Dr C. V. Raman - India’s world famous scientist

Genius is the eye of intellect and the wing of thought. One such genius was Dr C V Raman who was much ahead of time in his generation, a pioneer in thought and action. He was one of the greatest scientists our country has produced. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his phenomenal discovery in Physics. It was named after him as ‘Raman Effect’ to immortalize his memory. Not only this, he received Matteucci Medal awarded by the Science Society of Rome in 1928, Hughes Medal in 1930 by the Royal society of London and a knighthood by the British Government in 1929. Many Indian and foreign universities bestowed honorary doctorates on Dr Raman in recognition of academic achievements of the highest order. Besides membership of several prestigious research institutes and societies all over the world, he received the International Lenin Peace Prize in 1957. He was conferred upon in 1954 our country’s greatest honour, the Bharat Ratna.


Born on the 7th November 1888, at Tiruchirapalli, Raman was brought up in an environment of science and literature, music and other fine arts. His father was a Physics teacher and the young Raman took to science like a fish to water. Needless to say that Raman was a brilliant student throughout his academic career and his accomplishments made the contemporary academicians sit up and take notice. His inquisitive nature enabled him to ponder over various aspects of the universe. His researches in optics and acoustics were carried out while he was a student in the Presidency College, Madras. He modified 'Melde’s theory on sound' also published a paper on ‘Diffraction of Light’ in 1906.When Raman was only 19, he became as member of the Indian Association of Cultivation of Science. As a scientific career in those days was not very rewarding in the monetary sense, Raman joined the Indian Finance Department in 1907 but carried on his first love by spending long hours in the Association’s laboratory. He became the secretary of the Association in 1919. He became professor of Physics at Calcutta University in 1917.


In addition to his teaching duties, Raman persisted with his research and experiments with great intensity. Raman derived great pleasure from teaching the avid students who would listen to his research-oriented lectures with fascination. His interactions with the students evoked new questions and stimulated attempts of their possible solutions. Scientists like Meghnad Saha conducted research under his guidance. Raman always exhorted his students to go in for individual research. He stimulated their reasoning faculties and encouraged them to use indigenous equipment, if imported apparatus was not available. He used to tell the students that the equipment that brought him the Nobel Prize did not cost more than Rs 300; what is required is the inner desire and inspiration to succeed which no amount of money can buy. He indeed acted as a friend, philosopher and guide to his students. One encouraging word from him was enough to inject a new life in the sagging spirits of his researchers. One of his students, experimenting with an X Ray tube of one kilowatt of power, was informed that an English researcher was experimenting on the same problem with a five kilowatt X Ray tube. When Raman came to know of his student’s predicament, he advised him to use a ten kilowatt brain on the problem, instead of worrying on his low power equipment! His magical words must have instilled in the student a new zest for his research.


Raman had a very agile and enquiring mind. Every one can see but very few can perceive. It is the acute perception of ordinary things that some time gives rise to rare discoveries and inventions by a genius like Raman. He studied how bowed string instruments like the violin and sitar could produce harmonious musical sound. His interest in acoustics led to the significant discovery in 1918 that Mridangam and Tabla, unlike other drums, possess harmonic overtones. On his visit to St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, in 1921, where even a small whisper produced at one point in the tower can be heard with clarity at a distance at another point. This effect produced by the reflection of sound aroused his scientific urge to probe into causes of this phenomenon. His research on sound came in for recognition all over the world. He contributed an article in 1928 on the theory of musical instruments to the 8th volume of the Handbuch der Physik, a German encyclopaedia of Physics.

Raman was captivated by any thing that was colourful. Butterflies, gems and flowers of various hues, impelled him to ask basic questions like why things look beautiful, bright and colourful. His investigations made an assessment of the effects produced by X Rays on infrared vibrations in crystals exposed to ordinary light; study of spectroscopic behaviour of crystals; study of structure and properties of diamonds and the optical behaviour of numerous iridescent substances like labradorite, pearly feldspar, agate, opal, and pearls. Dr Raman did research on a wide spectrum of topics like sound, light, rocks, gems, insects, butterflies, sea-shells, tees, flowers, etc. He also conducted investigations in other fields like atmosphere, weather, physiology of vision and audition. There appears to be hardly any topic that escaped his observation. His ambit of research was very large. He tackled all sorts of scientific problems, big or small. He often referred to himself as the general practitioner of science!

In 1928 came the moment of his reckoning. During a sea voyage to Europe in 1921, he observed with amazement brilliant blue colour of the Mediterranean Sea. He wondered at the blue colour of the glaciers and the sky. On his return to India, he started research on the diffusion of sun light in its passage through water, transparent blocks of ice and other materials. He examined the reasons of the blue colour of the sea. Was the blue colour due to reflection of the blue sky? A lot of thought and research went into securing a logical answer to this intriguing question. After prolonged experimentation and deliberations, Raman came out with his conclusion: the blue colour of the sea could be the result of scattering of sun light by water molecules. He submitted a research paper to the Royal Society of London as also an exhaustive article on the molecular scattering of light soon after He used monochromatic light from a mercury arc and the spectroscope to study the nature of diffused radiations emerging from the material under examination. His discovery was named as Raman Effect.






A Raman Spectrometer in the British Museum is used to identify the gemstones decorating a medieval reliquary.

He was awarded the Nobel Prize of Physics in 1930, which marked the pinnacle of his scientific achievements.


Showing his Nobel citation to Donald S. Connery, an American journalist, in Bangalore, circa 1960.


Dr Raman had an ardent desire to promote scientific research in the country. In 1933, he became the Director of Indian Institute of Science. He established the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1934. He founded a research institute in 1943 in a palatial building surrounded by gardens and trees, near Bangalore. It was named as the Raman Research Institute. He donated all his property to this institute. He used to say that a Hindu is supposed to go to the forest for Vanaprasth in old age but instead of going to the forest, he made the forest come to him. He continued his research work at the institute at the fag-end of his illustrious career.



In his study at the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, circa 1949.


Even at ripe old age of 80 plus, he organized a week long conference of scientists in September 1970 when he spoke of new theories on hearing and ear-drum. This came to be his last lecture as he passed away on the 21st November 1970.


Sir C.V. Raman during a lecture at the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, circa 1959.

An article published in the Hindu on Aug 03. 2004 talks of the Nobel Laureate’ house called Panchvati, at Malleswaram in Bangalore. The ‘Professor,’ as every body in the family refers to Dr Raman, was a voracious reader. His collection of books at Panchvati includes a large number of volumes on a variety of subjects. Panchvati has trees all around. He used to wonder about the vibrations that were produced by the chirping of birds he loved so much. His house is said to have 90 nests of rare birds. The Professor used to peer for hours at the butterflies in the garden. He ‘talked with such passion and devotion about all things concerning science and nature that it was a pleasure to listen to him.’ Sir Raman was a true Rishi for he saw the real world with his mind. There is some thing in the environment of Panchvati that inspires one to higher things. The Raman Trust is working on making it a museum with a laboratory and children activity center attached to it.

Dr Raman told his young audience in Ahmedabad on 22nd Dec. 1968, while delivering a detailed dissertation on why the sky is blue: “We have certain inherent powers given to us-observation and thinking-we must use them, the sharper they become, the more powerful they become and ultimately some thing will come out of it so that humanity is benefited, science is benefited.”

Thus, Raman was verily a versatile genius who reveled in unraveling the mysteries of nature. His life was full of events and achievements. He was indeed a Guru and a Rishi who not only accomplished marvelously in his scientific pursuits, but also encouraged the budding scientists to excel in their fields of studies.