26/04 - the Remembrance Day of one of the brightest minds India gave the world - #SrinivasaRamanujan. Today, however I ended up remembering another man - who was born 4 years after Ramanujan died, but whose life was inextricably entwined with Ramanujan’s. (1/n)
This man was born on 04.11.1924 (Avittam) as the eldest son of a humble clerk in Madras’s police dept. Quickly mastering the languages of Tamil, Telugu, Sanskrit & English at a very young age - he shifted his focus to Mathematics. For a young lad, he was supremely disciplined 2/n
He graduated in Math & with his brilliant mind + language proficiency, his father dreamt he would take up the civil services and would become a bureaucrat of repute, more importantly bring prosperity to the family. But little did his father know that he had different plans! 3/n
He wanted to be a school teacher! Then two things happened 1) he got married 2) Gandhi gave the clarion call: “Go to the villages”. And off he went with his newly wedded wife to a desolate village near Coimbatore & served in a make shift school there as its only teacher 4/n
He then joined Muthialpet High School near Madras Harbour as a Math teacher (from where he would eventually retire). This school was were the children of the underprivileged, especially the fishermen, studied. He was nicknamed promptly “Netaji” by students for obvious reasons 5/n
This is when his “love affair with Srinivasa Ramanujan” began. He rued that Ramanujan was known only in the elite academic circles. So he formed the “Old Boys Club” (7 students + him) and they took a vow to unearth more about Ramanujan that would inspire the common people 6/n
Using his meagre salary, he spent days walking the streets of Kumbakonam hoping to lay hands on any remnants of his works, letters, etc. He would have knocked on a hundred doors, he begged/persuaded relatives including Ramanujan’s wife (in pic) to part with whatever they had 7/n
After spending years building a repository of “anything Ramanujan” he was all set to publish Ramanujan’s 1st ever biography. But he ran out of money. His wife, releasing her husband’s position, offered to pledge her Mangal Sutra to fund the printing cost & printing began! 8/n
5000 copies were printed! He was thrilled! The D-day neared. He persuaded Rajaji to release the first copy & got Ramanujan’s wife Janakiammal to receive it! It was a grand event! However in all (till date) only about 100 copies were sold. But guess who didn’t give up? 9/n
He decided to set up a Museum for Ramanujan with the invaluable originals he had collected. Elites from Mylapore & Alwarpet clamoured to offer space. But he chose the fishing hamlet of Royapuram in N Madras so that the underprivileged would feel inspired! It still exists BTW 10/n
Time flew & there was some good news! He got an opportunity to teach in the USA! This man with a Gandhi cap & a HMT watch wowed America with his innovative teaching methods. Good money too, eh? But, but. Ever heard of anyone who went to the USA in the 60s who came back? 11/n
This man isn’t your usual guy cuz he came back! Not just that! While he, as an “America return”, got offers from prestigious institutions, chose to resume his old job Muthialpet High School! He quietly started teaching poor & tribal (Narikurava) children on the side as well 12/n
Years went by. He wanted to explore new waters & he now found his services required. Where? In Africa! What followed was a 7-year stint in Nigeria as an Education Officer. He tirelessly went about training the batches of both students & teachers there. He loved it there! 13/n
And like you guessed he came back! This time to train our own teachers! With missionary-like zeal he started traveling all over India to spread his techniques of Math teaching & organised 100s of workshops for teachers & developed teaching aids that are used even now 14/n
In his early 70s now, he continued to go to Royapuram (he was also the Curator-Director of the Ramanujan Museum). His acclaim grew among mathematicians of the world & his humble house in Nanganallur became a must-visit tourist attraction for those of them who visited India 15/n
In his late 70s he changed his attire at last! From the old fashioned style of dressing, he shifted to something more hip - yes, a tee! Not a Gucci or a Versace, but a “Srinivasa Ramanujan” that he designed himself! He would have looked like this if you bumped into him👇🏼😀 16/n
This Karma Yogi who never sought any recognition/awards all his life now suddenly had a desire when he was 80 years old. He wanted the #MagasasayAward & his family was baffled! He gingerly called up old contacts for recommendation letters & made his daughter fill forms! 17/n
He didn’t get it though but he did do a good job of hiding his disappointment. He later confided to his grandson that he badly wanted the award because it gave a prize money of Rs. 10,00,000 that he wanted to leave behind for his family. He was 81, when he passed away 18/n
“A nation that celebrates its creative geniuses, is a nation that progresses” he wrote in the biography of Srinivasa Ramanujan.
His name was P.K. Srinivasan.
And he also happens to be my grandfather. My Cheenu Thatha :)
Thanks for reading this long thread! ❤️🙏🏽 19/19
His name was P.K. Srinivasan.
And he also happens to be my grandfather. My Cheenu Thatha :)
Thanks for reading this long thread! ❤️🙏🏽 19/19
Thank you all for your beautiful words honouring my grandfather’s memory 🙏🏽Here is a clip from an interview of his that I found on YouTube :)
Today would be his 99th birthday :)
A great day to revisit this thread! 🙏
A great day to revisit this thread! 🙏
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