C. V. Raman

By Illa Vij

Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was born on November 7, 1888. He did not belong to a wealthy family but God had gifted him with a brilliant intellect. In school, he was granted a number of double promotions.

As a result, he was just 12 years old when he passed the higher secondary examination. Raman joined Presidency College in Madras in 1900. He was of course the youngest student. He was also of a small built, and the teachers often wondered whether he had accidentally entered the classroom.

Raman worked hard and at the age of 16, he got his B.A. degree. He completed his postgraduation at 18 years of age. He was ranked first in the entire Madras state. At that time the state of Madras included Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and a part of Karnataka.

Raman had always been interested in scientific research, but due to financial constraints he was compelled to get a well-paid job. He could not appear for the Indian Civil Service examination as at that time it was held only in England. So, he appeared for the Financial Service examination. He chose history and economics, as special subjects for the test. Although Raman had never studied these subjects in college, he topped the All-India list. His first assignment was as currency officer in Rangoon, Burma. He was married at the age of 19 years to Lokasundary, who was then only 14. Raman’s career profile was outstanding. He was kind and understanding. These qualities made him immensely popular with the Burmese. At Rangoon, he revealed his scientific talent through his writings for a magazine. Later, when he returned to India, he got in touch with the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science. He was granted permission to carry out his research work in the laboratories, at any time of the day or night. He conducted research in acoustics, optics and other fields of science.

In 1917, Raman was offered a new Palit Chair of Physics. At that time, he was doing extremely well in the financial service. He was selected as Auditor-General. The Palit professorship was not a well-paying job, and money was required to support his family. Raman’s love for science, however, overpowered the desire for money. He cut down his personal expenses and accepted the university professorship. Calcutta became an important centre of research in physics.

In 1921, Raman went to Europe. During his voyage to England, he observed that the deep blue of the Mediterranean sea was due to scattering of sunlight by the molecules of the water. On returning to Calcutta, he carried out further research on the scattering of rays of light.

This is also called the Raman Effect. He explained that when light falls on an object, it gets scattered.

Scientists like Rutherford and Albert Einstein spoke highly of his achievement. In 1930, Raman was awarded the Nobel Prize. He was proud to state that he had spent very little money on research work. In 1933, he moved to Bangalore as Director of the Indian Institute of Science. He received offers from Cambridge to lead certain research projects, but he refused to leave his own country. Dr Homi Bhabha and Dr Vikram Sarabhai earned their doctorate under his guidance. In 1934, he started the Indian Academy of Sciences and in 1948, the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore was founded. He bequeathed all his property to the institute because he felt that without funds, no institute could run well.

Many of our eminent scientists have been influenced by C.V. Raman. He died on November 21, 1970, holding a book in his hand. Before his death, he had stated, "The right man, right thinking, right instruments, right results."