Dear Editor,
December 22, 2023 will mark the 136th birth anniversary of the mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan, and the day is celebrated as National Mathematics Day in remembrance of him. The main objective of the celebration of this day is to make people aware of the development of mathematics and its importance in the growth of humanity. Leaving the world at the young age of 32, Srinivasa Ramanujan contributed monumentally to mathematics that only a few could match in their lifetime. He was the youngest Indian to become a Fellow of the Royal Society, London. The field of number theory in math was enriched by Ramanujan with his intuitive research and enormous contribution to it. He was well ahead of his time and provided a great link to several milestones in the history of mathematics. Ramanujan’s mystifying mathematical equations, scribbled in black ink and running into about 130 pages, were chanced upon by Professor George Andrews of Pennsylvania State University in 1976 at the library of Trinity College in Cambridge. These works later electrified the world of mathematics, prompting physicist Freeman Dyson to remark, “Flowers that grew from seeds that ripened in Ramanujan’s garden”.
The theme for this year’s International Day of Mathematics is “Mathematics for everyone”.
Jubel D’Cruz