Sudha Murty with scientists Roddam Narashima, G. Padmanabhan and V.K. Aatre at the IISc Global Alumni Conference in Bengaluru on Saturday (Photo: R. Samuel)
Bengaluru: The second day of the IISc Global Alumni Conference was marked by laughter and bonhomie, full of good-natured ribbing between old friends. Sudha Murty, chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, graduated from the Indian Institute of Science as a computer scientist and engineer, which is how she began her career.
"I passed out in 1974," she said, as she chaired a panel titled ‘Reminiscences on Saturday evening’, and proved to be a very witty host! "Some people didn't believe that I was an IISc graduate," she joked. "When I asked them what they thought I was, they said maybe a B.A. Kannada! That doesn't matter, though," Murty added. "It doesn't matter whether you're a first ranker or an engineer or whose wife you happen to be, the only important thing is what you have done for your fellow human beings."
Prof G. Padmanabhan, former Director, IISc, Prof. Roddam Narasimhan, world renowned aerospace scientist, and Prof. S. Ranganathan, a highly lauded metallurgist – all of them distinguished alumni of the IISc, talked about their time on campus, the history of their departments and the scientists they worked with during the course of their careers.
"None of my friends are here today, with the exception of Prof. Subba Reddy," Murty remarked. "I used to blame my husband for this. Post-1991, all the best scientists were absorbed by the IT industry and spirited away abroad!"
She talked about Dr Roddam Narasimha as well. "I knew him when he got married, we had a family connection. I even remember his house and when his daughter was born," she said with a smile. "There's nothing better than catching up with old friends. These are the things that truly matter – old friends, old professors, old memories, old wine!"
Prof. Padmanabhan was the first to take the podium. "The night before I took charge as the director, I got a call from the registrar, who told me that the boys had jumped the wall into the girl's hostel!" he said, to a round of laughter.
Prof. Padmanabhan talked about 'translations' or grassroots application of science. "India is a world leader in vaccines, the Recombinant Vaccine for Hepatitis B once cost Rs 475 apiece. India exported it at Rs 20 to Unesco. We are world leaders in this, we supply vaccines to 150 countries. Even so, the demand in India is for a vaccine at Rs 5."
As the current director, Prof. Anurag Kumar, talks of Rs 650 crore budgets for IISc, the situation twenty or thirty years ago was drastically different. "We had to fight for a Rs 30 crore grant by bringing then PM Deve Gowda down to the campus. We got the grant, but it was given in bits and pieces unfortunately," said Prof. Padmanabhan. At that time, India's standing in the rest of the world was not very good either and the situation was worse for IISc, which was known to have helped build the nuclear bomb. "I am against nuclear testing, but I wrote a letter in an international science journal, talking about how India has a lot of good in her, which is never talked about. India has a huge image now and things are different, but we haven't managed to solve our own problems!"
Research on infectious diseases is an area that is crying out for funding, he said. "Nanotechnology seems a far more appealing field, but India ranks 135th on the Human Development Index, because of our high mortality rates."
Sudha Murty, when she returned to the podium after the talk, immediately offered her help and support through the Infosys Foundation. "I worked in Orissa, in Kalahandi, which was known for 'jumping malaria', it would kill in two days. I have seen people suffering and also, I come from a family of doctors," she told Prof. Padmanabhan. "The Foundation will be happy to help and work with the institute."
Prof. Narasimha, now an honorary professor at the IISc, said, "I am actually an Illegal Honorary Professor there." He is currently a professor at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute for Advanced Scientific Research. His first encounter with IISc happened on an Open Day when he was still in college. "There was an aircraft – a Spitfire, placed under a tree in the quadrangle. I was very fascinated by it and decided I wanted to know more. That was my first encounter with IISc and with an aircraft." He chose aerospace engineering despite it being a very risky decision, all his friends were joining the railway services and landing plum government posts. "I have never regretted my decision," he said.
Prof. S. Ranganathan, one of the top metallurgists, gave a lecture that was poignantly titled "Nomad Metallurgy: Travels Through Space and Time”. Surprisingly, he quoted actor Daniel Day Lewis, saying, "I have had more than my share of good fortune. Someone told me once that the physical self declines with age, but the mind improves with wisdom. I don't know about my wisdom, but my happiness has grown through the years."
No record of ancient Indian achievements: Ranganathan
"The scientific community calls it the Needham Paradox," said Prof. Ranganathan, who is currently faculty at the National Insitute of Advanced Studies and the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ministry of Steel. He talked about Joseph Needham, a British scientist and historian best known for his writing on the history of Chinese science.
"Ancient India has made phenomenal contributions to astrophysics, astronomy, mathematics and metallurgy, none of which has been properly documented," he said.
Prof. Ranganathan is currently working on a book titled 'History of India - Through 100 Objects', along with Prof. Baldev Raj.
Roddam on Satish Dhawan
“When he first came to the campus, he drove a red MG," he said. "He leapt out and shouted a salutation at everybody. People knew at once that he was different." He had just returned from the United States and was, according to Narasimha, very American in his ways, very lively and very handsome. "He was very good at his work, too, when he was serious. However, he wasn't often serious!" Prof. Narasimha worked closely with Prof Dhawan for a number of years – the latter is one of the most eminent researchers in the field of turbulence and boundary layers. "He worked on shockwaves and supersonic waves, but he created shockwaves here in the Institute!" Prof. Dhawan had a deep love for birds, whenever he was deeply troubled, he would "go look at birds". He transformed the Institute, he said. "He showed great maturity in judging both scientific and human problems."
Sudha Murty on Jamshedji Tata
"Tata was brought to Bombay to the Taj Hotel when he was on his deathbed," said Sudha Murty, as she wound up the session. "Recently, I found out what he had put in his will –he had divided it into three parts, two for his sons and one for IISc." Tata established the institute when the British were still in India and tended to view the locals as near-savages, not fit to be educated. "He didn't want us to call it Tata Institute, which of course, we all do," she joked. "When someone asked him why he had spent so much on the institute, he said it was for the love of his country. That's what we need to take with us today."
