MS Sparsha A pioneer of mathematical analysis, a distinguished academic and an inspiring mentor, Prof. V. Ganapathi Iyer left an enduring imprint on Indian mathematics through his original research and commitment to nurturing young talent. At a time when Indian mathematics was steadily establishing its identity on the international academic stage, Prof. V. Ganapathi Iyer…
Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray: The scientist who challenged British economic dominance, pioneered India’s pharmaceutical industry and turned chemistry into an instrument of nationalism. MS Sparsha India’s freedom struggle was not fought merely on the streets, in prisons or on the battlefield. Some of its most remarkable warriors fought a different kind of battle – against…
MS Sparsha In 1959, an Indian mathematician walked into a New York hotel to settle his bill. The cashier glanced at him, then at a newspaper lying nearby. It was the front page of The New York Times, carrying the guest’s photograph. “Is that your picture in the New York Times?” he asked. “Yes,” came…
Bapudeva Shastri – The Man Who Lost His Memory but Rewrote India’s Astronomical Calendar MS Sparsha Imagine a child who loses virtually everything he has learnt because of a devastating illness, only to rebuild his knowledge from scratch and emerge as one of India’s most distinguished scholars of mathematics, astronomy and Vedic astrology. This is…
MS Sparsha Venkatesh Bapuji Ketkar: The forgotten genius who looked beyond Neptune, challenged convention and lived largely outside the spotlight What if an Indian schoolteacher, struggling to make ends meet, calculated the possible existence of a planet beyond Neptune nearly two decades before Pluto was discovered? What if he named it Brahma, only for the…
MS Sparsha In 1987, a young engineering graduate approached an artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory in Texas with his résumé. The laboratory turned him down. He offered to work at night. The laboratory said it had no office space. He said he would work wherever he could find a place. This time, they hired him. Three…
MS Sparsha History often celebrates famous scientists, groundbreaking inventions and spectacular discoveries. Yet, some of the most consequential agricultural revolutions begin with an ordinary act of courage — the refusal to discard something whose potential others cannot see. In Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, a Tamil Brahmin scientist named Tiruvadi Sambasiva Venkatraman once refused to let his…
MS Sparsha Long before modern medicine began to celebrate its advances against leprosy, an ancient Indian remedy had already attracted the attention of Western medical science. Its journey from Ayurveda to hospitals across the world is a remarkable story of indigenous knowledge, scientific perseverance and an injustice that left one young chemist’s contribution unrecognised for…
MS Sparsha Dr Rustom Jal Vakil helped bring an ancient Indian remedy for high blood pressure to the attention of modern medicine, exposing a remarkable gap between scientific evidence and its acceptance. In 1949, the medical world was still struggling to find effective ways to control high blood pressure. Yet, in India, doctors had already…
MS Sparsha How Itty Achudan’s botanical wisdom survived three centuries to reclaim its place in history In April 1675, inside a Dutch fort in Cochin, a traditional Indian physician signed a certificate in an old Malayalam script that few people today can read. The document authenticated the botanical knowledge he had shared with a Dutch…
