Nidhan Singh

Efloraofindia: A Beautiful Voyage through Plant World

 

Dear
Friends of Efloraofindia,

It was one fine day of November 2010, I was in Shimla for a refresher
course, when I was first introduced to this wonderful group. I joined the group,
though hesitating, for so little I knew about Indian flora. I got a hearty
welcome and things started. I noticed that a large number of plant lovers and
renowned scientists are the experts for this group. As I belong to a place
devoid of much plant diversity, as well as I do not possess the observational
and professional skills required to be a field botanist, there always had been
a feeling of ignorance in me, kind of inferiority. I am free of this feeling
now, for the reason that the world level experts of this group do not take anyone
lightly, howsoever less informed one may be. This is the most remarkable and
appreciable achievement of this forum that it keeps every one upright at the same
level. I am indebted to senior members, who kept on encouraging even little efforts
of mine, included me in moderators, and eventually to higher and more
respectable designations on this platform.

At present, I can very well imagine what I could have been doing without
joining this most wonderful and fruitful web group. I now do have a purpose,
and an entire team of selfless experts who are committed to provide any
academic help to me and everyone who requests. I do not wish to keep it a
secret that I was not having even a fractional interest of what I have now, in
carrying forward my research, more so, after I joined a regular teaching job.
This was most probably due to one main reason, where to get answers for so many
queries? I also didn’t have much photographic skills required to record
floristic diversity. I am certainly a member, who has gained a lot, still
gaining a lot and will gain a lot from the interactions of experts and nature
lovers on efi. This is through efloraofindia only, that I could become part of some
very successful and yielding excursions to Himalayas, which helped in evolving
my interest. I now have a number of experts in my direct contact, each one
specializing in certain fields, each one generous enough to extend maximum
possible help, all due to efloraofindia only.         

Why joined efloraofindia?

Initially,
this was my interest in knowing names of surrounding plants. I hoped efi can be
a good platform to get plant identifications, nothing more was expected. Being
a person who acquired his Ph.D. degree by working on floristic diversity of a
small area, I thought I may be comfortable for at least few taxa and can
suggest something if a familiar plant comes to view.

A pleasant journey started:

After
joining the interactions, I was surprised to see the commitment and involvement
of the experts, their affectionate response towards everyone, regardless of
right or wrong submission or suggestion. Correcting the things always came
respectfully. I never felt like being at a wrong place, despite having
insufficient skills, as was my apprehension in the beginning.

Speciality of Efloraofindia:

This
is a group with a clear motive and orientation. Multidimensional inputs are
being channelled to a single direction to fulfil the objective of creating a
huge and authentic database on plant wealth of Indian sub-continent. For this
very reason, efloraofindia qualifies to be a special group, only one of its
kind.

What makes Efi-a group with a difference?

Though
I am not much familiar with other such groups, yet, in my opinion,
efloraofindia is clearly outstanding in being very well organized and
decentralized group. Each member feels equally privileged and rightful.

Feeling of Association:

Being
a part of this group gives me a deep sense of satisfaction and proud. Sharing a
group with some senior taxonomists as well as enthusiastic plant lovers settled
all across the globe is certainly a matter I can boast of. Being on
efloraofindia gives a strong feeling of association.

Life Changing Experience:

Efloraofindia
has nurtured in me a deep desire and continuous quest for exploring more and
sharing my observations. I find people around me, many of them involved in
useless gossip, which virtually leads to nothing. Now, I do not have a time
slot for such activities. Whatever energy and time is left with me, after my
commitments at job, I try to keep myself involved in learning from the group.
All the time I spend with efi is being invested in activities of my own field
of interest.   

Future of efloraofindia is Glistering:

After many years of organized collections,
our treasure of data has now changed into an information resource. This is
being quoted for many scientific and academic works. Future of efi is certainly
much brighter and clearer and this wonderful group is going to be the most
sought after collaboration. I wish efloraofindia a long and progressive journey
for years to come. All the Best!!