National Mathematics Day is celebrated every year on December 22 in India to honour the birth anniversary of the legendary mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.
Ramanujan made extraordinary contributions to number theory, infinite series, and the theory of partitions. He also discovered the mock theta functions. His work has inspired many mathematicians including the Fields Medalist Srinivasa Rao.
Born in a small town, showed signs of math genius at tender age
Ramanujan was born in a small town of Erode in Tamil Nadu. His father was a clerk in a sari shop and his mother was a housewife. He showed signs of his mathematical genius at a very young age. He attended primary school in Kumbakonam and later attended Town High School.
Ramanujan failed in English in his first year of college and that led to his dropping out. He got married at the age of 17 and worked as a clerk in a shipping company in Madras.
It was during this time that he sent some of his theorems to G.H. Hardy, a well-known mathematician at Cambridge University. Hardy was so impressed with Ramanujan's work that he invited him to Cambridge.
Ramanujan spent five years at Cambridge working on his theories. He returned to India in 1919 and died three years later at the age of 32.
Ramanujan's legacy still lies in the mathematical advancements of our country. He is considered to be one of the brilliant minds our nation ever witnessed. His work has inspired generations of mathematicians.
