Mahadeva Subramania Mani

Mahadeva Subramania Mani (Tamil: மகாதேவா சுப்ரமணிய கரங்கள்; March 2, 1908 in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu - January 8, 2003 in Bangalore) was an Indian entomologist especially famous for his studies on high altitude entomology.

Early school records and University of Madras, MA Degree certificate show his name as M. Subramanya. Later on, sometime early during his service career, he recorded his name as Mahadev Subra Mani a.k.a. Mahadeva Subra Mani a.k.a. M. S. Mani.

He had his early education at K. S. High School, Tanjore and passed his SSLC Examination in 1926. He then attended the Government College, Coimbatore and passed the Intermediate Examination, 1928. Later he went to medical studies just for one year 1929, at Madras Medical College and had to suspend further medical education due to financial constraints. He obtained in 1937, an M.A. degree, awarded by the University of Madras, on the basis of the Research Papers in Entomology, and finally, on the strength of his extensive scientific research, he was awarded by Agra University, D.Sc. in 1947, a degree of a Doctor of Science. The Chancellor was the late Ms. Sarojini Naidu, the then Governor of United Provinces, (Uttar Pradesh).

On January 15, 1933 he migrated to Calcutta to seek employment and build his career. He then joined Bangabasi College, Sealdah, Calcutta as a part-time demonstrator and tutor for Physics and earned a salary of Rs. 10/- per month. During this period he collaborated with Sir C. V. Raman on insect coloration. He worked at the Indian Museum and also as an honorary Research student at the Zoological Survey of India, Calcutta. He later on (1937) joined as a Research Assistant to Imperial Entomologist, Imperial Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, Delhi, and a position from which he resigned in 1944. He worked with Dr. Hem Singh Pruthi at Pusa, and Dr. Birbal Sahni, then at Lucknow, who recognising the pioneering work in scientific research, strongly proposed M. S. Mani's Membership to the Royal Society, England. He was denied promotion while his ‘junior’ was promoted and hence he chose to seek his future elsewhere and resigned. He remained unemployed for sometime; he earned a living by working as an interpreter and German Language translator, during World War II, in the Censor Section of the Army H.Q., New Delhi, translating for the British Indian Army, 'official ' documents captured from the Germans. He would monitor radio broadcasts from Berlin and provide English transcripts. He also translated German language technical journals and scientific reports. As a matter of fact, he provided the English version of the German technology, for manufacturing 'vanaspathi' in India to the founder of the manufacturing plant at Modinagar.

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