Stories of beautiful minds

The apple that helped Isaac Newton formulate the theory of universal gravitation, and the bathtub that catalysed Archimedes’ insights into the physical law of buoyancy, are staple fare in the classrooms of science teachers trying to keep students awake and interested. Whether the apple fell on Newton’s head or the ground, and whether Archimedes was naked or wrapped in a towel when he ran out to proclaim his discovery, changes depending on the storyteller. The teachers that I have known like to embellish to hold their audience captive.

I enjoyed these stories as a child, and I remember them even now in my late 30s. Can you recall any such story from the lives of Indian scientists? I cannot. When I was in school, we rarely got to learn about the achievements of Indian scientists, let alone their lives. It is wonderful to see that things are changing now, and in a big way, thanks to the efforts of authors, illustrators and publishers in India, who bring out books for children and teenagers.

The Girl Who Was a Forest (2021), written and illustrated by Lavanya Karthik, is about the life of botanist E K Janaki Ammal (1897-1984) who “developed new varieties of plants like brinjals and sugarcane” and “helped preserve the Silent Valley, an evergreen tropical forest in Kerala that is home to a wide variety of plant and animal species”. Published by Duckbill Books, it draws attention to the prejudice that she faced on account of her caste and gender.

Physicist Bibha Chowdhuri (1913-1991) was another Indian scientist who faced obstacles in her career due to patriarchal mindsets. She did not give up when she was “denied awards and praise”, reveals author Pervin Saket in her book Commitment with Bibha Chowdhuri (2022) that is illustrated by Sahitya Rani and published by AdiDev Press. Eventually, professional recognition did come her way. Saket notes that British physicist Cecil Frank Powell —who won the Nobel Prize — has publicly acknowledged Chowdhuri’s influence on his work.

Did you know that, in 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) renamed the star HD 86081 after Bibha? I stumbled upon this piece of information while reading The Gutsy Girls of Science (2022), a book written and illustrated by Ilina Singh who is a student of Class 11. She started working on it with support from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Smriti Irani, who is the minister of women and child development. Ms Singh’s aim is to make other people in her age group aware of the “brave and intelligent” women scientists who are role models.

HarperCollins India has published this book. It includes chapters on cytogeneticist Archana Sharma (1932-2008) and biomedical researcher Kamal Ranadive (1917-2001). Sharma studied “polymorphism and its correlation to diseases in humans”, “the impact of pesticides on cells”, and “the structure of chromosomes”, and served as president of the Indian Science Congress Association. Ranadive contributed to research on leukaemia, breast cancer and oesophageal cancer, and also co-founded the Indian Women Scientists’ Association in 1973.

Looking back can deepen our understanding of whose shoulders we stand on but it is equally important to celebrate those who are in our midst today. Sayantan Datta’s book The Plant Whisperer (2022), illustrated by Bhavya Kumar and published by Pratham Books, is a biography of H Jaishree Subrahmaniam whose research examines altruism in plants. The author writes, “Jaishree discovered that plants help each other grow better in times of stress…She is also a social worker, helping create an equitable and welcoming space in science for women.”

Another living legend is oceanographer Aditi Pant — the protagonist of a book by Saket. Titled Passion with Aditi Pant (2022), it showcases her relationship with the ocean since childhood, and how she became “one of the first two women scientists” associated with India’s Antarctic programme. She has worked at the National Institute of Oceanography and the National Chemical Laboratory, and received the Antarctic Award from the Government of India. The book has been illustrated by Boski Jain and published by AdiDev Press.

If you are beginning to miss men in science, read Anjali Joshi’s book Little Jagadish and the Great Experiment (2022), illustrated by Debasmita Dasgupta and published by Puffin Books. It revolves around botanist and physicist Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858-1937) whose “investigations of plants led to the invention of the crescograph” and whose explorations with wireless communication led him to build a “mercury coherer” to “transform invisible radio signals to a signal that could be heard through an earphone or read through a printed code.”

Children in India are lucky to have these thoughtfully written and gorgeously designed resources to supplement school textbooks. Hopefully, libraries will invest in acquiring these and making them available to students whose parents are unable to buy these books. This will ensure that the mandate of cultivating “scientific temper”, “intellectual curiosity” and “evidence based-thinking”, articulated in the National Education Policy, comes to fruition.