The 'Raman' effect

Just yesterday, I strolled into the little 'Crossword' store in Gopalan Signature Mall on Old Madras Road and as I entered, I heard a man talking on the phone.
"I am in C.V Raman Nagar." he said and at that point of time I just realized that out of a few lakh people staying in this area atleast 90% would probably have no idea who Sir C.V. Raman was!

I did a little hunting and found what I was looking for - 'C.V. Raman - An Autobiography', the only copy available, took a little chair at the corner and decided to read a little more about Sir Chandrashekara Venkata Raman, one of the few Nobel Laureates from India (or to be honest born in India) and the first Indian to be awarded this medal for his research in the field of Physics.

 
Sir C.V Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for the research he conducted in the UK and he mentions that on the day he won the award, he looked up and saw the Union Jack flying over his head and suddenly realized his own country, India, did not even have a flag of it's own.

This and many other thoughts brought Raman back to India where he worked as the Director of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and founded several other scientific research institutes in Bangalore. He strongly believed in two principles; one that scientist should be allowed to conduct research in an atmosphere free of any diplomacy or bureaucracy and second that all scientific research should be aimed towards welfare of human society. Infact, he was so revered amongst the research community that the area in Bangalore where the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and it's partner firms were setup was named after this great man as C.V Raman Nagar in which I stood yesterday.

However, I am not entirely sure of his two principles are being followed to the core by todays' researchers cause just last week the DRDO celebrated the successful launch of it's AGNI V missile, which apparently took 10 years to become a success and is aimed towards the destruction of humanity!

Whatever the case, India needs many many more people with the vision and broad minded thinking of Sir C.V. Raman to feature more prominently on the Nobel Laureates list for India. Until then none of us should forget the contribution of this little man and the 'effect' he has had on our lives in every little way.

Comments

Nishat said…
Absolutely right ! And people should also learn to distuinguish between C.V. Raman and C.V Raman Nagar :)

....India needs many many more people with the vision and broad minded thinking of Sir C.V. Raman nagar to feature more prominently ....LOL !
May 3, 2012 at 8:10 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Arranged Marraige

This week began with my very dear cousin giving me the best news of the year that he has decided to get married. It all started a few months back. First the families met, which was followed by a few more meetings between the boy and the girl and finally they decided to tie the knot. My cousin is a gem of a person and a true gentleman. My ‘gonna-be-bhabhi’ is a real lucky lady. After all the congratulations, my mind shifted to the scary fact that I would be next in line for the coveted throne called ‘Marriage’. My thoughts go out to my poor ‘gonna-be-wife’. If you happen to read this anytime, I must say sorry in advance. “Arranged Marriage” – Now here is a word that has been redefined with changing times, here in India. Bollywood movies give a guy his very first impression of ‘seeing a girl’. The meeting takes place in the girls’ home. The guy has to sit there with his entire family and first only speak to the girls’ parents and relatives. That’s where they judge if the guy is capable ...
Read more

Ebbanad - II

(This is a continuation from Ebbanad - I. Please read that before continuing here) Our next destination was the forest shack where we were to camp that night. It was a 30 minute downhill trek and we were welcomed there with gracious helpings of veg pulao and curd rice. After rejuvenating ourselves, we began the main part of the trek – through the forests. Ever since our guide had joined us, he had kept telling us stories about their encounters with elephants and tigers. It had raised our hopes of catching a glimpse of a few along the way. But the important thing to remember was that the experience of the guides had been accumulated over decades of years and by calculating the average it was obvious that our chances of seeing any animal in one day was very bleak. Yet a walk through the forest was enough inspiration for me to pick up my stuff and start trekking. The entire trek lasted around 3 - 4 hrs. In the process we walked through thick jungle completely surrounded on both sides by s...
Read more

A Fairytale....

It was the 4th of July, I was in Mumbai looking forward to what was probably the most important day of my life. It was also the day that the Rain gods showered the might of the rains, on this island city. Little did they know that the rains were the last thing to stop me from meeting the most important girl I had ever known and to express my feelings for her. It had been raining all morning and I had kept my fingers crossed that it would eventually stop. I delayed my departure from my home for an hour in that hope, but at 11am I simply put on my jacket and left. I told her that I would be reaching at around 12:30pm, considering all the delays in the train……and it was real heartening to see her concern for me, as she made sure that I call her multiple times during my train journey from Tilaknagar to Vile-Parle . It took me well over an hour to reach my destination. I know, I know…I choose train station to meet my loved one. Most unromantic…...that too considering that I was half soaked...
Read more