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The story is known by-heart to every Indian student who studies the most basic of sciences growing up. During a voyage on this day — February 28 — to Europe in the early 1920s, 33-year-old Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was utterly fascinated by the varying blue hues of the Mediterranean Sea and let his curiosity run riot. He busted the myth that the blue of the sea was a reflection of the sky that most had imagined but was instead a result of molecular scattering of light. As veteran photographer T.S. Satyan put it, Raman "had the knack of explaining the most abstruse scientific phenomena in a language that ordinary people could understand." He won a Nobel Prize for it in 1930. Of the award ceremony that was held in Stockholm, he said:
"It is celebrated with much pomp and dignity. There were about ten thousand persons in the assembly. The Swedish king was in the chair. Five persons had to receive the prizes. All of them were seated in their chairs flanked by their countries' flags. I was sorry to see that I was under the British flag. India was still under British rule. The Civil Disobedience Movement was in full swing and Mahatma Gandhi was in jail. I was overcome by emotion when my name was called and I went up to receive the prize from royal hands."
We dug through The Hindu 's archives to glimpse the human side of the obsessive scientist that was Sir C.V. Raman:
This was Raman's home in erstwhile Trichinopoly (Trichy in present-day Tamil Nadu) where he was born and raised in 1888.
Raman was later sent to St. Aloysius School — started in 1847 by Fr. John Decompoix — in Visakhapatnam where he passed his matriculation exam at the age of 11 and his F.A. with a scholarship by the time he was 13.
Later in his life, after a period of research at the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) in Calcutta, Raman joined the Indian Insitute of Science in Bangalore as its first Indian director. Here, he's shown with Mahatma Gandhi in an undated photograph during the latter's visit to the insitution:
King Mahendra and Queen Ratna of Nepal paid a visit to the Raman Institute at Bangalore on November 24, 1955. They are seen here with Dr. and Mrs. C.V. Raman at the Institute:
Raman's wife, who went by the name of Lady Lokasundari, was 14 when she was wedded to her 19-year-old husband. A report by The Hindu in 1907 says that their marriage, celebrated in Triplicane, was an intersectal one that almost did not happen: "The bridegroom C Venkataraman (C.V. Raman’s official name), MA, recently appointed in the enrolled list in the Finance Department of the Govt of India… is of the Brahacharanam sect. The bride belongs to the Vadama sect. This marriage is of great importance from the social reformer’s point of view, as being the first of its kind."
It was known that Raman had great admiration for the first Prime Minister of India. Here, he is seen explaining at his laboratory in Bangalore some aspects of his research work to Jawaharlal Nehru in January 1960. Of the latter, Raman is said to have remarked: "While I admire Nehru personally, I dislike the cronies around him."
In 1939, Raman addressed the students of Pachaiyappa's College in Madras on "The Mathematical Approach to Science." Here he is seen with the faculty members of the institution's Department of Physics.
Raman was as much a traditionalist as he was the progressive scientist. Here (in an undated photograph) he is seen in his 'at-home' attire (second from right) at the Shashtipurthy (60th birthday) celebrations of Dr. C.R. Reddy, Vice Chancellor of the Andhra University.
And what is an intellectual without his even more sacred enclosure that is his reading room? This right below was his private library at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore when he was its director.
'Panchavati', erstwhile residence of Nobel Laureate Sir Dr. C. V. Raman, on 15th cross, 8th Main in Malleswaram (Bangalore). The beautifully wooded premises along with its trees were cherished by Raman. The lovely hexagonal hall of Panchavati is where he and others listened to veena recitals by his wife, Lady Lokasundari. The Raman Trust that has been taking care of Panchavati, Sir C.V. Raman's house, is working on making it a museum, with a laboratory and children's activity centre attached to it.
The man had a fine taste for cars too. A 1949 Studebaker Champion lies uncared for in his garage at his Bangalore residence today.
And what of family? His wife, the musical companion, and two sons Chandrasekhar and Radhakrishnan — who turned out to be a radio astronomer and currently is a trustee of the Raman Research Institute, Bangalore. Here he is at the Kochi Marina in 2010:
Sir C.V. Raman passed away at the age of 82 in Karnataka, just days after he had suffered a heart attack while working in his labaratory. The government of India recognised his achievements, first in 1954, when he became one of the first three recipients of the Bharat Ratna. After his death, in a fitting gesture, it was decided that the very date on which Raman had discovered his namesake light scattering effect would be celebrated as National Science Day every year in the country.
