Kusum Marathe

M.Sc. (1948), Ph.D. (1968, Bombay). Retired Professor of botany and officiating Director of Institute of Science, Nagpur, Maharastra, India. Her areas of interest are metabolic products of algae, drainage water algae, nitrogen-fixing algae, etc.

An excerpt from the publication "Hard work and perseverance lead to success":
"I was born in 1924 in Mumbai and joined school when I was seven years old. In those days very few girls went to school and they used to get married early. My father, Mr. Shankar Gangla, though a building contractor, was deeply interested in education. My elder sister and I studied in St. Columba High School which had a beautiful campus, green lawns and big playing courts. It gave us good education. In high school, our science teacher Mr. Rane used to actually demonstrate chemistry experiments in class, which was one reason why I developed an interest in science. I wanted to become a doctor, but when I passed intermediate, I was under age for admission to medical college. Hence I joined the Royal Institute of Science, Mumbai for BSc with botany as the principal subject and chemistry as the subsidiary."