NIMRA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
The Greatest Resource –
Education
Ernst Friedrich Schumacher
(1911 – 1977) was an influential economist-philosopher and systems thinker.
“The Greatest Resource – Education” is extracted from his book “Small
Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered”. He talks about
education as our greatest resource: when it deals with and gives answers to the
deeper questions about who we are and what our place is in this universe, then
education is our greatest resource.
Schumacher starts out by indicating that people
usually look at education as the answer or the key to all kinds of problems or
challenges. Men have lived and multiplied wherever they have found their
means of living on every part of the earth. They have built great civilizations
in the course of time and have disappeared and have become a cause for new
civilizations that have arisen as a new form of cultures. The fact is that it
is the man who is the primary resource for all the economic development but not
the nature on this planet. The key factor of all this development is the sudden
outburst of men’s daring, initiative, invention and constructive activity in
all fields at once. It is strengthened through education which is the most
significant of all resources.
No civilization has ever
flourished without organized education. We believe that education is the
residual legatee of all our problems. Strong and better education would
bring solution to all our problems such as nuclear dangers, new abuses of
genetic engineering and the new temptations of commercialism. As the modern
life is becoming more complex, it is the need for everyone to become more
highly educated or we ourselves could vanish from this planet.
It is evident
that the global situation at present calls for prodigious educational efforts.
Education is a means of prosperity. Hence, we must educate ourselves or we
shall be destroyed. Sir Charles Snow talked about two cultures which had
greater impact on our lives. According to him, the two cultures are two polar
groups… one pole is the literary intellectuals and the other the scientists. He
deplores that there is a big gap between these two groups. He wanted this gap
should be bridged. It could be to get world-class scientists and professionals
to research high-class design and development. Later, many of the other
scientists, engineers, politicians, administrators and the entire community
should be trained to have a social sense what the scientists are mentioning.
Lord Snow tells that the scientists are never exhausted to explain the fruits
of their research and innovation is ‘neutral’. It depends on how the humanity
makes use of it for their enrichment.
E. F. Schumacher
points out that modern people face many problems thrust upon them by the
advancement of science and technology. So, there must be strong education to
cope with these problems. Science and Engineering produce ‘know-how’, but the
author says that ‘know-how’ is an unfinished sentence because it has got no
end. Potential education could help to finish the sentence. The purpose of
education should be the transmission of ideas of value and of what to do with
our lives. It could be foolhardy to put great powers into the hands of
unreasonable people. The whole mankind would be in mortal danger if we tend to
uses science and technological knowhow destructively without wisdom. More
education could only fill the ignorant minds with wisdom. We are no doubt the
inheritors of ‘Dark Ages’ and it is only our mental make-up could pave the way
for better life on this beautiful earth.
A Dilemma: A Layman Looks at Science
Raymond Blaine Fosdick (1883-1972), lawyer, public servant, and author, was
born in Buffalo, New York, the son of a high school principal. He was a lifetime disciple of
Woodrow Wilson. Raymond B. Fosdick in the lesson ‘A Dilemma: A Layman Looks at
Science’ says that science should be used only for the
constructive purpose and not to be aimed at the
degeneration of the society. August 6, 1945, a day of unfortunate, on which the
atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima brought home to all of us about the significance (or) importance of science in human life. Mankind was
frightened by science and bewildered by its enormous power. This instance has
realised the mankind how unequipped we
are in terms of ethics, law, and government, to know
how to use it. The author says that science is based on truth
and should spring from the noblest
attribute of the human spirit.
There are certain
inventions that can evoke both positive and negative responses. Invention of radio, automobiles, penicillin, radar and jet propulsions
shall be aimed towards the betterment of the society rather than creating ugliness
and desolation. The gifts of science, the author vehemently feels,
should not blow our civilization into drifting dust. The research andTechnology yield right fruits when they are related to human welfare.
Science is the search for
truth. But it is the same search for
truth that has brought our civilization to the brink of destruction. The writer strongly feels
that research shall be subjected to some kind of restraint if it is not linked to
human constructive purpose; it
is really disheartening to read about that leading
scientists associated with atom bomb saying that
one should not
hold back progress because of
fear of misuse of science.
Fosdick says that some inventions are purely
accidental and the scientists never had any evil intentions while discovering
them. For instance Albert Einestein never thought of atom bomb while working
for his transformation equation in 1905. Yet,
from this it has come out one of the principles upon which atom bomb
is based. Similarly sulphur drugs and mustard gas which are offshoots of German
dye industry was not created to deal with either medicine
or weapons of war. Willard Gibbs, was a gentle spirit whose life was
spent in his laboratory at Yale University, had never dreamt that his
research in the mathematical physics might have even a remote relationship to World
War I & II. These discoveries are classic examples where the
gifts of science can be
used by evil men to do
evil even more obviously and dramatically than it can be used by
men of goodwill to do good.
The author concludes that the towering enemy of
mankind is not science but war. Science merely reflect the social forces by which it
is surrounded. When there is peace, science is constructive and when there is war, science is perverted to destructive ends. Our problem therefore is not to curb science but to stop war- to
substitute law for force and international government for anarchy in the relations of one nation with another. He feels that our education
should be based on tolerance understanding and creative
intelligence that should run fast enough to put an end to the evil effects of
the science. Formally, Science
must help us but the
decision lies within ourselves ie., the sole responsibility is of
human beings.
Cultural Shock: Adjustment to New Cultural
Environments
Culture shock tends to be an occupational
disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad. Like most
ailments, it has its own symptoms, cause, and cure. Many people have suffered
from it. Some never recovered, and left their field. Some live in a constant
state of such shock. Many recover beautifully. As it will be clear from the
implications of Dr. Oberg’s article, the state of culture shock in which an
individual lives will have great bearing on his temperament and witness.
Culture shock happens suddenly by the anxiety
that results from losing all our familiar signs and symbols of social
interaction. These signs are part of our daily life shaking hands, introducing
to people, inviting, suggesting and making purchases with words, gestures,
facial expressions and so on. The customs and norms to which we acquaint as we
grow up are as much part of our culture. It’s also like the language we speak
and beliefs we accept. This discomfort knocks him down and brings frustration
and it can be sure that he is suffering from culture shock. He feels nostalgic
which could only bring him back to reality.
According to the author, there are some symptoms
of culture shock. They are excessive washing of hands, excessive concern over
drinking water, food, dishes and bedding. Individuals greatly affected by
culture shock. They cannot live in a foreign country. The author analyses that
there are four stages of culture shock. During the first stage (honeymoon
stage), he is attracted by the new nationals and their polite association, and
he would be pampered and petted. It is a pleasant abroad experience. Slowly,
the individual has to cope with the real conditions of life. It is the second
stage where he becomes hostile and aggressive towards the host country.
The hostility grows out of the troubles such as
maid trouble, school trouble, language trouble, house trouble, transportation
trouble and shopping trouble etc… The people of the host country are
indifferent and unsympathetic to his worries. Then he blames the host country joining
with his cocktail countrymen. This is a peculiar habit of an individual in a
negative manner. Later, he succeeds himself to get around and acquaint himself
to the new cultural environment. He is convinced that he has to carry his own
cross in this stage. His attitude gives him confidence to interact and get
around in a new social environment. The individual begins to accept the customs
of new culture as just another way of living in the fourth stage. With a
complete adjustment he begins to enjoy the new customs.
The nature of culture shock points out to the
real experiences of the individual on a foreign land. It arises from not
knowing the language, strange customs, the consequent frustrations and
anxieties. He cannot live satisfactory life until he gets over culture shock.
The author says that the wives are more affected by the culture shock than
their husbands.
Once the individual learns to respect the new
culture believing that they are one, he feels comfortable. This attitude is
ethnocentrism. This common element brings all nations together and avoids the
differences. It is a simple matter to acquaint oneself with new culture. The
ability to communicate friendly recovers him from culture shock. Understanding
new culture is essential but it does not mean that one has to forget his own
culture. He must be patient, sympathetic and understanding to get over culture
shock.
ABDUL KALAM
Dr.Avul Pakir
Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam was born on 15th October, 1931 at Dhanushkodi in
Rameshwaram district of Tamilnadu. He came
from a humble background and started working at an early age to support his
family. After completing school, Dr Kalam distributed newspapers to financially
contribute to his father Jainulabudeen, who was a boat owner. He
did his secondary education at Schwartz high school in Ramanathapuram, He studied physics at the St Joseph's College,
Tiruchirappalli, from where he graduated in 1954 and did Aerospace Engineering
at the Madras Institute of Technology, Chennai in 1960.
After passing out as a
graduate Aeronautical Engineer, Kalam joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited,
Bangalore as a trainee, and later joined as a Technical assistant in the
directorate of Technical Development and Production of the Ministry of defense. In1960's
Kalam joined the Vikram Sarabhai Space Research center at Thumba in Kerala. He
played a major role in developing the first indigenous satellite - launched
vehicle.
Dr
Kalam joined Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) as a
scientist and started his career by designing a small helicopter for the Indian
Army. He was also part of the INCOSPAR committee working under Dr Vikram
Sarabhai, the renowned space scientist. In 1969, he was transferred to the
Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) where he was the project director of
India's first indigenous Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV-III) which successfully
deployed Rohini satellite near earth's orbit in July 1980.
In 1982, he
rejoined DRDO as director and conceived the integrated Guided Missile
Development Programme (IGMDP) for five indigenous missiles : Nag, Prithvi,
Akash, Trishul and Agni. He is popularly
known as the 'Missile Man of India' for his work on the development of
ballistic missile and launch vehicle technology. He played a pivotal role in
India's Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998. Dr.APJ. Abdul Kalam has
established an advance technology research center called 'Research Center
Imarat' to undertake development in futuristic missile technology areas. It was
perhaps the most satisfying achievement for Kalam during the missile years. Dr.
Kalam has also served as Principal Scientific Advisor to the government of
India during 25th November 1999-10 November 2001. Later, he quit the job and
took over the job as distinguished professor at Anna University.
On July 25,2002 , Dr
.A.P.J Abdul Kalam was sworn in as the 12th president of India by Chief
Justice of India Shri B.N.Kirpal in central hall of parliament at an impressive
function telecast live across the parliament at an impressive function telecast
live across the country. Dr .Kalam
took the oath in the name of God as a 21 -gun salute boomed in the background. Dr Kalam was the third President to have been honoured
with a Bharat Ratna, before becoming the President, the earlier two were Dr
Sarvapali Radhakrishnan (1954) and Dr Zakir Hussain (1963). He was honoured
with the Padma Bhushan in 1981 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1990 for his work
with ISRO and DRDO and his role as a scientific advisor to the Government.
Dr. Kalam a bachelor is
connoisseur of classical carnatic music. He plays rudra veena in his
leisure. He wrote poetry in Tamil, his mother -tongue. Seventeen of him poems
were translated into English and published in 1994 as a book entitled “My
Journey”. Among the many books written by
Dr Kalam, few of them are: “Wings of Fire”: An Autobiography in 1999, “Ignited
Minds: Unleashing the Power Within” in 2002. Dr Kalam advocated plans to
develop India into a developed nation by 2020 in his book “India 2020: A Vision
for the New Millennium” in 1998. He reads the Quran and the
Bhagavad Gita with equal devotion. Dr. Kalam is by no means a miracle man .His
advice to the youth of the nation is to “dream dream and convert these dreams
into thoughts and later into actions”. He also advises people to think big. We
are a nation of a billion people and we must think like a nation of a billion
people. Only then can we become big.
Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman
The Great Indian physicist Chandrasekhar Venkata Raman, popularly
known as C.V Raman, was born on 7th November,
1888 at Trichirapalli in Tamil Nadu. His father was a physics teacher and so it
was natural that Raman developed love for this subject. He was a brilliant
student from the very beginning. As a brilliant and promising lad, he passed
his matriculation examination at the young age of 12 from Madras University.
His parents wanted to send him England for higher studies but his
poor health did not allow it. He studied at Hindu College, Visakhapatnam and
Presidency College, Madras. He obtained his post-graduation degree in physics
in 1907 with the top position. During his student period he conducted many
researches and published his papers in many reputed magazines. In the same
year, Raman got the first position in the Financial Service Examination and was
appointed as the Assistant Accountant General in Calcutta. There he came in
contact with an eminent scientist named Dr. Amritlal Sarkar who was Secretary
of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. This contact with Dr.
Sarkar proved a turning point in the life of this young scientist.
His interest in physics was deep and lasting and so he continued
his research work in his spare time in the laboratory of the Association. He
published his research results in the leading journals of Calcutta, which were
in regard to the subject of propagation of light. These original research
papers were of great scientific significance. When these came to the notice of
the then Vice -Challenger of Calcutta University, Sir Ashutosh Mukharjee, he
appointed him Professor of physics in the University. During his stay at the
University he continued his research with much more devotion and won immense
honour and recognition as a physicist.
He was elected the Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 1924.
He discovered the “Raman Effect” in 1928. For it he was awarded the Nobel Prize
for Physics in 1930. He became the first Indian to win this prestigious honour.
With this award, his reputation increased by leaps and bounds and many
Universities and institutions of repute honoured him with Ph D and D.Sc.
degrees. In December, 1927 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for demonstrating
that the nature of X-rays undergoes a change when passed through a matter.
This effect came to be known as the “Compton Effect.” Encouraged
by this discovery, Raman continued his experiments and ultimately proved that
light rays can also be scattered. His discovery enabled for the first time, the
mapping of possible levels of energy gains of molecules and atoms of a substance
and thus discovered their molecules and atomic structure. This discovery of the
scattering of light led to the development of a simple alternative to infra-red
spectroscopy, namely, Raman Spectroscopy. He also gave us the scientific
explanation for the blue colour of the sky and the ocean. He explained that the
blue color of the ocean was as a result of the scattering of sunlight by the
molecules of the water. He travelled widely abroad delivering lectures about
his discoveries and researches. In 1933 he became the Director of the Indian
Institute of Sciences, Bangalore. In 1943 he founded the Raman Research
Institute at Bangalore. He was knighted in 1927. He was awarded the Bharat
Ratna in 1954 and the International Lenin Prize in 1957.
Homi Jehangir Bhabha
Homi
Jehangir Bhabha was a multifaceted personality - scientist, visionary
and institution builder. He
was born on October 30, 1909 in an illustrious family with a long tradition of
learning and service to the country. Bhabha was exposed to fine arts, music and
painting, which moulded his artistic traits.
Bhabha
was intelligent, hard working and sincere student. After finishing schooling,
Bhabha’s parents sent him to Cambridge University, UK for higher education in
mechanical engineering. After completing his degree in 1932, Bhabha continued
his research at Cambridge University. His first paper appeared in 1934, based
on theoretical explanation of shower production in cosmic rays. His name is
associated with Bhabha scattering, which involves relativistic exchange
scattering of electrons and Bhabha-Heitler theory, dealing with production of
electron and positron showers in cosmic rays. Thus, it was no surprise
that at a young age of 31, he was elected as a fellow of the Royal
Society, London. Bhabha rubbed shoulders with great physicists like Bohr,
Pauli, Dirac, Cockcroft and others, who later became Noble Laureates.
This period was crucial for Bhabha for capacity building and leadership
qualities.
Bhabha
was on vacation during 1939, when the second world war broke out and he
could not go back abroad to continue his research. He then joined Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore as a Reader in Department of Physics, headed by
Sir C. V. Raman and set up a cosmic ray research unit. Raman had great
admiration for Bhabha and at Nagpur Indian Academy meeting in 1941, while
introducing Bhabha, he said “Bhabha is a great lover of music, a gifted artist,
a brilliant engineer and an outstanding scientist. He is the modern equivalent
of Leonardo da Vinci”. It was from Bangalore
in 1944, Bhabha wrote his historical letter to the Tata trust for support
in setting up a centre for research work in nuclear science, which could
play a central role in the development of nuclear energy. There was a clear
similarity in vision between the great Jamshedji Nusserwanji Tata and Bhabha
with respect to the need for education, scientific research and human resource
development for economic prosperity. Subsequently, in 1945 Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research (TIFR) was formed and large scale research in physics,
chemistry, electronics and mathematics commenced.
Bhabha
was instrumental for the formation of Atomic Energy Commission in 1948 and the
Department of Atomic Energy in 1954 and he chalked out a focussed research and
minerals exploration programmes for nuclear energy. He was such a visionary
that he had realized the importance of nuclear power programme way back in
1950s and enunciated a three stage nuclear programme so as to meet the energy
security of the nation. It consisted of utilization of natural uranium,
plutonium and abundant thorium resources in thermal, fast and advanced nuclear
reactors with closed fuel cycle. He also had balanced perspective on the
role of other energy resources such as coal, oil and solar. A significant
factor that contributed for the growth of nuclear sciences and its applications
was Bhabha's rapport with the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who
reposed complete confidence in him. This was possible because
Bhabha had the deserving credentials and his passion matched with Nehru’s
vision of modern India. There was a great synergy in thinking between Nehru and
Bhabha with respect to industrialization and scientific research,
evolving hand-in-hand.
Bhabha
gave utmost importance to the development of quality human resources. The
commencement and continuation of BARC Training School for the scientific
manpower over the last 50 years is a real tribute to Bhabha’s foresight on
quality manpower. Bhabha, a person of perfection, purpose and excellence,
ensured these qualities in all his endeavours viz., research, management, buildings
and environment. His total conviction, never-accepting mediocrity, never
compromising on excellence, meeting the challenges head-on with confidence made
him a unique personality. Bhabha was a great scientific manager and followed
the mantra of right man for the right job.
Bhabha
had received many prestigious national and international awards and
recognitions. In 1954, he was conferred with Padma Bhushan award for
outstanding contributions to nuclear science. In 1955, he was elected as the
President of the first International Conference on the 'Peaceful
Uses of Atomic Energy', organized
by the UN at Geneva.
At a
young age of 56, Bhabha suddenly passed away in 1966 due to a plane crash in
Switzerland. A vibrant and robust
organization, that he had left behind with many signal achievements in
nuclear science and technology as well as a dedicated and talented pool of
human resources, bears testimony to the visionary zeal of Bhabha. His
life was an example for all of us, which stood for ‘deserve,
desire and demonstrate’.
Message
for youth
Bhabha’s
life is an example of pursuing individual passion with a national perspective
and purpose. If he chose, he could have gone abroad after the Second World War
and pursued his scientific research and perhaps, could have even won Noble
prize in physics. But, he chose to stay back to serve the country. He
channelized all his scientific pursuits to develop scientific institutes with
an aim to serve the society. He blended his individual vision and passion with
that of the Country. Today, we have world class institutes and the
Departments like Atomic Energy and Space, thanks to Bhabha’s foresight and
vision. Thus, his life message to all of us is ‘do pursue the passion of your life but
with a vector or direction of serving the country and making it proud with your
contributions’.
JAGADISH CHANDRA BOSE
What happens if you take
a rich magistrate's son and make him learn in a village school sitting besides
the sons of servants and fishermen? He'll hear tales of birds and animals that
make him curious about Nature. And that makes him one of India's first
scientists - Jagdish Chandra Bose.
Botanist and physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose was
born in Mymensingh, India (now in Bangladesh)on November 30, 1858. He was
educated first at the village school in Faridpur, where his father was a
magistrate, Bhagwan Chandra Bose. Later he migrated to St. Xavier’s
College, Calcutta at the age of thirteen. There he met Father Eugene
Lafont, who was very interested in promoting modern science in India. He later
went to the UK, where he got degrees from the universities of Cambridge and
London. He also met Prafulla Chandra Ray, another pioneer of Indian science.
He came back and was
made a Professor of Physics at Presidency College on the Viceroy's
recommendation. However, the principal and other faculty, who were White, were
very racially biased against him and gave only an acting appointment. He
was offered one-third the salary of the school's white professors, and in
protest at this slight he took no salary at all for several years. They
denied him any laboratory facilities, but he carried on his research work,
buying equipment with his own salary.
He remained at
Presidency for his entire career, where he assembled the first modern
scientific research facilities in Indian academia. He conducted landmark
research of the response of plant and animal life to stimuli including
electricity, light, sound, and touch, and showed how water and sap in plants
and trees is elevated from roots due to capillary action. He invented the
crescograph, an early oscillating recorder using clockwork gears to measure the
growth and movements of plants in increments as small as 1/100,000 of an inch.
His 1902 paper "Responses in the Living and Non-living" showed that
plant and animal tissues share a similar electric-impulse response to all forms
of stimulation, a finding which challenged conventional science of the time,
and also showed that even inanimate objects — certain rocks and metals — have
similar responses. In a 1907 paper Bose established the electro transmission of
excitation in plant and animal tissues, and showed that plants respond to
sound, by growing more quickly in an environment of gentle speech or soft
music, and growing more poorly when subjected to harsh speech or loud music.
Prior to his plant and animal experiments, Bose
spent several years experimenting with electromagnetic waves, and conducted
successful wireless signaling experiments in Calcutta in 1895. The invention of
radio is usually credited to G. Marconi, but a
comparison of their records suggests that at certain points of Bose's radio
research, he was about a year ahead of the Italian scientist. In Marconi's
first wireless trans-oceanic transmission in 1901 a mercury auto coherer was a
key component of the receiving device, and while Marconi made no acknowledgment
of Bose at the time, subsequent research has shown that Marconi's auto coherer
was a near-exact replica of a mechanism invented by Bose, who explained it in
detail in a demonstration at the Royal Society of London two years earlier.
Bose was the first Indian scientist to be widely
respected as an equal in the halls of western science. When he demonstrated his
mechanisms for generating and detecting radio waves in a January 1897 lecture
before the Royal Institution in London, it was the first such lecture given by
an Indian. He was elevated to knighthood in 1917, and in 1920 he became the
first Indian elected to membership in the prestigious Royal Society. Bose, who
came from a fairly affluent family, had no particular interest in the profit
potential of his work, and refused to file patent claims. A patent was filed by
friends in Bose's name for his 1901 invention of a solid-state diode detector
to detect electromagnetic waves.
He founded the Bose
Research Institute in Calcutta in 1917, which continues to conduct scientific
research. He was a contemporary and friend of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. In
1937, Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose breathed his last. In the pages of history are
recorded the glorious achievements of many great men whom the world recognises,
loves and respects. Such men prove to be a true asset not only to their own
countries but also to the world. Their lives become a message and a source of
inspiration for generations to come.
Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose
was one such personality who became immortal in the field of science. He was
not only a scientist par excellence, but also a warm human being and a modest
personality. Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose was worthy and illustrious son of our
motherland whom the nation feels proud of. He brought various laurels to our
country. Immense hard working capacity, patience and simplicity were hallmarks
of his personality. Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose was a creative and imaginative
scientist, a connoisseur of literature and a great lover of nature.
Srinivasa Ramanujan
Introduction:
Srinivasa Ramanujan, a poor uneducated Indian,
was one of the greatest and most unusual mathematical geniuses who ever lived,
was born on 22nd December in 1887 in Erode in Tamilnadu. He
grew up in Kumbakonam where his father K. Sirnivasa Iyengar worked as an
accountant in a sari shop. His mother Kamalat Ammal was a house wife and also
sang songs at local temple.
Childhood:
Srinivasa Ramanujan started his schooling in
1892. He did not like school though he completed high school and tried twice to
obtain a college education. But he failed both times because he was so obsessed
by mathematics that he simply could not spend anytime on other subjects. He
started excelling in mathematics. He came to think of his results or the source
of his incredible outpouring of mathematics.
Early Life:
In 1909, when Ramanujan was 22 years old, he
married 9 year old Janaki and took a clerical position in Madras Port Trust
Office to support her and his mother who lived with them. While working as
clerk, Ramanujan continued to pour out math results on wrapping paper in the
office. He was tied up with mathematics in such a way that he forgot event to
eat. His wife and his mother used to feed him at meal times so that he would
continue writing while he ate.
Education & Research:
Fortunately, both the chairman and manager
of Madras Port Trust Office were engineers who recognized his
extraordinary mathematical talent. They urged him to send his results to
English mathematics. He wrote to HF Baker & E.W. Hobson of Cambridge
University. Both returned his letters without comment.
Then on 16th June 1913, he wrote
to G.H Hardy. He invited Ramanujan to come to England to study with
him Ramanujan accepted his invitation and arrived at Trinity college
in April 1914. Hardy characterizes Ramanujan as a very great mathematician full
of paradoxes, who defies all judgment. Ramanujan worked very hard in
collaboration with G.H Hardy. He used to work 24 to 36 hrs at a stretch and
collapse and sleep for 12 hrs or more at a time. As he was a vegetarian it was
difficult for him for food in England. It resulted that he was affected by
mysterious illness that might be vitamin B2 deficiency caused by his poor diet.
He returned to India in 1919. He died a year later at the age of 32.
Conclusion:
Ramanujan left behind 3 notebooks, which he
wrote before coming to England and which are filled with as many as 4000
results. GH Hardy showed a colleague of his Ramanujan’s strange letter which
was crammed with as many as 60 mathematical theorems and formulas stated
without any proofs. He made a significant contribution to mathematical
analysis, number theory and continued fractions.
