MS Sparsha When the history of modern physics is written, the names of Albert Einstein, Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking naturally dominate the discussion on gravity, black holes and the mysteries of the universe. Yet, behind some of the most profound developments in our understanding of spacetime stands an Indian physicist whose remarkable work was…
MS Sparsha There are pioneers whom history remembers. And then there are pioneers whose contributions quietly become part of somebody else’s larger legacy. In the story of Indian information technology, F.C. Kohli is rightly remembered as the “father of Indian IT”. He took charge of Tata Consultancy Services in 1969 and went on to lead…
MS Sparsha There are only about 514 people in the world who can claim to have co-authored a research paper directly with Paul Erdős, one of the most prolific and eccentric mathematicians of the 20th century. Among them were a remarkable group of Indian and Indian-origin mathematicians whose encounters with Erdős created an unusual bridge…
M.S. Sparsha There are technological revolutions that arrive with fanfare, billion-dollar valuations and armies of publicity professionals. And then some revolutions happen quietly, behind green computer screens, humming machines and exhausted engineers—changing the lives of millions without most of them ever knowing who made it possible. The computerisation of Indian Railways reservation belongs firmly to…
MS Sparsha Hemendra Mohan Bose turned the emerging technology of sound recording into an instrument of the Swadeshi movement—and helped preserve a historic voice of nationalism When Indians hear the surname Bose, several towering names immediately come to mind. Satyendra Nath Bose revolutionised quantum physics; Jagadish Chandra Bose pioneered groundbreaking work in plant science and…
MS Sparsha There are some Indians whose names are written in history books. And then there are those whose inventions quietly shape our lives every single day, even though hardly anyone knows who they are. Dr Arogyaswami Paulraj belongs firmly to the second category. Born in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, Paulraj joined the Indian Navy as…
MS Sparsha India’s territorial unification is usually told through familiar names—Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the princely states and the monumental task of bringing hundreds of disparate territories into the Union. But hidden in that larger story is an extraordinary episode that sounds almost fictional: for seven years, a tiny territory existed as a self-governing “free” enclave…
How N. Vittal and a satellite dish helped break the barriers that kept Indian software from the world MS Sparsha There was a time when sending software from India to an overseas client was almost as difficult as writing it. In the mid-1980s, India’s software industry was still an embryonic idea. Computers were expensive, international…
Dr. Inderjit Singh Anand’s remarkable journey from PGIMER to Siachen and the frontiers of heart-failure research MS Sparsha What happens to the human heart when the body is pushed to the very limits of survival? For most doctors, the question might belong in a laboratory. For Dr. Inderjit Singh Anand, it meant carrying sophisticated cardiac…
MS Sparsha History has a peculiar habit of remembering emperors, generals and political dynasties while quietly pushing aside those who served society without seeking power or personal glory. Among the many such forgotten figures is Rani Rashmoni of Bengal—a remarkable woman whose life was an extraordinary blend of courage, philanthropy, social responsibility and devotion. Born…
