V. Santhanam (1925–2019)

Among the scientists who have made noteworthy contributions to cotton yield improvement through Mendelian breeding, late Dr V. Santhanam was unquestionably first among the equals. I first met Santhanam in 1959 while doing my Master’s degree in Genetics and Plant Breeding at the Madras Agriculture College and Post-graduate Institute, Coimbatore, where he was Reader. The faculty of the Post-graduate Institute including Santhanam held me in inexplicable kindness and affection, probably because I was the youngest and my father was a class/batchmate of several of them.