Forest minister Pradyut Bordoloi releases Dutta’s book at Cotton College on Thursday. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

Jan. 22: Ananda Chandra Dutta does not possess highbrow degrees. However, he is a botanical scientist by practice. So much so that his book titled Asamar Gach Gasoni (Trees of Assam), published by Assam Science Society, is the first of its kind in the state.

Dutta, only a matriculate, has made meticulous sketches of 777 types of plants with their scientific details in the book. Minister for forest and environment Pradyut Bordoloi today released the book at a function held in the department of botany, Cotton College.

In his address, Dutta mooted the idea of setting up a botanical garden and herbarium in the city. “The botanical garden in Shillong is deteriorating day by day. There is an urgent need to document and conduct research on the medicinal properties, present in almost every tree,” he said.

Born in a farmer’s family at Jorhat’s Chekonidhara village in 1923, Dutta had done his matriculation from Calcutta University in 1943. He joined the Toklai Research Experimental Centre in Jorhat as a junior assistant scientist.

He mesmerised the audience with his various anecdotes.

In fact, Dutta was the founder of the herbarium at Toklai. “I carefully nurtured each and every plant at the herbarium. Even today, whenever I go there, I quietly clean the place. I also instruct the caretakers to maintain the place properly and keep everything in order,” he said.

“I started writing while I was working there. Initially, many people questioned the authorship of my books because I lacked the necessary qualifications. In fact, I never got a promotion because of the requisite qualification bar,” he added.

Some of his other important works are Some Common Weeds of the Tea Estates in Northeast India (1972), Shade Trees, Green Crop and Cover Plants of the Tea Estates in Northeast India (1977), Dictionary of Economic and Medicinal Plants (1985). Dutta has been a learner all his life. “I have mastered almost every skill from knitting to carpentry. And this I have learned only by observation within my limited resources,” he said.

His keen observation is, however, concentrated on his first love — plants. He mounts his moped and takes the whole day off in his quest for new varieties of plants. He laments that he could not find a publisher to make reprints of his earlier books.

He proudly talks about his two precious Wingsung pens, which he had bought in Calcutta for making sketches of the various types of plants.

The Assam Science Society plans to bring out the second volume of his books soon. “It is quite sad that we could not acknowledge the exemplary work done by Dutta earlier. This is a belated recognition for the amazing feats of this octogenarian,” said B. Deka of the society.