My students, friends and colleagues know my disdain
for Indian author text books in science and biotechnology. I rarely prescribe
any Indian author text books of biotechnology to my students who are doing
graduation and post-graduation in Biotechnology (B.Tech, M.tech, M.Sc etc). I
pass snide remarks if a student says “I study Satyanarayan’s Biochemistry or
B.D. Singh’s Biotechnology”. I preach them not to read Indian author textbooks.
And I practice what I preach!!
I always swear by Lehninger’s Biochemistry, Bruce
Alberts Cell Biology, Prescott’s Microbiology, John Smith’s Biotechnology,
Schuler and Kargi’s Biochemical Engineering , Crueger & Crueger’s
Fermentation technology , TA Brown’s Genome etc. Even for biochemistry and
microbiology practicals I prefer David Plummer or Rodney Boyer or a Sherman- Capuccino. For mol bio even at the
cost of snobbery I prescribed Maniatis to
my M.Sc Biotech students of Xavier’s.
People know my liking and standards. I don’t deviate
from those foreign author textbooks while teaching. I love those diagrams,
colored photos, brilliant brain stimulating end of the chapter questions which
prepared me for GATE, NET and interviews. From 1994 I have been fed on foreign
author text books; during B.Sc & M.Sc Physiology I used to read Guyton or Ganong.
I used to worship Harper’s Biochemistry and many of my knowledge gems came from
Lehninger and Voet and Voet’s Biochemistry. Guyton’s Physiology was like a
storybook suggested by Dr Yoshomalyo Banerjee ( beloved Tum dada). Ganong
helped before exams. Voet and Voet had brilliant colored photos of proteins and
DNA which shaped my life long interest in proteins and molecular biology and I eventually finished a
PhD on tubulin-a cytoskeletal protein. While studying Biotechnology Masters in
Jadavpur University my fascination for cell biology and microbiology begun with
Bruce Alberts and Prescott. What a brilliantly written book. And added to the
attraction was the fact that Bruce Alberts co-authors with legendary James Watson
of DNA double helix fame. When I got know that Albert Lehninger discovered
oxidative phosphorylation my respect grew even more, as if the best of the world’s
knowledgeable scientists were giving their insights to me while I read their
textbooks. Another book which shaped my career in molecular biology was Tom
Maniatis’s Gene Cloning. While performing molecular biology experiments in
between 2002 to 2006 in Jadavpur University , MAHYCO or while teaching in
Xavier’s Mumbai from 2012-2017, I acknowledge immense help from Maniatis book,
I consider it like many others as a bible of genetic engineering. Genetic
Engineering books by Old & primrose or Glick & Pasternak also
influenced me heavily. Notwithstanding the attractive prose, color images and
extensive knowledge even the end of
chapter bibliography sparked interest in me to seek more knowledge.
However today in this blog I disclose that once I was
helped by many Indian author textbooks which I may not follow as a teacher but that
had a done a great deal of help in terms of passing exams and gaining
sufficient knowledge. Why am I writing this has a reason? Yes, recently while
teaching clinical biochemistry I found Devlin’s Clinical Biochemistry
unaffordable. And I have to teach it. So I resorted to good old dog eared copy
of Biochemistry by Debajyoti Das I bought in 1994 in College Street , Calcutta
while beginning B.Sc.. I had found very soon that in Calcutta University pattern
of education Debajyoti Das and C.C.Chatterji’s books will help me in sailing
through. A very well written book, Debajyoti Das’s Biochemistry, helps a lot of
doctors and biochemistry students across the medical colleges also. I am
privileged to attend the lectures of this great man in Presidency College from
1998-1999. His book encompasses general biochemistry, nutrition, physiology and
clinical biochemistry – the depth and breadth of which is sometime missing in
Harper’s Biochemistry which medical students vouch for. And he enlightened with
Indian statistics on nutrition and clinical biochemistry which is missing in
foreign authors. We as a race have different food habits and physiological
parameters which is not mentioned by foreign authors. But from Debajyoti Das I got
to know why Indians prefer a combination of Dal-Rice, Idly-Sambar, Dal Roti
etc. I got to know why Indians suffer from Thalassemia in certain parts of this
country. Even C.C. Chatterji’s Physiology was many a time life saver just
before exams. While panicking and looking at the untouched portions I frowned
at the subject in Guyton or Ganong but Calcutta University question paper is
set in such a way in last moment a C.C Chatterji will save you in passing physiology
exam rather than a glamorous copy of Ganong. I don’t demean Ganong, Guyton or
Lenhinger, Harper but it is a truth I am sharing and many of my friends in
academics or medicine from Calcutta will vouch for the fact that while
preparing for fear-inducing exams with last moment study and vast uncovered
syllabus, a Debajyoti Das or C.C Chatterji can calm you down and make you pass
through the ordeal of passing degree not compromising with the quality
knowledge. In fact I learnt my pharmacology first from K.D.Tripathy's Medical Pharmacology, a widely read book by doctors in making and written with Indian patients in mind. Later on while doing PhD I loved reading Goodman Gilman but K.D Tripathy was irreplaceable while embarking a PhD on biochemical pharmacology from IIT Bombay under Prof Dulal Panda.
I have no idea of other fields like Engineering or Law
or Arts, those subjects may have distinguished Indian author books. But while
studying H.S. (12th standard) I was benefitted by Das & Mukherji’s
Calculus, Ganguly & Mukherji’s Algebra, Trigonometry, Souren Dey’s Mathematics,
Ranajit Das and S.N. Poddar’s Chemistry, Bahl & Bahl’s Organic Chemistry,
Sanyal Chatterji’s Biology, Das-Adhikary-Sinha –Roy’s Biology, C.R.D.G's Physics or DPC's Physics. At that time
neither did we have access to foreign author text books in schools nor did
anybody prescribe. Some students used to get A Level ELBS Biology, Physics,
Chemistry books, some used to read Morrison Boyd’s Organic Chemistry, I.L.Finar’s
Organic Chemistry , J.D.Lee’s Inorganic Chemistry or Resnick Halliday’s Physics
for IIT preparations. But I was no extra ordinary student and I limited my
study to the before mentioned Indian author books of science.
During B.Sc I had Zoology and Chemistry Pass and I
stuck to Indian author texts like Ganguly Adhikary’s Zoology, S.R.Palit’s Physical
Chemistry, Bahl & Bahl’s Organic Chemistry etc. Sometimes Indian author
texts have printing mistakes, they are not that attractive due to lack of
colourful images and overall the lavish packaging of the foreign author books attracted
me more. Nevertheless, I disclose happily that I was once benefitted by Indian
author textbooks immensely and now as I teach I need few of them foreign
authors being unaffordable financially. The packaging may be bad, the black and
white images may look dull but the knowledge I acquired from Debajyoti Das’s
Biochemistry or C.C Chatterji’s Physiology or Das Mukherji’s Calculus or
Ranajit Das’s Chemistry or Bahl and Bahl’s Organic Chemistry will remain with me lifetime.
Even my previous generation from Calcutta told me they loved their Ladli Mohan Mitra Chemistry book, D.P.Ray Choudhury's Physics book, A.C. Dutta's Botany, Samar Mitra's Anatomy & Physiology, K.C. Nag's Mathematics, Jadav Chandra Chowdhury's Arithmetic or K.P.Basu's Algebra. P.K.De sarkar's English book was another gem for learning English with the help of Bengali language. I was a Bangla medium student and I have affinity for this book particularly. My grandfather used to prescribe many of these to me. Even I remember he bought a guide book of K.P.Basu and Jadav Chowdhury and will look into it only when I failed to solve certain sums.Bengali students will forever remember these books despite the flooding of Chaya Prokashoni and so called Ray& Martin's ( a crappy copy of venerable British author Wren & Martin which we followed in schools) these days.
As I make this disclosure and eulogize Indian author
books which I do rarely and secretively, I am certain many of my friends in
academia or medicine or science profession will share my views. All said and
done, in Indian educational system, due to their affordability and faithful delivery
of good science, these Indian author textbooks formed many careers. They saved
many from the trauma of certain and imminent failure in exams. They saved a lot
many from the ignominy of not getting the coveted degree, those books were the
last resort in those stressful days when the realization dawned upon you that
you are utterly unprepared for the upcoming degree exams and you are going to
fail surely and certainly. I am always fascinated and enamored by the dazzle
and brilliance of foreign text books but I must declare that those Indian
author text books I clung to my heart before B.Sc or M.Sc finals and I did not
flunk the important exams. Rather I flung those fancy foreign textbooks for
those panic stricken days and nights and I clung to Indian authors for saving
my face.
I hope you liked it, I welcome your comments and want
to know their point of views. Thank you.
