TSG Sastry Papers

Content Description

This accession consists of the papers of TSG Sastry, a scientist who made significant contributions to the field of space research in India. Sastry was also one of the earliest PhD students at the Physics Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, working under Vikram Sarabhai. The accession contains both printed and hand-written material. It includes research papers written by Sastry and his colleagues, peers and students, including PhD theses (it is likely that there are very few copies of these at other institutions). Additionally, it includes rare published material in the forms of booklets, scientific manuals and reports on atmospheric physics research. Three books titled Man, The Unknown by Alexis Carrel (first published in 1935), Aerospace Ranges: Instrumentation by Joseph J. Scavalio and Fredrick J Paul (published in 1965) and Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are retained in the archives reading room. Research material includes data from sounding rockets in the form of slides with descriptions stored in a wooden box. Another major portion of the accession includes correspondence in the form of typed and hand-written letters. Institutional correspondence include memoranda and official correspondence with institutions and collaborators in India and abroad. Personal correspondence includes letters to friends. The photographs in the accession are included in albums and as loose photographs. These were taken with Sastry’s friends and family during his travels. Also included are photographs of scientific equipment from his laboratories. From the received material, textbooks on physics and biology were not taken, since they are published material with little to no annotations. In addition, private and confidential material like medical records and tax returns were not included in the archive and were handed back to the family. Upon request of the donors, some material initially appraised was removed and returned to the family. While these were numbered during the initial processing, these items were not accessioned for processing the final collection. The unique identifiers of these objects have been left unused. As a result, some identifiers are not present in the finding aid. The following folders have been returned to the family MS-006-1-3-2-7 MS-006-1-3- 2-73 MS-006-1-3-3-11 MS-006-5-1-15-2 MS-006-5-1-15-4 MS-006-5-1-15-5 MS-006-5-1-15-6 MS-006-5-1-15-7 MS-006-5-1-15-8 MS-006-5-1-15-9 MS-006-5-1-15-10 MS-006-5-1-15-12 MS-006-5-1-15-13 MS-006-5-1-15-14 MS-006-5-1-15-15 MS-006-5-1-15-16 MS-006-5-1-15-17 MS-006-5-1-15-18 MS-006-5-1-15-20 MS-006-5-1-15-21 MS-006-5-1-15-22 MS-006-5-1-15-24 MS-006-5-1-15-25 MS-006-5-1-15-26 MS-006-5-1-15-27 MS-006-5-1-15-28 MS-006-5-1-15-29 MS-006-5-1-15-31 MS-006-5-1-15-32 MS-006-5-1-15-33 MS-006-5-1-15-34 MS-006-5-1-15-35 MS-006-5-1-15-36 MS-006-5-1-15-37 MS-006-5-1-15-38 MS-006-5-1-15-39 MS-006-5-1-15-49 MS-006-5-1-15-51 MS-006-5-1-15-53 MS-006-5-1-15-55 MS-006-5-1-15-56 MS-006-5-1-15-62 MS-006-5-1-15-63 MS-006-5-1-15-70 MS-006-5-2-15-72 MS-006-5-6-16-34

Condition Description

The collection is mostly in good condition. Some letters appear to be fragile. Select books appear dusty and in need of repair.

Accession Date

2021-07-02

Dispostion

The collection was given to Venkat Srinivasan at the Archives by the family of T.S.G. Sastry on November 8, 2019. It was received from Balaji Parthasarathy, Sastry’s son-in-law. The material was reorganised by Sastry’s family at Sastry’s residence before handing over to archives. Processing of the material began in early 2020, but was halted due to the pandemic and logistical issues. The first phase of processing was complete by July 2, 2021. In January 2022, the Archives received a request to remove material from the Sastry family. Following the removal of 46 items, final processing was complete by January 2023. The Deed of Gift was signed on February 27, 2023.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Retention Rule

The Sastry Papers are an important resource for researchers interested in the early history of the Indian space programme, as well as international collaborations in the fields of atmospheric science and space research. The material is accessible by the public. Specific terms of use are governed by the Deed of Gift signed by the donor.

Restrictions Apply

Yes

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for public access unless mentioned otherwise. People interested in accessing the collections are requested to refer to the researcher guide for requesting material: https://archives.ncbs.res.in/access