Hello Bookdragons!
It’s been a while since I posted. How have you all been doing? I cannot believe we are already 2 months into this year! What have you been reading lately? How has life changed over the last two years? Let me know in the comments down below! 👇
I have been gradually picking up my pace with reading this year. Interestingly, a lot of the books that I have been reading lately are of fantasy, sci-fi and non-fiction genres. If you have been following my blog for these past 5 years, you would know how much I used to be shy of these genres! Guess, my reading preferences have become much more diverse now. I have been a lot more active on my Bookstagram account. If you are on Instagram, make sure to follow me to never miss out on the amazing books that I have been talking about there! 😊
I read one of Sudipto Das’s books titled The Aryabhata Clan back in 2018 and remember being really impressed by the author’s writing style. So, when the author launched his latest book, Jagadish Chandra Bose: The Reluctant Physicist, I absolutely had to read it. Given that I come from a science background and that I am a Bengali; these were two more additional reasons of picking up this book!
In an ironic turn of events, the first scientist of modern India did not survive long either in the memory of his countrymen or in the mind of the scientific fraternity across the world. Perhaps Sir J C Bose paid the price for defying the norm. His life is a story of defiance, breaking stereotypes, shattering boundaries and finding a grand unity in everything that baffles us with its apparent diversity. Einstein, Romain Rolland and G B Shaw were all fascinated by him, but not as much by his science.
Termed a “lapsed scientist” during his lifetime and resurrected many decades after his death, Bose was the co-inventor of radio, the world’s first patentee of semiconductor diodes, later avatars of which are at the core of all electronics today, progenitor of the world’s first millimetre wave wireless communication system predating 5G by a century, and undoubtedly the forefather of the interdisciplinary fields like biophysics, plant neurobiology, and plant cognition.
Bose’s life was intertwined with India’s during a very turbulent phase while she readied herself for freedom, awakening and uniting her folks. Intriguingly connected to Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and also to two extraordinary western ladies, one a revolutionary Irish nun who chose India as her battleground and the other a bohemian wealthy American socialite who dedicated her money and life to the promotion of Indian science and culture, Bose’s life is a labyrinth of many a remarkable relationship unexplainable in conventional terms – there too he remained defiant. Both favoured and disfavoured by the English, loved and hated by his acquaintances, mythified and forgotten by his countrymen, Bose was himself a contranym, evoking contradictory emotions depending on the context.
This book is an attempt at demystifying the “Boseian” myth.
If one belongs to the science background, it is inevitable that they will come across the inventions and researches of one of India’s first modern scientists, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose. While he had added a lot of credibility to his name, his contributions in the fields of botany (particularly plant physiology), physics and biology are largely overlooked even to this day. With a lot of firsts to his name, Bose is known for founding the first premier interdisciplinary research centre of Asia in 1917, The Bose Institute.
“I dedicate today this Institute—not merely a Laboratory but a Temple. The power of physical methods applies to the establishment of that truth which can be realised directly through our senses, or through the vast expansion of the perceptive range by means of artificially created organs…”
While funding was a major issue in the Bengal Presidency, Bose was adamant to carry on with his experiments and even invented his own instrument, the crescograph, used to measure plant response to stimuli and later went on to prove that plants have a definite life cycle, a reproductive system and can feel pain.
Bose being a part of the Bengal Renaissance period, had the opportunity to fraternize with people of his likes including Rabindra Nath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Prafulla Chandra Roy to name a few which undoubtedly influenced his nationalistic views and his career as a scientist.
This autobiography of The Reluctant Physicist discusses the significant timelines in Bose’s career, his research and inventions, noteworthy people like Sister Nivedita and others, his growing nationalistic ideals and the establishment of the Bose Institute. Set against the backdrop of British Raj, the author has highlighted the stark contrast between the treatment of Bose and his fellow scientists like Einstein by the then British colonizers.
The author has done a brilliant job at capturing Sir Bose’s life and his contributions as a scientist. While the writing is intelligible, if one is not familiar with the technical terminologies, it may be a bit challenging to grasp the importance of Bose’s contributions. However, given the resources that we have today, it shouldn’t be difficult to learn more about these terms.
While I was aware of Bose’s discovery of plant life, it was interesting to learn exactly how the experiments took place and what were the actual findings. It was fascinating to find how Bose’s distinct contributions at micro levels have now given rise to technological advancements like the wi-fi and the internet! The Bengal Renaissance was a remarkable period of transformation and Bose’s contributions can be considered the foundational stepping stones to some of the world’s greatest technologies.
If you love non-fiction and learning more about the eminent personalities, then this autobiography of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose is for you. Apart from that, if you are a science student or belong to the field of science, it is never too late to learn about Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose since very little information is shared about him in the academia.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An author, musician, columnist, and a speaker at TED events, Sudipto Das is an alumnus of IIT Kharagpur. A violinist, trained in Western classical music, he debuted as a music composer in 2014. History, culture, language, and travelling are of special interest to him. Member of an amateur music band, Kohal, Sudipto lives in Bangalore with his family. He is the author of The Ekkos Clan, The Aryabhata Clan and co-author of The Broken Amoretti.
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