Srinivasa Ramanujan

In 1887, in the small town of Erode in southern India, a boy was born who would astonish the mathematical world with insights that seemed to come from divine inspiration. Srinivasa Ramanujan, working in almost complete isolation with no formal training, discovered mathematical truths that eluded scholars with access to the world’s greatest libraries. His story is one of the most remarkable in the history of human genius.

Ramanujan grew up in poverty in the temple town of Kumbakonam. His father worked as a clerk in a cloth merchant’s shop, while his mother sang devotional songs at the local temple. When Ramanujan was ten, his parents borrowed money to buy him a book: “A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics” by G.S. Carr. This single volume, containing thousands of mathematical theorems with minimal proofs, became Ramanujan’s gateway to the infinite.

Working alone with slate and chalk, Ramanujan began rediscovering mathematical results that had taken European mathematicians centuries to develop. But he went far beyond mere rediscovery—his mind seemed to leap intuitively to profound truths about numbers, infinite series, and mathematical relationships. He filled notebook after notebook with formulas and theorems, many of which wouldn’t be proven by others until decades after his death.

Ramanujan’s mathematical obsession came at a cost. He failed his college examinations because he neglected all subjects except mathematics. Unable to earn a degree, he struggled to find employment while continuing his mathematical research in isolation. In 1912, facing poverty and pressure to abandon his work, he wrote to three prominent British mathematicians, hoping someone would recognize the value of his discoveries.

Two professors ignored his letters, but G.H. Hardy at Cambridge University recognized that he was looking at the work of a genius. Hardy later said that Ramanujan’s letter contained mathematics so original and profound that no university professor could have invented it. In 1913, Hardy arranged for Ramanujan to come to Cambridge, beginning one of the most extraordinary collaborations in mathematical history.

The partnership between Hardy and Ramanujan bridged two worlds. Hardy was the epitome of rigorous Western mathematical tradition, while Ramanujan approached mathematics with intuitive leaps that often lacked formal proof but revealed deep hidden patterns. Together, they produced groundbreaking work in number theory, infinite series, and partition functions that advanced mathematics in ways neither could have achieved alone.

Ramanujan’s insights seemed almost mystical. He claimed that the goddess Namagiri would show him mathematical formulas in his dreams. Whether inspired by divine vision or extraordinary intuition, his results were consistently profound. He discovered infinite series for π that converged faster than any known before, found patterns in prime numbers that are still being explored today, and developed the mathematics that would later prove essential for physics and computer science.

Living in England during World War I proved difficult for Ramanujan. The cold climate, unfamiliar food, and social isolation took a toll on his health. As a strict vegetarian and devout Hindu, he struggled with dietary restrictions that may have contributed to nutritional deficiencies. In 1917, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, though modern scholars suspect he may have suffered from a vitamin deficiency or parasitic infection.

Despite his illness, Ramanujan continued producing mathematics of extraordinary depth. His work on mock theta functions, completed just before his death, opened entirely new areas of mathematical research. He returned to India in 1919, hoping the familiar climate would restore his health, but died the following year at age thirty-two.

Ramanujan left behind three notebooks filled with nearly 4,000 mathematical results. Mathematicians are still working to prove and understand all of his formulas, with some discoveries made as recently as the 21st century. His work has found applications in fields he never could have imagined: computer algorithms, cryptography, physics, and even the study of black holes.

Today, Ramanujan is recognized as one of history’s greatest mathematical minds. His story reminds us that genius can emerge anywhere and that the human capacity for insight transcends formal education or cultural boundaries. He proved that mathematics is truly a universal language, speaking to minds that are prepared to listen regardless of their background or circumstances.

Primary Sources and Research

Ramanujan’s Mathematical Works

• The Ramanujan Digital Archive: Complete digitized notebooks and papers
• “Collected Papers of Srinivasa Ramanujan”: Complete mathematical works compiled by Hardy
• Trinity College Cambridge Archives: Letters and documents from his Cambridge years
• “The Lost Notebook”: Additional mathematical work discovered in the 1970s

Research Centers and Museums

• Ramanujan Museum, Chennai: Personal artifacts and mathematical exhibits
• Cambridge University Library: Hardy-Ramanujan correspondence and mathematical papers
• Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton: Ongoing research on Ramanujan’s mathematics
• SASTRA University: Annual Ramanujan Prize and mathematical research