THE ROLE OF MENTORS IN THE LIFE OF THE MATHEMATICAL GENIUS SRINIVASA RAMANUJAN

Abstract

This article, in this the Ramanujan (22 Dec. 1887 – 26 Apr. 1920) Remembrance Centenary Year, presents the role of mentors in the life of Ramanujan. In Dewan Bahadur S. Narayana Iyer, Ramanujan had a friend, philosopher and guide in India, who helped Ramanujan to go to Trinity College, Cambridge and also after his return to India, after a five year sojourn (1914 – 1919) in Cambridge. From the moment he landed in England, till his return, Professor G.H. Hardy was all-in-all, a genuine, true well-wisher. This article details the roles of Narayana Iyer and Hardy as mentors of the natural mathematical genius Ramanujan, a `Swayambhu'.