A Personality to Celebrate ...

 

A Personality to Celebrate ...

... Upon hearing the news of his death.

Yes, for today and just for today, I have become an Irishman and am having a wake for Professor J. V. Narlikar. An Irish wake is heartrendingly mournful and joyously commemorative simultaneously. Professor Narlikar’s life has been lived fully, yet his passing away is not an unalloyed sadness, at least for me. He has shown the path. It is our choice to follow or not.

This is not the time only to mourn his passing. Our Prime Minister has correctly not sent in his condolences; at least such a message is not mentioned in the article on The Hindu of 21-05-2025 that carried the news of the good professor’s death.

I give below a copy of my long-winded letter to him and his short yet not curt, and meaningful response. I am less than nobody and he, a star among stars. Yet, this humility is what I celebrate, his writing to me, not condescendingly but approvingly of what I said in my letter. I give below my letter.

There is no point in the reader going through the letter; let me give you the crux: there are hardly any streets carrying names of scientists in our cities. Prof. Narlikar agreed, and he also mentioned that in IUACC (an institute he founded), street names as well as buildings carry the name of scientists and astronomers. This letter is reproduced below:

The fact that he acknowledged the validity of the point I raised in my letter, and further he mentioned as politely as possible (he could have written an arrogant letter saying, “Don’t you know that the issue you raised has already been answered in IUCAA?”), says a lot to me about being humble, always. Adding that his list is not limited to the current era, but goes back centuries, celebrating Indian astronomers of yore. One way to celebrate the advanced rational thinking of Indians centuries ago.

Ever the teacher he is, even in death, for me.

Raghuram Ekambaram