SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN

It may seem new ground.

But as they pursue unsolved problems, Mathematicians the world over, have invariably found the footprints of one who has already been that way. Mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan.

Born on December 22nd, 1887 at Erode in Tamil Nadu, Srinivasa Ramanujan showed no signs of extraordinary talent at school in Kumbakonam. His father was an accounts clerk and the family was far from being moneyed. At 12, Ramanujan happened to lay his hands on S L Linney's Plane Trigonometry. And he was smitten for the rest of his short life.

His single-minded obsession with solving Mathematical problems left him with no time for any other subject. He failed the Entrance Examinations to Madras University twice.

In 1909, he got a job at the Madras Port Trust. The same year he married. Fortunately, his superiors at the Port Trust encouraged Ramanujan's pursuit of Mathematical solutions. By 1913, he had solved thousands of problems without any serious recognition of his contribution.

Finally, it was Cambridge's Professor G H Hardy who responded to Ramanujan's letter and invited him to Trinity College, Cambridge. From 1914 to 1919, Ramanujan, through the efforts of Hardy, astounded the world with his genius. He was elected Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, Royal Society of London and Trinity College Cambridge.

But this period also saw a physical decline, aggravated by problems with his diet (he was a strict vegetarian). In 1919, he returned to home in Madras. He died on April 22nd, 1920 leaving behind papers that continue to challenge mathematicians today. Among his considerable contributions are those to the analytical theory of numbers, elliptic functions, continued fractions and infinite series.

Through his teachings, J Krishnamurti helped provide his listeners a unique vision of life, as it should be led. Born in Madanapalle, a small town in Andhra Pradesh on May 11th 1895, Jiddu Krishnamurti (fondly know as JK) was adopted by Dr Annie Besant, the well known president of the Theosophical Society.

Recognised as a world teacher, he was made head of an organisation called the Order of the Star in the East in 1911. But years later, the organisation that had a large following, was dissolved and he was taken to England to be privately educated and trained. It is said that in 1922, JK went through certain mystical experiences. For more than sixty years, till his death on February 17 1986, he travelled the world.

JK's writings have been translated into 47 languages. Fifty books were published during his lifetime and 20 books have been published since his death. The Krishnamurti Foundation India (KFI) headquartered at Chennai, works toward propagating his teachings. The School - KFI, in Chennai, is one among seven schools run by the Foundation in India.

|