Ramanujan: A Slim Biography
- Mishkat Bhattacharya
- Jun 14, 2024
- 3 min read
This post is a review of Srinivasa Ramanujan by Suresh Ram, a fine introductory book of ~85 pages (as opposed to the much more comprehensive The Man Who Knew Infinity by Robert Kanigel, ~450 pages).
The Book
Ram's book, apart from covering the relevant logistical details, reminded me of several highlights of Ramanujan's life:
i) The fact that the schedule for his high school of 30 teachers and 1500 students was so complex that only he could draw it up (this in his teenage years).
ii) In the 'fourth form' (form=grade?) he solved all of Loney's Trigonometry (I tried to go through the volumes, many years later in my own career, and with far less success; I am sure some of you have seen, if not read, it).
iii) In his teen years, Carr's Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics fell into his hands; this is what sparked his genius. He worked out the more than six thousand theorems by himself...
iv) He eventually became so engrossed in mathematics that he kept filling his Notebooks, and failed several exams aimed at gaining employment. Proofs were often omitted in his writings, as being either obvious or a waste of times (the ideas were coming too fast!).
v) His letters were returned without comment by Profs. Baker and Hobson, at Cambridge. It was only then, that he wrote, successfully, to Hardy.
vi) His family's opposition to his going to England - and the accruing loss of caste - was removed by the goddess Namagiri who appeared in his mother's dream and commanded her to withdraw her objections.
vii) Most of the math professors at Cambridge with whom Ramanujan would have interacted were called away by war duties when he arrived. The bonus was that he got more time with Hardy; the downside was that he was restricted to Hardy's expertise and interests.
viii) The high point of Ramanujan's stay in England, in addition to the papers he published, and the comparisons to Euler and Jacobi he earned, was arguably his election as Fellow of the Royal Society in 1918.
ix) Apparently he loved oddities and curiosities, and had a select library of articles by mathematical crackpots.
x) He passed away after his return to India; in a brief life of 32 years, he proved more than 3000 theorems.
There is an informative last chapter on his wife, who lived to be 94, with whom he shared a touching mutual devotion, but no children.
Conclusion
This is a sprightly and informative read. The text flows well, garnished with many quotes: Hardy speaks on many occasions; Freeman Dyson describes how he chose Ramanujan's Collected Works for the second mathematical prize he ever received; Bruce Berndt, who edited and compiled the three Notebooks of Ramanujan, lends his voice to the book at several places.
Afterword
There are several movies and videos on Ramanujan on YouTube, in various languages (e.g. Hindi, English). I have watched two of them, but not the longest one. I'm also currently looking to get my hands on the famous monograph [1] on Ramanujan by the prominent psychologist Ashis Nandy, whom I had the privilege of meeting some time ago - but somehow we never got to discussing Ramanujan (Einstein took precedence).