Ramanujan From Zero to Infinity
by Arundhati Venkatesh and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan
“Ramanujan From Zero to Infinity” by Arundhati Venkatesh and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. Published by Duckbill. A delightful book about the childhood of Srinivasa Ramanujan, one of the world’s greatest mathematicians, in a vividly imagined historical setting.
Srinivasa Ramanujan is ten years old when the book starts. It is going to be his first day at the Town High School. He has his focus only on mathematics with an unending supply of puns and riddles related to it. His mother Komalam adored and admired his mathematical skills. She attributed it all to Goddess Namagiri and had high hopes on him to achieve great things. Ramanujan sets off to school with his friends Jambu and Nachu excitedly. But he is utterly disappointed when there is an announcement in school by the headmaster that their maths teacher was on indefinite leave. How could they not have maths?!
Ramanju (as Ramanujan is fondly called) and his friends are made to take part in the strangest of mathematical challenges by substitute teachers. From frying fish to lifting iron ingots to jumping from one island to another in the temple tank to measuring the height of coconut trees! Ramanju who hates applied mathematics and any form of physical activity is reluctant to take part in these unnecessary exercises. But he is left with no option by the teachers and his friends who force him to solve these challenges as they can pass the subject only if they solve them. His eyes are set on the K. Ranganatha Rao Maths Prize that will be given to the best student of the year. He is part of the Kumbakonam Krackerjacks team and they are up against the Triumphant Trio comprising of Pacha, Kicha and Saranga (who scored a mark more than Ramanju in mathematics last year!). Read the book to know more about how Ramanju breezes through the challenges and his childhood in the temple town of Kumbakonam.
My 8.5 yr old and I had a fabulous time reading this book. We savoured it slowly enjoying the storyline as well as the characters. There is a fabulous concoction of mathematics, humour, puns and puzzles. To top it there are references to historical incidents peppered throughout the story. We get a glimpse into the lives of people living at the turn of the century in a small town. Not to forget the charming illustrations of course! Such an unusual presentation of Ramanujan’s life compared to what we already knew. I mean who would have expected that Ramanujan was so humorous and cracked so many jokes and puns. He was sporting enough to joke about himself as well.
The characters have just grown on our minds. Though most are fictional, they have unique and charming traits which can’t be resisted by readers. For instance, Nachu is always worried that he will fail or catch the dreaded plague and Kicha is killing mosquitoes expertly and munching on flowers not caring a hoot about what others think. This is a book that will be read multiple times for sure over the years by all of us at home! We loved the way the author has done her research on the subject and used mathematics to create chapter numbers. Every chapter number is a mathematical expression. Even if you can’t solve it, it is the only number used to create the expression and you can exercise your brain cells to solve it to arrive at the same number. If this causes an urge to solve mathematical riddles, there are a couple of them in the book for which solutions have been given at the end. Overall a fantastic MUST READ!
The book is a part of “Great Minds at Work” series which looks at the childhoods of people who made history against the backdrop of the times and places they grew up in. We have a new destination to visit in the form of Srinivasa Ramanujan’s home, whenever we go back to Kumbakonam. My son has been a huge fan of Ramanujan ever since he read the book “Srinivasa Ramanujan Friend of Numbers”. This book has just strengthened his admiration even more.
Recommended Age
The book is apt for anyone aged 10 and above for self reading. It can be read to a slightly younger child (say 8 and above) like we did.
Reasons to Read
For a heady mix of mathematics, puzzles, puns and humour :)
Where to buy from?
An independent bookstore, Funky Rainbow, from where I buy many of my books.
Disclaimer - We received this book from the publisher, Penguin India (Duckbill), for review. Thank you to Greeshma and Mansi, from Penguin, for sending across the book!