“I am the master of my failure…If I never fail, how will I ever learn?” – C.V. Raman.
Science as we know it, has been vital to human civilization for consistent progress. From the earth being believed to be flat, then round, now spheroid and presently having GPS systems and google maps laying before us nook and corners of the earth, science has been man’s constant companion. However, the process of advancement has been a very gradual one. Each discovery, invention or theory took years of research and acted as a step forward to better understand the universe, matter and the vast enigma associated with it. The contribution of C.V. Raman to this indispensable study makes him a man worth remembering and an inspirational figure for all.
Descending from a humble Hindu family, Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was the second of the eight children his parents had. His father was a teacher of mathematics and physics, and later got a job as a lecturer and hence they moved to Visakhapatnam. Won’t be wrong to say it ran in the genes, now would it? Raman was greatly interested in Science from a very young age and started to borrow books on science from his father’s college library. In 1903, aged just 14, Raman set off to Madras, and began his bachelor’s degree at Presidency College. He completed his degree in 1904, winning medals in physics. Judging his intellect, his British lecturers encouraged him to study for a master’s degree in the United Kingdom. However, he was advised against it by his doctor as his heath was not strong enough to cope up with England’s harsh climate.
Thus, he stayed in India and continued his research. In the summer of 1921, when on the deck of a ship, he looked at the beautiful blue colour of the Mediterranean Sea and went onto discover that sea scatters light. His work on light and its behaviour, very commonly known as the Raman effect was one of his greatest achievements. He was knighted in 1929.
Being the first physicist in Asia to receive a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930, he created a spot for India in the spectrum of scientific achievements of the world. It holds great significance also because, at a time when Indians were considered inferior, uncivilised, barbaric and looked down upon by the British imperialists, C.V. Raman proved the metal of India’s brainpower and acuteness.
