Shiva Balak Misra is an Indian geologist, writer and social worker from

Barabanki district Barabanki district is one of the five districts of Faizabad division (officially ''Ayodhya division''), in the central Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh, India. Barabanki city is the administrative headquarters of Barabanki district. Total area of Ba ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 195 ...

in India and is known for his contribution to the knowledge of earliest life forms on earth. In 1968, Misra made the discovery of

Ediacaran The Ediacaran Period ( ) is a geological period that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period 635 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Cambrian Period 538.8 Mya. It marks the end of the Proterozoic Eon, and t ...

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

attributed as the oldest

multicellular life A multicellular organism is an organism that consists of more than one cell, in contrast to unicellular organism. All species of animals, land plants and most fungi are multicellular, as are many algae, whereas a few organisms are partially uni- ...

on Earth, The area of the formation containing the fossils was protected as the

Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve is a wilderness area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located at the southeastern tip of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The reserve is home to the namesake ...

in 1984, and declared a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

in 2016. The fossils were later named after Misra in 2007 as '' Fractofusus misrai''. In 1969, Misra returned from Canada after completing his MS Degree and established a school near his native village Deora in

in India and continues to serve this school until today.

Early education

Misra grew up in a small village called Deora near

Lucknow Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and divis ...

in Northern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and had to walk 12 Kilometers (8 miles) to the nearest school as a child. Brought up in hardships, he completed his Higher Secondary Certificate education from

Fossil discovery at Mistaken Point

Misra received a scholarship to pursue a Masters in Science from

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and ...

in Canada. Misra was first to prepare and present a systematic

geological map A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with st ...

of the region, to classify and describe the rock sequence of the area and to work out the depositional history of the rocks. During this

geological mapping A geologic map or geological map is a special-purpose map made to show various geological features. Rock units or geologic strata are shown by color or symbols. Bedding planes and structural features such as faults, folds, are shown with s ...

, in the summer of 1967, he discovered a rich assemblage of imprints of soft-bodied organisms on the surface of large rock slabs in the Conception Group of

Avalon Peninsula The Avalon Peninsula (french: Péninsule d'Avalon) is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland. It is in size. The peninsula is home to 270,348 people, about 52% of Newfoundland's population, according ...

of Newfoundland at Mistaken Point. These were unusual impressions of previously unknown soft-bodied sea animals on the surfaces of

Argillite :''"Argillite" may also refer to Argillite, Kentucky.'' Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and oozes. They contain variable amounts ...

(mudstone) included

Coelenterates Coelenterata is a term encompassing the animal phyla Cnidaria ( coral animals, true jellies, sea anemones, sea pens, and their relatives) and Ctenophora (comb jellies). The name comes , referring to the hollow body cavity common to these two phyl ...

and other

Metazoa Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

of the

. The discovery was reported in 1968 in a paper in ''Nature''. Later, Misra described the Mistaken Point Fauna in more detail in 1969, in another paper published in the Bulletin of the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...

. He described the fossil assemblage into groups namely: # Spindle-shaped # Leaf-shaped # Round lobate # Dendrite like # Radiating

Social work

After completing his master's degree, remembering the hardships he had undergone, Misra decided to return to India and establish a village school with support from his wife Nirmala Misra, a Teacher by profession. He served as professor of geology and dean science at the

Kumaun University Kumaun University is a state university headquartered in Nainital, Uttarakhand, India. In 2017, it hosted the first Kautik Student Film Festival. Campuses The university has two campuses, DSB Campus Nainital, and KU campus Bhimtal Bhim ...

Nainital Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...

and after retirement from this position again joined his wife Nirmala Misra in serving. After retirement, he also serves as Editor-in-chief of a rural news paper. In his 80s, Misra resides in

with his wife. His eldest son

Neelesh Misra Neelesh Misra (born 4 May 1973) is an Indian journalist, author, radio storyteller, scriptwriter and lyricist. He is most known for his radio show, Yaadon Ka IdiotBox with Neelesh Misra on BIG FM 92.7. He is co-founder-editor of Gaon Connecti ...

is a well known Indian journalist, author, radio storyteller, Bollywood scriptwriter, and lyricist.

Awards

Misra was awarded the Laadli Media Award for writing on gender sensitivity in 2014. Misra was also recognized with the Apeejay India Volunteer Award in 2011.

Books authored

Misra has authored two books: # Dream Chasing, One Man's Remarkable, True Life Story. # Nature & Indian-ness (भारतीयता और पयार्वरण)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Misra, Shiva Balak Indian geologists Scientists from Lucknow Living people 1940 births