 DIRECTOR Prof. P. Balaram | There is the editorial written by Prof. P. Balaram in Current Science magazine. The magazine is jointly published by Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and Indian Academy of Sciences. Prof. P. Balaram is the Director of IISc.
The author states that it is good practice to keep reference of any magazine (such as documents, info about the authors, copies of earlier editions, photos, etc.) so that it can be used at a later date. He describes the problems faced by him when he wanted to know more information about the early years (in early 1930’s) of Current Science magazine. |
 Current Issue Vol. 92 No. 6 25 March 2007 |  |
http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/jan102007/5.pdf
(Excerpts from the editorial)
Why have I begun this column with Dalrymple and his book,
surely a topic as far removed as can be from the concerns of
readers of this journal? The answer lies in the nature of the two
tasks that I have been confronted with in recent months; tasks
that would be well accomplished if I had the benefit of a carefully
catalogued written record. The first is the job of writing
about the early years of this journal, which is now in its 75th year
of publication. The second is the formidable job of building a
permanent archive at the Indian Institute of Science, which is
rapidly approaching its Centenary Year. In both tasks I have
been astounded by the absence of catalogued records in the organizations
themselves; a clear sign that an historical record is
not a matter of grave importance.
The careful maintenance of a written record and the building
up of archives and repositories of documents is, undoubtedly, a
Western practice. Oral history is more popular in India, with
every story embellished in the retelling. Organizations which
retain every file in dusty and disorganized disarray, usually discard
them by the truckload in periodic cleaning operations.
There is no resident archivist, who sifts through the piles of paper
looking for the bits that may help a future chronicler to
piece together an authentic and interesting story. I felt the absence
of a written record, files of correspondence and photographs,
most acutely when confronted with the self-imposed
task of writing on the early years of Current Science. It seemed
appropriate to mark the anniversary by tracing the roots of the
journal and discovering the personal stories of its founders. To
the hard-nosed reader of a scientific journal, pragmatic and focused,
history will undoubtedly be of little more than passing
interest. But, as the journal’s present custodian, it did seem important
to look back at the extraordinary achievements of my
predecessors, especially those who midwifed Current Science
into existence.
Starting the journal must have been a formidable task; sustaining
it in the early years even more demanding. The need for
a journal, interdisciplinary in content and modelled on the great
scientific periodicals of the time, Nature, Science and Die
Naturwissenschaften would have been easy to articulate. Indeed,
the available record shows that an Indian Science journal was
conceived in discussions at the Science Congress and its birth
hastened by the positive responses received to a questionnaire,
circulated in 1931 by Martin Forster, then Director of the Indian
Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. I would have loved to see
this questionnaire and read some of the responses, for it is
really these little bits of correspondence that provide a true
glimpse of the times. Unfortunately, no records are traceable.
The daunting task of producing, delivering and nurturing the
journal was left to a very small band of intrepid editors operating
out of Central College and IISc in Bangalore. Seventy five
years later I can only imagine the difficulties they would have
encountered.