Night time is my favourite time

* Thathi......Thathi! Can you tell me a story?

Pleaded Andy as he jumped out of his bed

No, Thathi replied, it is way beyond your bedtime,

But Thathi, I cannot sleep,

I tried and even counted sheep.

Thathi tucked Andy into his bed,

He sat in his rocking chair and said

This is not a regular fairy tale,

About prince or princess

Ogres or even damsels in distress.

This story is inspirational

About a superhero

Without capes and costumes

From a mere whisper

How he reached crescendo!

Steeped in intellectual thought with an eye for detail

Determined and resilient were his most prominent traits

The icon of India's scientific temper,

A legend and a mentor

Born on 07th November 1888

In a sleepy town of Tirucharapally in Southern India

C.V Raman, the little boy was named

Born without a silver spoon

But,he dreamt of reaching the moon.

Raman walked to school

Every day, barefoot.

Intellectually gifted,

At 11, he completed his matriculation

At 13, his graduation.

He received a scholarship at 14

Presidency College was his prestigious varsity

Winning the first place and the gold medal in physics;

In 1907 he gained his M.A. degree, obtaining the highest distinctions.

Where he remained a student and teacher till 1923.

Upon graduation, he became a civil servant

And a part time scientist

To ensure his family’s economic situation improved

His part-time research work was extraordinary

And lectures were attended by the Illuminati

Setting up his reputation as a talented physicist.

In 1917, the University of Calcutta offered him the Palit Chair of Physics

In 1926, he established the Indian Journal of Physics

As, the first editor of this newspaper,

He propagated scientific temperament

To increase awareness about world-wide inventions and discoveries.

C.V. Raman made his first trip to London in 1921,

His reputation in the study of optics and especially acoustics

While aboard SS Narkunda, in his return journey

His restless and probing mind

Saw and realised what no one in mankind

That the colour of the sea

Was the result of the scattering of sunlight

By the water molecules

Leading to his discovery

Of Raman Effect.

Raman and his student-collaborator K.S. Krishnan

Made the discovery of the phenomenon in 1928

But Raman’s Nobel win came two years later.

The first Indian and Asian

And the first Nobel Prize for a non-white person!

He knew, his discovery was important

About his win, he was so confident

He booked his flight tickets to Sweden

Even before the Nobel announcement!

American Chemical Society and IACS recognized his discovery

As an International Historic Chemical Landmark

In 1924, elected as a fellow member of the Royal Society

In 1929 he was even knighted!

India celebrates National Science Day

On 28th February every year in his honour

Sir C.V. Raman’s discovery of the Raman Effect,

That bestowed Asia with its first Nobel in the Sciences in 1930

Many a star adorn his lapel

The first Director of the Indian Institute of Sciences, in 1933

In 1941, he was awarded the Franklin Medal,

Highest civilian honour, a Bharat Ratna in 1954,

The Lenin Peace Prize in 1957

And many honorary doctorates.

Founded the Raman Research Institute in 1948.

For research in basic sciences

Even after his death in October 1970

His legacy still continues.

Thathi, how do you know all this

About Dr. C.V Raman?

Asked, her grandson

I knew him well

Thathi replied

With a glint in her eyes

I have worked under this super-man

Only, if we had smart phones then

**Many a selfies I could have clicked

Before, Andy could ask any more questions

She switched off the light

Tucked in, Andy to sleep

And wished him a very good night

Before, she left the room

She said, ***dreams that keep you awake

Are the ones for which your sleep, you must forsake

A quote, by another prodigy

Oho, but that is another day

Another story!

*Thathi- Grandmother in Tamil. More commonly used as “paati and thatha” for grandmother and grandfather.

** Inspiration for grandmother taken from Uma Jagannath, a Readers assistant at IISC in 1966 who had the privilege of answering a reference query of C.V Raman. She started her career with IISC under Satish Dhawan- founder of ISRO and has a 50year association with IISC.

*** Dreams that keep you awake- is a famous quote attributed to Dr. A.P.J Kalam, India’s beloved ex-president and the Missile Man of India.