The Man Who Knew Infinity (1887-1920) Poem by narayana aghalaya

Ramanujan was sick and in.bed
Hardy came to meet and said:
' my cab number 1729, isn't it drab?
hope not a bad omen in a new garb.'
Ramanujan's eyes lit up with joy:
not at all; it has me thrilled and buoyed.'
this son of our soil, none could be humbler
as he described the beauty of that number

as a boy, he.grew up in poverty
his mother, his.role model in modesty
she told him stories from epics
and taught him the ways of ethics
he was brilliant in school
his love for mathematics was quite cool
someone gave him the book by Loney
to which he got glued like child to honey

he solved everything.from Loney's book
at home with chalk and.slate.as mom cooked
well-wishers noticed his prowess
got him scholarship for Inter in Madras
of his love, mathematics was.object
misery was when he failed other subjects
for a brief period he ran away from home
feeling guilty, perhaps scolded by some
he ended up in the port as a clerk
and a few other jobs that he didn't shirk

a book by Carr, it is said was the inspiration
it had.listed out thousands of equations
he started writing his famous notebooks
where only the results one could look
it is said, as paper he could not afford
with slate and chalk he feverishly worked
it would be Greek and Latin for most
other than those with high caliber to boast
a British prof in Madras asked with no polish
'does Ramanujan know Polish*? '
Did he think, Ramanujan was fraud?
it was heresy for our man who feared God

as his notebooks gave results with no proof
for his intuition, clearly, sky was roof
he would.say that he was getting visions
in his dream of a scroll with the equations
he attributed all, to the family deity
he was a firm believer, it was all piety
an equation represented a thought of God
if not, the equation was just a dud
a rare combination of religion and science
to ethics was hard-bound, his license

Ramanujan's poverty was quite acute
with no money from mathematical pursuit
he started.writing to British professors
two from Cambridge were simply floored
Hardy and Littlewood wanted him there
Ramanujan left by ship, as trepidation tore
Bertrand Russell**, a colleague, mentioned:
'Hardy.felt as if he discovered a Newton'
at Cambridge, post.pioneering work
to praise Ramanujan, none shirked

honours.like Fellow of Royal Society
and a PhD from his college, Trinity
astounding one who failed his Inter
Ramanujan, nothing could deter
around that time WWI was raging
with war, most of his colleagues, engaging
Ramanujan, plodded along
often for his home food, he would long
war time rationing, wouldn't let
vegetables were difficult.to get

around this time his.health broke down
he was soon back, by ship, to his town
he continued his research in Madras
right till the end, as his life passed
just thirty-three, when he died
his record of output, none can vie
his hand written notebooks
still studied, in world's corners and nooks
India is truly proud of this trail-blazer
with a mathematical brain sharp as a razor.