SHRI RANJAN

(1899-1969)
Elected Fellow 1951
BIRTH, PARENTAGE AND CHILDHOOD

HRI RANJAN was born on August 16th1899 in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) in a

distinguished and famous Sah Family with establishments in Varanasi and Calcutta.
The family had the reputation of being Bankers to East India Company and were big
land lords of Varanasi and Calcutta. His father Dr Govind Das was son of Babu Madhav
Das and brother of Bharat Ratna Dr Bhagwan Das. Shri Shri Prakasha, Governor of
Madras (Tamil Nadu) was his cousin brother and son of Dr Bhagwan Das. Shri Ranjan's
childhood was thus exposed to the aristocratic society of that time, a trait that marked
his personality and social life all through his life.
EDUCATION
Shri Ranjan had his early education in Calcutta passing his Matriculation of the Calcutta
University in 1917and Intermediate Examination from the Presidency College, Calcutta
in 1919. He thereafter moved to Banaras and passed his BSc. and MSc in Botany from
Banaras Hindu University in 1921and 1923respectively. Recipient of Merit Scholarship
in BSc. and MSc, he was also awarded the Vasudeo Sahai Gold Medal as a MSc student.
Soon after obtaining the Master's degree, he proceeded to England and joined Trinity
College, Cambridge as a research student under Professor FF Blackman, FRS one of
the most eminent Plant Physiologists of that time. In 1925, he was awarded MSc degree
of Cambridge University for an orignal piece of research work on the influence upon
respiration of leaves of definite doses of sugars a work quoted in text books as the first
quantitative data of externally supplied sugar of known quantities in intact leaves and
its effect on leaf respiration. The technique of vacuum infiltrating sugar solution in
leaves also reduced bacterial infections which is common if leaves are floated on sugar
solutions. This pioneering work is cited in Plant Respiration by WO James.
PROFESSIONAL CAREER
After his return from Cambridge, he was appointed Reader in the Department of Botany,
Allababad University in 1925. At Allahabad he organized a research center of Plant
Physiology, one of the earliest centers of the country and developed facilities for work
on plant respiration, photosynthesis and metabolism. At that time when availability
of ready-made equipments was scarce he fabsicated the famous Blackma
commutator to measure respiration rate of whole plants and organs of plant i.

Biographical Memoirs

fruits, flowers etc. continuously over days and weeks at fixed temperatures and
developed apparatus for measuring catalase activity in plants. He attracted and
encouraged students to go for research. In early forties he together with his research
students worked on different aspects of plant respiration. In 1931 he proceeded to
France and submitted his thesis on "Recherche sur a1 respiration des ve'ge'taux" under
Professor G Nicholas, Director of the Institute of Agriculture, University of Tolouse,
France and was awarded State Doctorate of France(tres honorable) in 1932. In 1936 he
became the Head of the Botany Department and was appointed Professor and Head of
the Botany Department, Allahabad University in 1941. He was elected president of the
Botany section of the Indian Science Congress in 1941.
Shri Ranjan's early work in forties related mainly to the study of respiration in
leaves, flowers and fruits while passing through a senescent drift confirming the earlier
work of his Professor, Professor FF Blackman.
In 1940 he discovered that ethylene was responsible for abscission of mango fruits;
the role of ethylene in abscission has been widely documented and confirmed during
the last five decades. In the same year he initiated work on the effect of light on
respiration in green plants which formed the theme of his Presidential address to the
Indian Science Congress in 1941. He demonstrated that the rate of respiration of green
plants in light was higher than in dark. Measuring transient changes in CO, output
during darkllight transfer of leaves, he demonstrated a marked burst of CO, output
soon after the lights were put off which was much higher compared to the dark
respiration before transfer to light. He assigned the difference to photo-induced
respiration. Photorespiration is now well known phenomenon in many C-3 plants.
Studying interaction between light and temperature effects on leaf respiration he could
account for the difference between the theoretical curve and Professor FF Blackman's
experimental curve on the respiration rate of plants obtained at different temperatures
in light. Shri Ranjan had imbibed the analytical brilliance of his Professor Professor
FB Blackrnan in interpreting the respiratory data. His early work finds reference in
Standard Text Books of Plant Physiology at that time, Miller (1938) p992 and Duggars
Vo1.(1-2) on Biological Oxidation, p. 1060-1061.
Yet another outstanding contribution much ahead of time was his work on the
effectof Violet and Ultraviolet radiation on Plant respiration in 1940.With the depleting
ozone layer and the threat of more and more ultraviolet-B covering the earth, this
work clearly shows his foresight. In 1940, Shri Ranjan had also initiated research on
the effectof manurial treatment on the nitrogen, carbohydrate and chlorophyll contents
of wheat plant in search of metabolic relationship of various manurial treatments and
had attempted to produce wheat mutants by X-ray's to evolve new wheat varieties for
the farmers. In the early sixtees, Shri Ranjan modernized the Plant Physiological
Laboratories of the Botany Department, Allahabad University with generous
from UGC, New Delhi and equipped the laboratory with several sophi

Shri Ranjan
equipments to work on important and basic aspects of Plant Physiology, viz., respiration,
photosynthesis, oxidation-reduction system, enzyme kinetics, nitrogen metabolism, etc.
Country's first most well equipped Plant Physiology Laboratory was thus established at
the University of Allahabad, Botany Department during 1954-1956.
Shri Ranjan attracted some very dedicated research students during this time and
initiated research work in diverse areas of Plant Physiology. With Ravinder Kaur (1954),
he studied the respiratory behaviour of Potato tubers during hormone prolonged
dormancy and dormancy breaking. He was the first to show that the effectiveness of a
hormone in dormancy breaking could be predicted much before dormancy breaks, by
a marked increase in the respiratory activity in the region of the 'eye'. He thus
established the prerequisite of enhanced respiratory activity for the bud growth to
take place.
BS Bhisht worked on the Crassulacean acid metabolism in Coleus aromaticus, a plant
belonging to family Labiatae, and demonstrated dark fixation of CO, and increase in
titratable acidity during night hours. Later T Rajarao showed that Coleus aromaticus
(Labiatae) indeed showed typical diurnal variation in CO, fixation and acidity; acidity
changes were due to changes in malic acid levels in leaves. The plant showed all others
attributes of CAM plants. Thus a Labiatae plant was added to plants showing
crassulacean acid metabolism.

In 1955, Shri Ranjan with his students MM Laloraya, T Rajarao and Govindjee
developed a circular paper chromatographic technique to separate large number of
samples (8-16) at one time avoiding intermixing of bands from adjoining samples and
called it Horizontal migration multiple sector chromatographic technique. This
technique not only avoided intermixing of adjacent bands but also restricted radial
flow within the sector giving higher values in quantitative estimations, an improvement
over Giri's technique prevalent at that time.
"The author of this memoir narrates as under. "I vividly remember the morning
when Govindjee and I carried the first successful amino acid separation chromatogram to
Dr. Shri Ranjan's house at 8.30 A M in the morning. He was in his Verandah in half
sleeve shirt resting in his big chair after his early morning garden activity. He looked
towards us and shouted, "What brings you so early in the morning to my house !Is there
a five in department !Quietly we moved towards him and opened the Newspaper wrapping
the chromatogram on a table kept in front of him. He looked at it and shouted "Oh it is
beautiful" and jumped out of the chair. He held by our shoulders and virtually had a
swing. He rushed inside with joy saying 'waitfor 5 minutes. I shall get ready and be with
you: He came out dressed up, took out his big Ford Car, asked us to sit by his side and
drove us to the department. He was excited and happy like a child, like ourselves and
made us forget that he was great Professor with whom no one could be so close as we were
at that moment. He ordered everything that we needed for research work and we were
granted access at any time to meet him in connection with our research work"

Biographical Memoirs

He was thrilled by the success of his students in separating large number of

amino acids present in plant extracts. Using this technique and later combining it with
two dimensional paper chromatography, Ranjan and his students attacked several
problems related to plant metabolism for the first time in this country. Study of changes
in amino acid metabolism of the host in virus infected plant was initiated in 1955'by
MM Laloraya, Govindjee and T Rajarao, and Rajni Varma joined the group in 1956, a
work widely confirmed in the Country and outside. Govindjee studied changes in
amino acids in X-ray irradiated Gram (Cicer arietinum) seedlings and Rajarao used the
technique to study the changes in different organic acid fractions during dark CO,
fixation, acidification and deacidification in light in Coleus aromaticus. Laloraya applied
this to study the changes in individual amino acids and amides during leaf senescence
which was largely unknown till that time. Using paper chromatographic technique
Shri Ranjan and MM Laloraya reported the changes in individual amino acids and
amides in leaves after removal from the plant and correlated the changes with changes
in individual carbohydrate and organic acids contents and respiratory activity of
detached leaves. An explanation was provided for the Malic-Citric acid conversion
observed in tobacco leaves during dark culture.
Mineral deficiencies were known to result in low protein levels and lugher solubleN contents in plants. BK Malviya, studied the changes in various individual free amino
acid levels in control and deficient plants of Linum usitatissimum and showed that
mineral deficiency, chiefly PO, and K resulted in large accumulation of argnine and
amides asparagine and glutamine. his work was extended by RM Pandey and
RK Shrivastava on Bean Plants. The accumulation of these amino-N metabolites were
observed only after the deficiency symptoms affecting growth of plants were
discernable The accumulation were assigned to depressed protein and nucleic acid
synthesis in deficient plants.
In 1958, Dr Shri Ranjan was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Allahabad and I had left for Harvard University, Cambridge, USA to work with
Professor KV Thimann. Govindjee and Rajni had left earlier to work with Professor
Robert Emerson and Eugene Rabinowitch at the University of Illinois, USA and
T Rajarao took up a job in Sugarcane Research Institute Lucknow. The whole group
had dispersed. Shri Ranjan got very much concerned about the vacuum created in
teaching and research activity in Plant Physiology of Botany Department and wrote
several letters to Dr Thimann for me to return. I came back in 1959 leaving the extension
of my Post Doctoral Fellowship for 1959 to 60 at Harvard.
Dr Ranjan made me associate with the research work of his students in the early
seventies since he did not have much time from the duties of Vice-Chancellorship.
Kamla Patnaik joined him in 1959-60and started her work on the metabolism of tartaric
acid in Tamarind about which nothing was known. Tamarind was known to accumulate
dextro-tartrate in all parts of the plants, the fruits, flower and leaves. However,

Shri Ranjan

was known about the enzymic pathway of the synthesis of dextro-isomer of tartaric
acid. We soon discovered the existence of a new enzyme in tamarind which converted
optically inactive meso-tartrate to optically active dextro-tartrate. The epzyme was
named tartaric racekase.
Tamarind seedlings also showed presence of several newly recorded derivatives
of glutamic acid, X-methyl glutamic acid and X-methylene glutamic acid, and their
corresponding keto-acids and amides.
Shri Ranjan was an unquestioned leader of plant physiological research in the
country. Among his contemporaries like PParija, PK Sen and others, he was the one
who established the countries first well equipped laboratory of plant physiology and
with his original ideas, was much ahead of his times in his research output in diverse
areas of plant physiology.
Research was his weakness and he loved those who spent their hours in the
laboratory. He never hesitated in discussing results, if it appeared to him as new even
with the youngest of his research students. I vividly recall when he asked me to separate
amino acids present in the potato tuber discs which were exposed to nitrogen gas for
some time. A senior student had shown that potato tuber discs fixed atmospheric
nitrogen. He had asked me to analyse free amino acid changes in tuber tissue as a
consequence of this nitrogen fixation and to see him at his home with the results.
There was an increase in the free amino acids in the discs exposed to nitrogen gas.
Professor was excited 'See Potatoes fix atmospheric nitrogen' and synthesize amino
acid. I am going to present this work as Chairman's address in the forthcoming
"National Academy Meetings". I looked at him and quipped, "Sir, if this was so you
would solve the food problem of the country-cut potato pieces and put them in open
enriching them in protein content". His shock was visible. How the hell do you
explain this then 'he shouted. I realized what I had done. But words could not be taken
back. I quietly said, Sir this could be bacteria present in the potato tubers rather than
potato tuber tissue. I apologized to him for my remark but he reacted- 'Oh no-forget
about it. I like frank discussions but you will have to prove that this fixation is bacterial
and not by potato tu er tissue'. It had to be done before the conference. We planned an
experiment measuring nitrogen fixation in potato tuber discs treated with antibiotics
streptomycin and Penicillin mixture, and the control, manometrically using Brauns
~ a ~ b u r ~ ~ e s ~ i r o Rajni
m e t Varma
e r . performed these experiments and the results were
obvious. Nitrogen fixation was totally inhibited in antibiotic-treated discs. Dr. Shri
Ranjan walked into the laboratory to enquire about the results. We asked him to look
at the manometers. His eyes twinkled. "You fellows would not let me do anything.
You have saved me however, from presenting wrong results he said". He smiled, gave
a blow to me and went away. That was the openness of a great teacher and scientist,
and his love for science and his students. He guided fifteen doctoral students under
him which include NK Chatterjee, UN Chatterjee, NL Pal, AP Mehrotra, R
"

I"

Biographical Memoirs

Kaur, Bimla Budhiraja, SK Bajpai, Niranjan Das, BS Bhist, MM Laloraya, T Rajarao,

S Abbas Naqvi, KK Patnaik, RM Pandey and RK Shrivastava.

MEMBER OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, HONOURS AND AWARDS

>

He was dected Fellow of the Indian National Science Academy in 1951 and was its
Additional Vice-President during 1954-55 and 1958-59. He was also a Fellow of the
Indian Academy of Science and a member of the Indian Botanical Society. He was
elected president of the IBS for the Jubilee Session, Allahabad in 1946. Shri Ranjan was
elected President of the National Academy of Sciences, India, Allahabad for 1953-54.

FAMILY LIFE
Shri Ranjan's wife Smt. Bhawani Devi came from a family of wealthy landlords. She
was a very religious lady, reserved in her manners and a strict disciplinarian. They
had three cluldren, two sons and a daughter. Elder son Kirti Vardhan Deva and younger
son Shanti Vardhan Deva both joined the Indian Revenue Service. Their grandson
Rajeev Deva also joined the Indian Revenue Service and is presently Commissioner of
Income Tax at Allahabad. The financial gene of the famous Sah family is still expressing
itself.
Shrimati Bhawani Devi passed away prematurely in 1953. Shri Ranjan's sons and
daughter were already married and had left Allahabad. Shri Ranjan was thus left alone
in the Big Bungalow with all the responsibilities of the house and the administration
and academic activities of the department.
He was a lonely person. For some time one of his grand daughter use to come and
live with him but she had to go away to her parents for schooling etc. No one in the
family was available to stay with him and to share the responsibilities of the home.
In 1955, his cousin Shri Prakasha the Governor of Madras invited him to visit him
and appreciating his problems introduced him to Saraswati Menon, a charming lady
of forty three years belongng to some royalty of Cochi, whom he married in 1955. Shri
Ranjan, then fifty six brought his new wife to our laboratory and introduced her to us.
He said, " Look you fellows, I have brought a wife from south and you are good for
nothing". Shri Ranjan was happy and so was his wife. The vacuum was fdled. Saraswati
Menon 'Sassy' as Ranjan called her, was a charming sociable and religous person.
She took care of the husband, her home and family friends and students with love and
affection. She was on the bed site of Shri Ranjan at the time of his death at Agra.
Saraswati Menon stayed at Allahabad after Shri Ranjan's death in the new house built
by Shri Ranjan for her for couple of years but being alone she left for Cochi to be with
her fami irr where she too died of cancer after few years.

Shri Ranjan

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Apart from his scientific attainments, Shri Ranjan was also a sportsman. He used to
take active interest in University sports activity and for some time was Chairman of
the University Sport Council of Allahabad University. He attended atheletic meets
wearing his Cambridge colour. He had once told me that he was among the best shots
at Cambridge during his research days. Shri Ranjan was a sportsman in every sense of
the word: friendly, large hearted and gallant. Shri Ranjan was a Rotarian and attended
club activities regularly. His social life thus extended beyond University people.

TO SUM UP
Dr Shri Ranjan was a leading plant physiologist with a vision. He would be remembered
as one of those who modernized Plant Physiological research in the country and was
much ahead of his time in initiating research activities which have relevance upto
present day.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is thankful to Dr MP Tandon, Retired Professor and Head of the Botany
Department, Allahabad University for providing him the details of the family of
Dr Shri Ranjan obtained from his grandson, Shri Rajeev Deva, Commissioner of Income
Tax, Allahabad.
MM LALORAYA,
School of Life Sciences, Vigyan Bhawan
Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Takshashila Campus
Khandwa Road, INDORE - 452 001 (MP)

Aes. :
126, Urvashi Apartment
Indrapuri Colony,
INDORE - 432 017 (MP)
E-mail : manmohanlaloraya@mailcity.com

Biographical Memoirs

BIBLIOGRAPHY
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,

Researches sur la repiration des vegetaux. Toulouse.

(With KHAN ZA) Studies in the respiration of Psidium guava in relation to its sugar and acid
contents, while passing through a senescent drift. J. Ind. Bot. Soc. 19: 17-40.
A preliminary note on the X-ray mutants of wheat. Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 10.
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Natl. Acad. Sci. 10: 65-74.
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(With GOVINDJEE and LALORAYA MM) Chromatographic studies on the amino acid
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(With LALORAYA MM) Amino acid metabolism of starving leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris:
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plant. Nature 177: 235-236.
(With RAJARAO T) Organic acid metabolism of succulent Labiatae. I Effect of feeding of
different organic acids to the starved leaves of Coleus aromatics. UGC symposium on
Developments in Plant Physiology-Delhi University.

Shri Ranjan
1958

(With RAJARAO T) Organic acid metabolism of succelent Labiatae I1 Diurnal variations in

tritatable acidity. Carbohydrate fractions and respiratory gasesous exchanges in the leaves of
Coleus aromaticus: Effects of temperature on the metabolism of detached leaves cultured in
continuous darkness. "Symposium on Recent advances in the study of plant metabolism"
Botany Deptt Allahabad University, Allahabad.

1960

(With LALORAYA MM) Metabolism of isolated leaves: 1. Changes in protein, soluble

nitrogenous compounds, sugars and organic acids in tobacco leaves in light and dark. Plant
Physiol 35: 714-725.

1961

(With PATNAIK K and LALORAYA MM) Enzmic conversion of meso-tartarate to dextrotartarate in tamarind. Naturwissenschaften. 48: 406.

1962

(With MALVIYA B) Effect of phosphorous deficiency on the free and protein bound amino
acids on the linseed plant. Flora 152: 399-408.
(With PANDEY RM, SHRIVASTAVA RK and LALORAYA MM) Effect of phosphorous
deficiency on the metabolic changes in free amino acids in leguminous crop plants. Nature
193: 997-998.