Remembering that genius Sujatha !

Ever heard of - Traité de mécanique celeste ? – for sure I would not have cared to know what it is about but for Sujatha Q & A in Karrathum Perrathum !! Laplace is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time .. .. and there was one person who  made us read about such great people !!

If I were to visualize a Genius, it would only represent the image of Sujatha, the versatile Tamil writer,  the great learned person who introduced sci-fi to tamil readers.  Tamil koorum nallulugam is still reading and appreciating his very many thoughts in various forms that he left behind for the Tamil readers.  His Q & A on Science questions in magazines like Junior Vikatan enlightened the readers making them understand the greatness of Science and more.   Srirangam Rangarajan, aka Sujata was  born at Thiruvallikkeni.  

28/02/2008  did not dawn well .. .. .. morning it was shocking to read the news of passing away of a person whom I liked most – Sujatha (Srirangam Rangarajan)

There are days when something hurts you sentimentally.  It was a day that started in a very melancholic mood. The news that a great genius, a man most reverred by me,  one who was loved by vast multitude of tamils interested in reading – short stories, novels, fiction, question & answers, religion – to capitulate, more so, the man who made us read more ! – the man  who authored of over 100 novels, 250 short stories, ten books on science, ten stage plays, and a slim volume of poems, ceased to exist ! 

Some people felt that his stories had an overdose of science. What Sujatha was trying to do was to kindle the scientific temparament and increase the awareness. Apart from being an author, he extended his writing skills and expertise on science to movies. The first of his were Gayathiri and Priya. In Priya his fictional character Ganesh comes to the screen done by superstar Rajinikanth but without vasanth (because the actor who was supposed to play vasanth did not get passport). He was also a co-producer for the banner MediaDreams which went on to produce critically acclaimed bio-pic, Bharathi, of the great Tamil poet Bhaarathiyaar. He was working on Shankar's Robot before passing away on Feb 27, 2008.   

The law of gravitation is often considered greatest of Newton’s achievements, in reality, less worthy of than his foundation for dynamics. Its chief merit lies in the clear perception of application of the law to the smallest articles of matter. By Newton’s own admission, the law of inverse squares as applicable to such masses was within the reach of any mathematician years earlier.   

If one were asked to name the two most important works in the progress of mathematics and physics, the answer would undoubtedly be, the Principia of Newton and the Mécanique Céleste of Laplace. In their historical and philosophical aspects these works easily outrank all others, and furnish thus the standard by which all others must be measured. The distinguishing feature of the Principia is its clear and exhaustive enunciation of fundamental principles. The Mécanique Céleste, on the other hand, is conspicuous for the development of principles and for the profound generality of its methods. The Principia gives the plans and specifications of the foundations; the Mécanique Céleste affords the key to the vast and complex superstructure.  

Traité de mécanique céleste (transl. "Treatise of celestial mechanics") is a five-volume treatise on celestial mechanics written by Pierre-Simon Laplace and published from 1798 to 1825.  In 1842, the government of Louis Philippe gave a grant of 40,000 francs for a 7-volume national edition of the Oeuvres de Laplace.    

Newton laid the foundations of Celestial Mechanics, at the close of the seventeenth century, by the discovery of the principle of universal gravitation. Even in his own hands, this discovery led to important consequences, but it  required a century and a half, and a regular succession of intellects the most powerful, to fill up the outline sketched by him. Of these, Laplace himself was the last, and, perhaps after Newton, the greatest; and the task commenced in the Principia of the former, is completed in the Mécanique Céleste of the latter. In this last named work, the illustrious author has proposed to himself his object, to unite all the theories scattered throughout the various channels of publication, employed by his predecessors, to reduce them to one common method, and present them all in the same point of view.  

Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (1749-1827)  was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summarized and extended the work of his predecessors in his five-volume Mécanique celeste.  This work translated the geometric study of classical mechanics to one based on calculus, opening up a broader range of problems. In statistics, the Bayesian interpretation of probability was developed mainly by Laplace.  The Laplacian differential operator, widely used in mathematics, is also named after him. He restated and developed the nebular hypothesis of the origin of the Solar System and was one of the first scientists to suggest an idea similar to that of a black hole, with Stephen Hawking stating that "Laplace essentially predicted the existence of black holes".       

   

Laplace is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time. Sometimes referred to as the French Newton or Newton of France, he has been described as possessing a phenomenal natural mathematical faculty superior to that of almost all of his contemporaries. He was Napoleon's examiner when Napoleon graduated from the École Militaire in Paris in 1785. Laplace became a count of the Empire in 1806 and was named a marquis in 1817, after the Bourbon Restoration. 

My all time favourite is story written by Sujatha ~  En Iniya Iyanthira (என் இனிய இயந்திரா) the plot opens up  at an era  where India is ruled by a dictator called Jeeva. In his rule, the population is kept under control by killing elderly people when they cross the prescribed age limit. Everyone is allotted a unique name with two letters by Government. Every Citizen of the country must strictly adhere to the rules of Jeeva and admire, adore him. The country is in total control of Jeeva's Robots. People are identified only with their social security numbers and all the details are fed and controlled by Master Computer at Capital City. On a New Year eve, Nila, a homemaker is very delighted for having the Government's permission letter to have a boy baby from Population Control Board. She intimates the news to her husband Sibi.   At this juncture Sibi vanishes and pet Jeeno, the super intelligent robot dog steps in her life.  The story evolves on the plot to throw the dictator and the intelligence of pet dog Jeano ! 

~ that with some alterations needed for movie and for hero Rajnikant was Shankar directed ‘Enthiran’ – the real hero being mastermind Sujatha and more impressive were the acts of Jeeno.  In a song, you will hear reference to Isaac Asimov, who thought beyond his time on robotics.  I, Robot is a collection of science fiction short stories by American writer Isaac Asimov.

 

Everything about Sujatha is Science, knowledge, learning and inspiration.  He is no more but every now and then he has made think of him, and there lies his genius

 

An avid fan of genius writer Sujatha
Srinivasan Sampathkumar
28.2.2o24