C V Raman’s House
2, Rajamannar Street, T. Nagar |
The name of Chandrashekara Venkatraman or C.V. Raman (1888-1970) is one that is well known in the scientific world. Born in Trichinopoly, Raman graduated from Presidency College, Madras, in 1904, standing first in Physics. He acquired his Master’s from the same college in 1907. There being very little encouragement for a career in Science, he joined the Government Finance Department in Calcutta. There he became involved with the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS), eventually becoming its honorary secretary. At the Association, he conducted several experiments in his free time. In 1917, he resigned his job and became the Palit Professor for Physics at the Calcutta University. He continued his work at the IACS and during this time, he worked on, among other things, the scattering of light. His discovery became known as the Raman Effect. He was knighted in 1929. In 1930, his work was recognised internationally when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics, making him the first Asian to win the prize in the Science stream.
In 1934, Raman became the Director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. In 1947, he was made the first National Professor by the Government. In 1948, he retired from the IISc and set up the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore a year later. He was to work there till his death. In 1954, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the nation's highest recognition, by the Government of India.
Though he lived mostly in Bangalore, Raman purchased several properties in Madras, mainly as an investment, including this one. It had the distinction of his living under its roof for some time.
(Courtesy: KalamKriya.)
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