Raman and Chandrashekhar: Lighting up the Stars

MY THOUGHTS

In honour of National Science Day, I thought a review of the latest book in the Great Minds at Work series, Raman and Chandrashekhar, would be most appropriate.

Raman and Chandrashekhar, written by Arundhati Venkatesh and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan, was a much-awaited book in our home. The previous book in the series by the same author-illustrator team, Ramanujan, is till today, one of our most favourite books and one that is read at least once every six months. So naturally, expectations ran high.

Raman and Chandrashekhar is about Nobel Laureates CV Raman and his nephew Subrahmanyan Chandrashekhar back when Chandrashekhar was a Form 3 student. Having been home-schooled until then and taken directly into Form 3 for his brilliance, Chandra is at the receiving end of barbs and taunts from his schoolmates. He can’t wait for the holidays to begin and for him to put some much-needed distance between himself and school. He detests going to school and longs to study at home and hopes to convince his parents to agree with him. As he gets ready for a fun-filled summer vacation with his seven cousins — Rajakka, Ramudu, Chinakka, Viswam, Bala, Sarada, and Vidya- news arrives of his uncle Raman Chittappa visiting the family for two weeks. They know him as a world-renowned scientist, but are they prepared for his crazy science-themed antics?

Arundhati Venkatesh meticulously researches the lives of both CV Raman and Chandrashekhar and writes a hilarious book that manages to make physics so much fun! Raman Chittappa is on a mission to train children to become good scientists through science demonstrations for the kids. He gets the children to do experiments in light and sound, and while the children show varying degrees of interest, Chandra’s Amma has had enough. Their cooks, Panchu Mama and Thyagu Mama, threaten to quit, and their neighbour Gopalaiyya thinks the family has lost the plot.

I enjoyed that this book managed to paint a visual picture of the interactions between Raman and Chandrashekhar and brought alive the childhood environment of the famous scientist. Priya Kuriyan’s illustrations and Arundhati’s words transport the reader to a Tamil Brahmin conservative household and society of the 1920s. We relate to the petty sibling rivalry, the harmless jokes and pranks, and share their frustration when science gets the better of them. But what we also understand is how science can be made fun and the influence CV Raman had on his nephew’s interest in Physics.

Be prepared for a lot of questions from your child as they get curious about the various science experiments in the book. Older kids will enjoy reading the quotes from famous scientists in the page footer and be intrigued by the math equations near chapter numbers.

These books become instant hits with young readers because Arundhati manages to pack so much humour and childhood fun into every page. Don’t be surprised if you catch your child laughing out loud while reading this book. These books are important because they show children that tough subjects like science can be fun, and Nobel Laureates were just children like them once.

Whether your child has a head for science or not, this is a book you need on their shelf.