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Shiva Balak Misra

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Name
  
Shiva Misra


Shiva Balak Misra is an Indian geologist, writer, social worker.

Contents

Misra is credited for his discovery of Fractofusus misrai - a fossil revealing mystery about beginning of life on earth some 560 mn years ago, discovered by him in June 1967 during his MS Thesis work at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada now better known as Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve after his discovery The discovery was named after him in 2007. The location of his Misra's discovery his was named a UNESCO World Heritage destination in 2016.

Misra is also well known for his contribution to the society. Having grown up in hardship in a poor family in small village near Lucknow in Northern India, Misra had to walk 24 kilometers each day for schooling. As a child he had a dream to start a school in his village which he nurtured lifelong and after his Masters in Canada when he was at the peak of his career having made the famous fossil discovery he decided to give up the career in West and come to India and start a school in his village which he runs until today.

Misra's Discovery

In the summer of 1967, S.B.Misra an Indian graduate student (1966–69) from Memorial University of Newfoundland discovered a rich asssemblage of imprints of soft bodied organisms on the surface of large rock slabs in the Conception Group of Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland at Mistaken Point.

These unusual impressions of previously unknown soft-bodied sea animals on the surfaces of Argillite (mudstone) included coelenterates and other metazoa of the Ediacaran. Misra made the discovery during the course of geological mapping of the previously unmapped area of southeastern part of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. Misra was the first to prepare and present a systematic geological map of the region, to classify and describe the rock sequence of the area and to work out the depositional history of the rocks.

The discovery was reported in 1968 in a paper in Nature. Misra described the Mistaken Point Fauna in detail in 1969, in a paper published in the Bulletin of the Geological Society of America. He described the fossil assemblage into four groups namely:

  1. Spindle-shaped
  2. Leaf-shaped
  3. Round lobate
  4. Dendrite like
  5. Radiating

Misra's Journey back home

After completing his Masters, Misra decided to return to India and run a school in his village.

Misra grew up in small village near Lucknow in Northern India, and had to walk 24 kilometers each day for schooling as a kid. He had a dream to start a school in his village when he grew up and he nurtured this dream through. After his Masters in Canada having made the famous fossil discovery, he decided to give up the career in West and come to India and start a school in his village called which he runs until today with help of his wife Nirmala Misra.

Awards

Misra was awarded with the The Laadli Media Award for writing on gender sensitivity in 2014. Misra was also recognized by Apeejay India Volunteer Award in 2011.

Books Authored

Misra has authored two books

A book, "Dream Chasing, One Man's Remarkable, True Life Story." He is chief-editor of Gaon Connection, an Indian rural newspaper, started in 2012, and based in village, Kunaura 160 km from Lucknow.

A second book on Nature & Indian-ness (भारतीयता और पयार्वरण) was published earlier.

Misra retired as Professor of Gelogy in late 1990s from Kumaun University sotyand joined his wife Nirmala in managing the school. Now ats 70's, he resides in Lucknow with his wife Nirmala Misra. His elder son Neelesh Misra is a well known Indian journalist, author, radio storyteller, Bollywood scriptwriter, lyricist. And his younger son Shailesh Misra is a software professional.

References

Shiva Balak Misra Wikipedia