Page 196 - AWSAR 2.0

172 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
Bee Pollen: A Wholesome Food from BEE to WE
Ms. Mamta Thakur*
Email: thakurmamtafoodtech@gmail.com
Earlier I only knew honey and wax as products from beekeeping, but that day I came to know about others, like
bee pollen, propolis, royal jelly, and venom, as well. The realization dawned on me, on a cold Sunday morning in Palampur (Himachal Pradesh), in November 2016, while reading an article on honeybees in the newspaper. The struggle of a honeybee throughout her life for food and survival is very inspirational for me. How hardworking they are! I was curious to know more about honeybees, then, started to research on honeybee’s life, honey preparation, and beekeeping practices. That day my mind kept buzzing about their domestication and I was so eager to have my own beehives. In the coming days, I shared my thoughts with a colleague who told me
that our university (CSKHPKV, Palampur where I was a contractual teacher then) had a Bee Research Station at Nagrota Bagwan. I wanted to visit the research station and luckily got an opportunity to go there along with students of the Entomology Department, on the recommendation of my Department Head. There I saw the process of extraction of honey (for the first time), collection of bee pollen, super beehives, pollen trap, propolis, and most importantly, the peaceful honeybees (Apis mellifera) group that never bites unless provoked. I was most surprised by bee pollen collection and its benefits on human health. I thought that I would work on bee pollen in my doctorate for which I was struggling to find a topic for the last six months. I got admission to pursue Ph.D. next year and met Prof. Vikas
* Ms. Mamta Thakur, PhD Scholar from Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Punjab, is pursuing her research on “Characterization and Utilization of Bee Pollen to Develop Functional Milk Powder”. Her popular science story entitled “Bee Pollen: a Wholesome Food from Bee to We” has been selected for AWSAR Award.