research NP 809 was planted in 1954. It was a major breakthrough as variety could combat all three types of rust and the curtain rose for green revolution. There was applause all over the world for achievement of unassuming Indian scientist. That was not end. He made extensive researches in potato and tobacco.

                Benjamin Peary Pal was never married though he known as the Father of Roses. He liked to be remembered as a bachelor wedded to the roses.  With his unparalleled works, he bred some of the most beautiful varieties of roses named as – Dr. HomiBhabha, Delhi Princes, Apsara, Banjaran, Dilruba, Homage etc. he developed about forty varieties of roses. One of his most popular books is ‘The Rose in India’. He was a founder member of Rose Society of India and remained its President for several years.

                Awards and acclaim poured in with the Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Prize, the BirbalSahni Medal and the Ramanujan Medal, IRF Gold Medal, Sir William Jones Medal and Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Award. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1972. He was the member of Education Commission of India and first Chairman of the Government of India’s committee on Environment. He was also President of Indian Botanical Society, Horticultural Society of India, Indian Society of Genetics and Plant Breeding. He was the President of Indian National Science Academy. However, nothing can match the admiration he received from the farmers.

                 In 1946, he created a plant Exploration and Collection Unit within IARI. It is now an independent ICAR Bureau, the NBPGR holding the 4^th largest collection in the world. He has over 160 scientific publications and five books to his credit

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              As a role model for the scientific community, he brought research from labs to farms. For over three decades, he shaped the course of research and strengthened educational infrastructure. More than 30 scientists were awarded Ph.D under his guidance.

              He was wedded to wheat, roses, bougainvillea and painting. The red roses, he grew beside his door must have cried on 14^th September 1989, when he left them.

At an early age, Benjamin Peary Pal was introduced to plants. His father, though a physician, spent his spare time growing flowers and vegetables in their garden. Once when he was tired he asked teenaged Pal to look after the garden. Pal not only began to take care of plants but also started improving them after reading books on gardening and seed catalogues. Plants became his lifelong friends. Even in his seventies, he took care of them with affection as he did when he was a boy.