I was born in Siberia, in the city of Irkutsk located not far away from Lake Baikal. I am the second-generation botanist in my family. My mother, being a post-graduate student in botany, back in the 1960s, brought me to my first “scientific” expedition. It was on Lake Baikal, and I was two years old….
I am from India. I grew up in Kurukshetra, a city located in the north Indian state of Haryana. My alma mater is Kurukshetra University where I graduated, completed post graduate studies and was awarded my PhD. I must admit here that during my graduate days I was reluctant to study cryptogams, but gradually, I…