22/12/2025
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐣𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲
Srinivasa Ramanujan was a mathematical genius in a hurry. '𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒏 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝑲𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚' had a tragically finite life, cut short at 32 by tuberculosis and liver complications.
By then, however, Ramanujan had built such a body of work that it is marvelled at even today.
As we observe Ramanujan’s 138th birth anniversary with National Mathematics Day, here are three lessons we can learn from his inspiring saga.
𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Ramanujan was born poor in Erode, Tamil Nadu. There are accounts of his family barely being able to afford two meals a day. But once he discovered mathematics, life’s hurdles did not bother him. Moral of the story - find something you love so much that being consumed by it feels blissful.
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: In 1912, when he was 24 and his renown had spread around the region, Ramanujan sought growth and started contacting mathematicians in England. Most of his letters were ignored, till GH Hardy of Trinity College took notice. It paved the way for Ramanujan’s move to England and a productive collaboration between him, Hardy and John Littlewood.
𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Ramanujan’s strong intuitive powers often influenced his work. Some of the equations and theories he came up with had no supporting basis at the time, but they turned out to be accurate. Not everyone operates on a higher plane of consciousness as Ramanujan, but we should listen to our instincts if not rely on them entirely.
This National Mathematics Day, find your inner Ramanujan and make history.
