Malaika Berry
SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN: FRIEND OF NUMBERS* by Priya Narayanan. Illustrated by Satwik Gade Tulika Publishers, Chennai, 2019, 26 pp., 225.00
November 2020, volume 44, No 11

Among the various mathematicians that India has given birth to, the name of Srinivasa Ramanujan has to be in the forefront. In this attractive picture book, the author Priya Narayanan has tried to tackle the very complex thought process of a genius in terms that a child can relate to.

This picture book provides a very detailed insight as to how Ramanujan thought and saw the world around him. It would appeal to a young child because as it appears in the story, Ramanujan simply saw patterns in everything he saw, including numbers. It was these very simple patterns that stretched his imagination and made him work hard to achieve with numbers. When Ramanujan had to move to England’s Cambridge University, he had his apprehensions, yet he remembered his mother’s simple advice to listen to his heart and be strong enough to do what his heart says. This is something that can help young people dream big and achieve the goals they set for themselves. Ramanujan did not find it easy to embrace all the changes that moving to a new country brought about. Even so, he did not give up.

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