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 in Physics 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.

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