The eleventh year (Dec 2021-Nov 2022) since my retirement in 2011:-

Dec’21-Nov’22; the eleventh year since my retirement in November 2011 from service got over recently and I have penned down a few notable events of the time, both academic and personal. 

Post-retirement period is a continuous journey in our living. Deadly Covid-19 made an indelible mark on mankind by crippling lives of millions of people world over during 2019-22. Most of us senior citizens maintained indoor as far as possible; schools, colleges and almost all educational institutions remained partially closed; industries and business centres and major national and international transport activities operated skeleton services. Despite the onslaught of the highly virulent bug on humans, India made a credible and lasting achievement not only by inventing two most effective vaccines against Covid-19 but also successfully manufacturing them in-house and administering to whole of Indian population within the span of 10-12 months, at free of cost. By mid 2022, several of us had got vaccinated thrice; the first and second doses were given in March and April 2021 and third precautionary dose in the beginning of 2022. Unbelievable success it was and Covid-19 got tamed so well. Everything happened before our own eyes...!

Stress crafts newer ways to tide over. During Covid-19, as the mobility came to near-standstill, offline classes in almost all educational institutions from schools to colleges and universities across the world were replaced by online teaching/learning mode wherein students and teachers got glued to laptops and mobiles. Classes were broadcasted either live or through YouTube videos. Although none can finitely vouch on the effectiveness of online mode classes, this was how educational institutions ran their show during Covid-19 period in India. I too delivered a few online classes to high school biology students and a couple of seminars to mycologists within and outside India. Besides, I conducted a couple of overseas doctoral viva voce examinations through online mode. Online classes/discourses are certainly useful alternate methods of learning but unlike offline classes, we don’t come to know how our students respond to these virtual-mode discourses.

My mycology student-friends and colleagues from India, Thailand, China and other Asian countries continued their interactions with me on fungal taxonomy and biology, especially conidial and ascomycetous fungi. Those were educative and fruitful discussions, though mostly online. A few interesting manuscripts were published by them with inputs from my end. I have appended a list of those papers got published during the period. Besides, I intently listened several online seminars and conference lectures conducted by mycology researchers from around the world where they discussed at length the advances made in fungal taxonomy and biology. Indeed, those were very nice discourses and gave lots of hope that molecular sequence data along with morphology will finitely park the conidial fungi in precise taxonomy and phylogeny. On application front, fungi and fungal derivatives continue to show decisive usage value in food, pharmaceutics, agriculture and industrial sector for the future.

One of my former students, Prof. Dr Dilecta D’Costa, Assoc Professor & Head of Microbiology Department, Government College of Arts, Science & Commerce, Khandola, Marcela-Goa, organised an interesting microbiology guest-lecture programme on 19/04/2022 wherein the College in collaboration with Microbiologists Society of India presented a lovely Citation which reads me as “The Mycological Connoisseur” and further felicitated my services in teaching and research in the realm of mycology. I deem it a treasured life-time honour.

In the family front, post-Covid-19, I and my wife restarted movements around, in a small way.  Our children kept a close watch on our health and well-being, inquiring us on regular basis. Our daughter and family living in Bengaluru visited us whenever they got time. Our son and daughter-in-law living in Boston visited us, after three years, in September this year for a month. Though brief and hectic, these visits of our children were most happy moments for us.

Post-retirement period is an interesting part in our lives. Health is a key issue to reckon with because we are getting aged as days roll by; then, it’s in our hands to keep ourselves healthy, both physically and mentally. I believe that clean air, simple but nutritious food and good mind keep us healthy and happy. Many of my friends ask quite often; how do I spend my time? I reply them saying like this: We get up early in the morning, much before dawn. After freshen up, every day I take an hour-long walk in the neighbourhood. On return, little yoga and meditation keep us engaged for an hour. Post-breakfast, we spend time on little gardening, reading and communicating with friends and dear ones. Post-lunch, a brief rest refreshes the mind and body. Every day, I spend quality time on reading/writing and reviewing fungi. In fact, this is the best part of my day. In the evening, along with a few elderly friends of our housing-society, we take a stroll to nearby Datta Mandir premises where we chit-chat everything on earth, from plastics to Vedanth. Weekly twice, my wife and I drive to nearby market for vegetables and groceries. Post-Covid, we started visiting our friends occasionally. Yes; time runs and, looking back, the just-passed year seemed a good one. 

I thank Almighty and all our friends for making our living good and vivacious. I and my wife wish you all a dynamic and prosperous New Year and intently look forward a lively 2023...!

Research publications during 2022:-

·  1. Jiang H., Phookamsak R., Hongsanan S., Bhat D.J., Mortimer P.E., Suwannarach N.,  Kakumyan P. , and Xu J. 2022. A review of bambusicolous Ascomycota in China with an emphasis on species richness in southwest China. Studies in Fungi 7:20-53. https://doi.org/10.48130/SIF-2022-0020

·  2. de Silva N.I., Hyde K.D., Lumyong S., Phillips A.J.L., Bhat D.J., Maharachchikumbura S.S.N., Thambugala K.M., Tennakoon D.S., Suwannarach N. and Karunarathna S.C. 2022. Morphology, phylogeny, host association and geography of fungi associated with plants of Annonaceae, Apocynaceae and Magnoliaceae. Mycosphere 13(1): 955–1076, Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/13/1/12

·   3. Monkai, J., Phookamsak, R., Tennakoon, D.S.,  Bhat, D.J., Xu, S.,  Li, Q., Xu, J., Peter E. Mortimer, P.E.,  Kumla, J. and Lumyong, S. 2022.  Insight into the Taxonomic Resolution of Apiospora: Introducing Novel Species and Records from Bamboo in China and Thailand. Diversity 14 (11): 918

·   4. Shen, H.W., Dan-Feng Bao, D.F., Bhat, D.J.,  Su, H.Y.,   Luo, Z.L. 2022. Lignicolous freshwater fungi in Yunnan Province, China: an overview. Mycology 13(2):119-132. doi: 10.1080/21501203.2022.2058638. 

·   5.  Bao, D-F., Bhat D.J., Boonmee, S., Hyde, K.D., Luo, Z-L. and Nalumpang, S. 2022. Lignicolous freshwater ascomycetes from Thailand: Introducing Dematipyriforma muriformis sp. nov., one new combination and two new records in Pleurotheciaceae. MycoKeys 93:57-79.  https://doi.org/10.3897/mycokeys.@@.87797

·   6.  Samarakoon, B.C., Wanasinghe, D.N. , Bhat, D.J. and Chomnunti, P. 2022. Taxonomy and phylogeny of Smaragdiniseta musae sp. nov. and Albifimbria verrucaria (Hypocreales, Stachybotryaceae) on Musa from Thailand. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: 1-17. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.10.e89360.

·  7. Zhang, F., Boonmee, S., Bhat, D.J., Xiao, W. and Yang, X.-Y. 2022. New Arthrobotrys Nematode-Trapping Species (Orbiliaceae) from Terrestrial Soils and Freshwater Sediments in China. Journal of Fungi 8: 671-694. https://doi.org/10.3390/ jof8070671. 

8. Yasanthika E., Tennakoon D.S., Farias A.R.G., Bhat D.J., Wanasinghe D.N. 2022. New soil-inhabiting Chaetosphaeriaceous records from Thailand. Asian Journal of Mycology 5(2): 16–30. 

D. Jayarama Bhat

21/12/2022