1/8/2024 0 Comments Char math in indiaWe used to talk about literature, chemistry and many other things. I used to solve the so-called “geometry riders” – intricate problems in plane Euclidean geometry. He had studied chemistry but we used to do mathematics together, which of course was not very advanced. This was the start of a wonderful relationship. And then one day, when I was (I think) in second form (today’s seventh standard), it so happened that he called me out and began to talk to me about mathematics, asking me questions like, “Can you solve this problem?” He apparently was also pleased by my answers. He was a lonely figure at home, and children used to be afraid to interact with him. Thereafter he would stay with my aunt at our ancestral house in Kanchipuram. Apparently, owing to some health issues, he had a sort of a mental breakdown. He was a brilliant man, who did his chemistry honours at Presidency College, and went on to do research in Bangalore at the Indian Institute of Science. One of my uncles (husband of my father’s sister) by the name of T.A. Rangaswamy, was a very interesting person. The significant influence though came from outside school, at home. Were there any significant influences during your early formative years that have helped you develop a love for numbers, or shapes, or in things that could generally be associated with mathematics?ĬSS: In school I used to be good at many things including mathematics, although initially mathematics had no particular attraction for me. In very recent years, unfortunately two of my brothers passed away. All my schooling was at St. Joseph’s school, except for an interval of three years at the Ramakrishna school, but I finally passed out from St. Joseph’s school.Īs for our family, we were eleven children – I am the oldestm My youngest sibling is C.S. Rajan, who is also incidentally a mathematician. All my childhood and school days were spent in Chengalpet. So it was a lawyer’s family and since Chengalpet was the district headquarters at that time, my father moved there to practice law. My grandfather’s brother was also a well-known criminal lawyer in Chennai in those days. My paternal grandfather was a lawyer but he never practised. My father was educated at Pachaiyappa’s school in Kanchipuram, and went on to study at the Presidency College, Chennai (then Madras). Seshadri with his brother C.S. Rajan. Credit C.S. In my own generation, its ownership has passed on to my father’s brother. This house is our ancestral home, and has maintained this character for a long time. It is said that my namesake, my paternal great grandfather, bought a house in the Sannidhi street near the well-known Varadarajar temple in Kanchipuram, presumably to impart a modern education to his sons. They hail from villages near Kanchipuram my father’s family was from a village called Keenur. Has your family always been in Tamil Nadu?ĬSS: I was born on 29 February 1932 in Kanchipuram, where both my father and mother come from. We would like to begin by talking about your family and upbringing. In a conversation with Bhāvanā, a seminal initiative that aims to promote the excitement of mathematical research, Seshadri spoke about his life, his mathematical career spanning more than six decades and his other big love, music. His work in establishing the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), literally brick by brick, is as noteworthy as his scientific pursuits. Another topic that he virtually engendered is the so-called standard monomial theory. Seshadri’s deep insights and significant accomplishments have greatly contributed to shaping India as a major centre for mathematics in the post-independence era, particularly in the field of algebraic geometry. The following interview was originally published in May 2018 and is being republished today by way of remembrance. Seshadri, one of India’s most eminent mathematicians, passed away on July 17, at the age of 88.
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