a short note on srinivasa ramanujan 100 words
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One of the greatest mathematicians of India, Ramanujan’s contribution to the theory of numbers has been profound. He was indeed a mathematical phenomenon of the twentieth century. This legendary genius of India ranks among the all time greats like Euler and Jacobi.
Ramanujan lived just for 32 years but during this short span he produced such theorems and formula which even today remain unfathomable in the present age of super computers. He left behind him about 4000 formula and theorems.
It is believed that these were the beginning of some great theory that he had at conceptual stage which failed to develop because of his premature and untimely demise. His personal life was as mysterious as his theorems and formula.
Srinivas Ramanujan was deeply religious and united spirituality and mathematics. For him the zero represented the Absolute Reality. Researchers are still struggling to understand the source of his remarkable genius in mathematics.
It is believed that he was a great devotee of the Hindu goddess of creativity and that the goddess used to visit him in dreams and she wrote equations on his tongue. Ramanujan was the first Indian to be elected to the Royal Society of London.
Ramanujan was born to poor parents on December 22, 1887 at Erode in Tamil Nadu. His father was employed as a clerk in a cloth merchant’s shop. However, his mother had a sharp intellect and was known for making astrological predictions.
Not much is known about his early life and schooling except that he was a solitary child by nature. It is believed that he was born as a result of ardent prayers to the goddess Namgiri. Later Ramanujan attributed his mathematical power to this goddess of creation and wisdom. For him nothing was useful unless it expressed the essence of spirituality.
Ramanujan found mathematics as a profound manifestation of the Reality. He was such a great mathematician and genius as transcends all thoughts and imagination. He was an expert in the interpretation of dreams and astrology. These qualities he had inherited from his mother.
His interest and devotion to mathematics was to the point of obsession. He ignored everything else and would play with numbers day and night on a slate and in his mind. One day he came to possess G.S Carr’s “Synopsis of Pure Mathematics”, which contained over 6,000 formula in Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus but contained no proofs.
Ramanujan made it his constant companion and improved it further on his own. His obsession and preoccupation with mathematics did not allow him to pass his intermediate examination in spite of three attempts. He could not get even the minimum pass marks in other subjects.
Ramanujan was married to a nine year old girl called lauaki and it added more to his family responsibilities. With the recommendation of the Collector of Nellore, who was very much impressed by his mathematical genius, Ramanujan sound a clerk’s job at Madras Fort Trust. In 1913 he came across an article written by Professor Hardy.
Ramanujan stayed at Cambridge for four years and during this period he produced many papers of great mathematical significance in collaboration with his mentor Professor Hardy. His phenomenal and exceptional genius was recognized all over the academic world.
He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society, London in 1918. He was then 30 years of age. His mastery of certain areas of mathematics was really fantastic and unbelievable. But soon his hard work began to affect his health and he fell seriously ill in April, 1917.
Ramanujan had contracted tuberculosis. And it was decided to send him back to India for some time. He reached India on March 27, 1919. He breathed his last on April 26, 1920 at Kumbakonam at the age of 32 years. His death shocked Professor Hardy and others beyond words.