A steely woman finds space

Yusuf Arakkal's celebrated double helix on M.G. Road stands in silent tribute to one of the greatest, perhaps most underrated scientists of our time. Rosalind Franklin, despite her obvious brilliance, never did find the skills to fight her way through a world of male-dominated ambition. Despite her contributions - proving the helical structure of DNA - Rosamund 

Franklin remained little known or celebrated at the time of her death. This week, Bangalore Little Theatre will retell the story of Franklin the forgotten genius who changed the face of genetics, the science prophesied to take over the world.  

Photograph 51, the award winning play by Anna Ziegler, tells the story about the race to arrive at the forefront of genetics, which had captured the imagination of scientists around thhe world. Franklin's path-breaking work on X-ray crystallography of DNA never received due recognition and untimely death also cost her the Nobel Prize. Nevertheless, the enormity of her contribution remains - Photograph 51 is back for a weekend run after two house full shows. 

In 1938, Rosalind Franklin arrived in the halls of Cambridge University. She was reputed already for her prodigous inteligence and her father had fought against great odds to find his daughter a place in the male-dominated ranks of the lintellectual elite. She studied Chemistry and moved on to do a research scholarhip to work at R.G.W. Norrish's lab where, despite her obvious potential, little was done to encourage her. 

Photograph 51 by Anna Zeigler

During a three-year research scholarship at king's College in London, Franklin was told to set up the X-Ray crystallography unit at the university. Despite her stormy relationship with her colleaue, Wilkins, Franklin managed to work with a student, Raymond goslin, to get two sets of high-resolution photos of crystallised DNA fibers, proving the helical structure of DNA. 

What: Photograph 51
When: July 27, 28 and 29
Where: Jagriti Theatre, Ramagondahalli, Whitefield