Srinivasa Ramanujan- the magician of mathematics

Know inspiring tales of the life of the great mathematician ‘Shri Srinivasa Ramanujan’, who is called the magician of mathematics.

Very few such talents are born in this world who amaze everyone with their skills and works. Not only this, these talents leave such an indelible mark which is not possible to erase for centuries. One of these wonderful talents is Sri Srinivasa Ayyangar Ramanujan, the great mathematician of India, who gave important knowledge of mathematics to the world. Who gave that knowledge to the world through mathematics, which till date has no match. The mathematician Ramanujan, who made the world proud at the age of 33, had never received formal education, but even after this he has done the work of surprising the biggest scientists and mathematicians. Struggling between poverty and struggle, it was not easy for Shri Srinivasa Ramanujan to travel the journey of setting an example in front of the world. Let us know the inspirational stories of his life.

The great mathematician Sri Srinivasa Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1887 in a poor Brahmin family in the village of Erode, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. His father Srinivasa Iyengar used to recite Vedas in the temple to earn a living. Along with this, he also did the work of writing the books of a shopkeeper. When Ramanujan was 1 year old, his family settled in Kumbakonam. Initially Ramanujan’s intellectual development was not like that of other normal children and he did not even learn to speak until the age of 3, which worried his parents. When he was 5 years old, he was enrolled in the primary school there.

In the beginning, Srinivasa Ramanujan did not feel like studying. But he was very fond of mathematics. He used to spend most of his time studying mathematics. But at the age of 10, he got the highest marks in his entire district and went to Town High School for further education. Ramanujan was so brilliant in mathematics that he had studied college level mathematics during his school days. He got a scholarship for getting good marks in maths and English in the high school examination, which made the path of college education easy. But while on the one hand he was sharp in mathematics, on the other hand he had given up studying other subjects. In the classes of other subjects also he used to study maths and solve the questions. As a result, he failed in class 11th examination in all subjects except mathematics, due to which his scholarship was stopped. The financial condition of the family was already not good, due to which all the burden of studies fell on his shoulders.

Shri Ramanujan ji did the work of giving maths tuition at home to improve the financial condition of his house. In the year 1907, he took the private examination of class XII, but this time also he failed. With this failure his traditional education also ended. After leaving his studies, Ramanujan started doing research work in relation to mathematics while staying at home. Seeing this his father was very disappointed. So he got Ramanujan married in 1909 with Janaki Devi. After marriage, the problem of running the house arose in front of Ramanujan. But with the help of his friends, he got a job with a monthly salary of Rs.30.

Unique identity created through mathematics like this

Because of getting a job, he used to get enough time for mathematics. Ramanujan’s research was progressing slowly but now the situation was such that the research work could not be carried forward without the help of an English mathematician. At the age of 23, Ramanujan’s article was published in a mathematics journal. After reading it, Sir Griffith, Professor of Madras Engineering College, inspired him to write a letter to Professor Hardy G.H Hardy of Cambridge University. Inspired Hardy to write the letter. After this, when Ramanujan showed some of his formulas of number theory to Professor Seshu Iyer, he suggested sending them to Professor Hardy, the famous mathematician of the time. In 1913, Ramanujan wrote a letter to Prof. Hardy and also sent a long list of theorems he had discovered. After that Prof. Hardy felt that he should come to England to better understand and further research the work done by Ramanujan.

Life changed after reaching abroad

Due to the tireless efforts of Prof. Hardy, Ramanujan left for England on 17 March 1914. There he enrolled in Trinity College under the guidance of Professor Hardy and Professor Littlewoods and started his studies. But even here their troubles did not end. Ramanujan was a firm man of rules. He was a pure vegetarian. That’s why he used to cook his own food. The side effect of this was that despite not wanting, a lot of his time was spent in all these works. Ramanujan made his mark in a very short time by living in England. Studying under the direction of Prof. Hardy, he gave many mathematical establishments, which were published in various papers between 1914 and 1916. His research work caused a stir in the whole world. In view of his merit, on 28 February 1918, the Royal Society honored him by making him its member. shortly after this incident Trinity College also honored him by choosing his fellow.

Returned to India due to ill health

Due to Ramanujan’s strict rules and eating habits, his body became weak. The cold weather of England, his body could not bear it. In such a situation, Ramanujan was attacked by illness. Due to which he had to come back to India. Even in the midst of poor health, he was constantly engrossed in mathematics. As a result, his illness progressed and he died on 26 April 1920 at the age of 33 in the village of Kodumandi, situated on the banks of river Kaveri.

Left an indelible mark in mathematics even after death

Ramanujan had written 3,542 theorems of mathematics between 1903 and 1914, before moving to Cambridge. All these notebooks of his were later published by ‘Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bombay’ (Mumbai). On these notes, Mathematician of the University of Illinois, Prof. Bruce C. Berndt researched for 20 years and published his research paper in five volumes.

The mathematical genius of Shri Ramanujan ji can be gauged from the fact that even after 90 years of his death, many of his theorems remain unsolved. Showing respect to this remarkable talent of his, the Government of India had decided to celebrate the year 2012 as ‘National Mathematics Year’ to commemorate his 125th birth anniversary. Apart from this, every year his birthday (22 December) is also celebrated as ‘National Mathematics Day’. Not only this, the school in which Ramanujan had failed was later renamed after Ramanujan.

Shri Ramanujan ji was rich in extraordinary talent since childhood. You will be surprised to know that he himself learned mathematics and compiled 3,884 theorems of mathematics in his long life. Most of the theorems given by him have been proved correct by mathematicians. On the strength of his talent, he derived many original and unconventional results in the field of mathematics, which are still being researched today. Recently Ramanujan’s mathematical formulas were used in crystallography. Ramanujan Journal has also been established for the work being done in the areas of mathematics influenced by his work and to honor this great mathematician.