It was a moment of pride for George P. Mathew from Agali in Attappady here when two hardback volumes of mathematical genius Srinivasa Ramanujan were included in a collection of rare books for research at the London Library last week.
Along with Moses Gladson from Udhagamandalam, Mr. Mathew had painstakingly digitised the silverfish-eaten original notebooks of Ramanujan. Titled ‘Notebooks of Ramanujan,’ the reference volume, in the handwriting of the late mathematician, will soon become part of 300 other libraries across the world as part of an initiative by the Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Chennai’s Roja Muthiah Research Library soon.
The two youngsters, who had already made a mark in designing and brand building, took 75 days to digitalise the notebooks, restoring the complex mathematical solutions in the beautiful handwriting of the genius.
Believed to have been written on loose sheets of paper, these notebooks have been keeping mathematicians across the world busy for over a century searching for answers to the theories put forward by Ramanujan. “It was a strenuous effort. The digital restoration was undertaken page by page, with strict cross references to previous versions. Even a minor error can spoil the whole effort,” said Mr. Mathew, who works in New York.
The two volumes, with a foreword by American mathematician Bruce Berndt, are expected to attract foster more research in coming days. Tata Institute is ensuring its availability in world’s leading libraries and research centres.
“Ramanujan had used slate to save paper and used the sheets only to note down the final results. The notebooks will be of much interest to maths aficionados,” said Mr. Mathew. The production quality had won praise from many people, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who released the volumes in February this year. “The book was first restored in 1957 but the black and white publication lacking clarity,” said Mr. Mathew. The current edition has reproduced faithfully the different colours of ink Ramanujan used in the notebooks. “The 1957 edition is now in a very bad shape. With the technology available then, photostats of the sheets were taken and compiled. So, the contrast was not satisfactory, either too bright or too light, between foreground and text,” he said.
