Sitala Prasad Roy

J ean-Baptiste Lamarck, a French naturalist was an early proponent of the idea of evolution. His full name was Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck. However for the sake of simplicity people addressed this scientist as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck or simply Lamarck. His theory of evolution is popularly known as Lamarckism. He was also one of the first to use the term biology in its modern sense and coined the term invertebrates. Lamarck was born on 1 August 1744 at Bazentin-le-Petit, Picardie in France into a poverty-stricken family – the title C hevalier was used to depict the occupation his flock. He was the youngest of eleven children in a family with a centuries-old tradition of military service; his father and a number of his brothers were soldiers. He joined the army to serve his country as an army man prior to getting involved in natural history and writing about flora of France in three volumes with the title Flore française . This made Lamarck more ...

    C ommunication is an indispensable part in our daily life. During childhood it is very simple - uttering something to draw attention of others for some reason, which different animals around also do. As a person grows, communication gradually becomes more and more complex. He adopts different forms of communication, to which almost all of us are aware. For some technical communication the person needs specialized training or skill. But for day to day normal activities it should be simple and understandable. Here I want to narrate an incident that took place just in my life. Immediately after completion of my college education I got an interview from the Railways Service Commission, Patna for a job. I reached there by train early in the morning and came to the place of interview well in time. Many candidates from Bihar and the nearby states arrived there within the scheduled hours. There, in a short spell of time I got acquainted with a candidate coming from Bhubaneswar....

    অ নেক অনেক দিন আগের কথা। এক গভীর জঙ্গলে ওয়াউফি নামে এক শিকারি বাস করত। সে এতই দক্ষ শিকারি ছিল যে লোকে তাকে সাদা বাজপাখি বলে ডাকত। সে যেখানে থাকত সেই জায়গাতে অনেক জীবজন্তুর যাতায়াত ছিল। প্রতিদিন বাড়ি ফেরার সময় সে বেশ কিছু জীবজন্তু শিকার করে নিয়ে আসত। ওয়াউফির শরীর ছিল সিডার গাছের মতো। তার চকচকে চোখের ভিতর দিয়ে তারুণ্য ফুটে বেরোত। জঙ্গলে এমন কোন জন্তু ছিল না বা এমন কোনও পাখি ছিল না যাদের পথ সে অনুসরণ করতে পারত না। একদিন সে জঙ্গলের ভিতর দিয়ে অনেক দূরে চলে গিয়েছিল। এতটা দূরে আগে সে কোনদিন যায় নি। যেতে যেতে সে দেখল যে সেখানে গাছপালা অনেকটা ফাঁকা হয়ে গেছে। তারপর সে ঘাস ও ঘাস ফুল দিয়ে ঘেরা গোল মতো একটা জায়গায় এসে উপস্থিত হলো। সেখান থেকে ওয়াউফি অনেকটা দূর পর্যন্ত দেখতে পাচ্ছিল । অনেকটা দূরে সে দেখতে পেল যে দূরের গাছ পালার মধ্য দিয়ে কেমন যেন একটা আলোর রেখা ফুটে উঠেছে। সে বুঝতে পারল যে সে কোন তৃণভূমির কাছে এসে উপস্থিত হয়েছে। এই ভূমি বেশ প্রশস্ত , ঘন সবুজ ঘাসে ঢাকা। আর তার ভিতরে ফুটে উঠেছে হাজার হাজার সুন্দর ফুল।     এরপর সে খোলা মাঠে খোলা আকাশের নীচে ক...

  I had seen a camera for the first time when I was about 10 years old. As I can remember, one of my village-dada brought a camera to our village in 1972 form Kolkata. At that time only one bus used to ply between our district town and a nearby village. He came home by the bus night. The next morning hearing about the camera, many people gathered in front his house to see it. Some people got chance to touch it. Being a mere boy, I could only see it by sneaking close to that dada. He was a driver in Kolkata, and so was a good job holder according to the village parameter. During his short stay in the village he used to roam about hanging the camera about his neck, thus astonishing other people, and a curious boy like me in particular. I first got the chance to handle a camera myself after about 20 years since then. Before that, I visited different places with my friends, but I never handled a camera with my hands. During those years we used to stay in ...

     Three Poems   Air of Spring I had wished a heavy shower Just to she the drops of rain Falling on red-rose cheeks of Oh pretty you! In the air of spring With you while paving I had wished the sight Your wet hair would Kiss the eyebrows of Oh pretty you! Rain started a day I saw the serenely you Bathed in drops of water On forehead, eyes, lips….! Desire goaded us wild With the soaked toes We paved on swaying Through the path high and low Beyond whiles and whiles. But lo, while paving In oblivion with you The muddy run of rain Led us apart in darkly silence To either bank of a river Beneath the phantom sky We stood lone and lone. No boat I could see Peeped only the memory That we had started In the air of spring Wishing only rain!             - Sitala Prasad Roy         To a Friend Afar ...