Book-Leaf 
Book-Leaf 
Authors: A.N. Kothare, Sudhanshu S. Palsule, S.M. Parekh, M.P.Navalkar
Publisher: National Book Trust, India, A-5 Green Park, New Delhi- 110 016
ISBN 81-237-0917-X (1994)
An interesting compilation of anecdotes highlighting Humor, Humility and Humanism of respected scientists around the world. Read the following excerpts and you will find what the authors wish to convey in simple readable English.
(click the one you like to read)
One day an American reporter, hot on the trail of the elusive Curies, managed to locate their vacation hideout which was a fishing village off Brittany. He soon found the curie cottage and arrived there to find a peasant-like woman sitting bare foot on the door step. " Are you the house keeper of this place?" asked the reporter.
"Yes", replied Marie
"Is the lady inside ?", persisted the reporter.
The woman replied, " No, She's out."
"Could you tell me something intimate about her?", was the next question, as the reporter planted himself on the doorstep.
"Nothing", replied Marie Curie, "except one message that madam told me to convey to reporters: 'Be less inquisitive about people and more inquisitive about ideas.'"
Speaking about Marie Curie, Albert Einstein once remarked , "Marie is, among all distinguished people, the only one whom fame has not corrupted".
In 1932, Birbal Sahni was visited by a foregin scientist who had come to Lucknow to meet the great palaeobotanist of India. The foreigner was amazed to find Sahni sitting in acorner of a small botany museum. "You don't have a room to yourself!" he exclaimed.
" Great scientists have worked in garrets. I am only an amateur," was the smiling reply.
Raman was known to be witty and would often intersperse his public lectures with jokes. On receiving the verbal intimation of the award that the Nobel prize was to bring, he queried, "Am I alone or have a bedfellow to share ?" On another occasion, while he was in Europe, at a party, Raman the life long teetotaller was offered a drink which he wittily declined with a remark, " You can see the Raman effect on alcohol, but not the effect of alcohol on Raman".
The story goes that when Thoreau was on his death bed, a pious aunt who visited him inquired earnestly," Henry, have you made your peace with God ?"
To which he replied, "I did not know that we had ever quarreled!"
A pioneer of Indian pharmaceutical research, Ray was Head of the Chemistry department at the Presidency college Calcutta. Always convinced that science in India need to stand on its own feet, he held in great respect scientists like C.V.Raman, Saha and Ghosh.
Ray's attitude to money was such that he gave away most of what he received, never wanting to keep any for himself. His life style was so frugal that he only needed Rs. 200 out of the Rs.1000 that he earned, and he gave away the rest for the propagation of chemistry, establishment of industries, betterment of industrial workers and for widows and orphans. (.....page 188)
The Swedish chemist, who discovered more new chemical substances in his life time than anyone else was the most unfortunate scientists ever. He either discovered or contributed to the discovery of manganese, nitrogen, oxygen, tungsten, barium, molybdenum and chlorine. Incredibly enough, in each of these cases, the credit went to some one else.
Before he died at the age of forty- three, in the last years of his life Scheele suffered from severe attacks of rheumatism. He never married until three days before his death, and that was only so that his wife may inherit his pharmacy. She happened to be the widow of the former owner of the pharmacy from whom Scheele had bought it twenty years ago!