Even if you aren’t interested in Mathematics, or Ramanujan, you will be seduced by the descriptions in the book – pre-independence South India with its rigidly observed class and caste distinctions(and the author scrupulously differentiates between North and South India during the British Raj, declaring that “If the North (of India) was lik Europe during the Enlightenment, the South was, religiously, still rooted in the Middle Ages. Second, the book is a mind-blowing piece of social commentary.

Hardy himself is a colourful, intriguing figure – cricket aficionado, firebrand atheist, fierce anti-war commentator, prolific and profound writer (A Mathematician’s Apology), a man who almost gave up Mathematics because of the rigid exam system that he later helped reform, a genius who was completely unenvious of genius in someone else – nay, who encouraged, supported and nurtured it until it bore luscious, abundant fruit. Their relationship is similar to Graham Greene and R.K.Narayan’s (explored in Narayan’s autobiography, My Days). Then there’s Hardy, the man whose name is linked most with Ramanujan’s. Characters – Komalatammal (Ramanujan’s mother), nurturing yet domineering, the biggest influence on her son’s life – Seshu Iyer, Narayan, Sir Francis Spring, well-wishers all, in equal parts awed and bemused by the genius in their midst – and of course, Janaki his 9-year-old child-bride, almost a non-entity before he leaves for England but a beloved helpmeet once he returns ill and dying. The amount of research that has gone into it is obviously quite large, yet the book is easy to read, even entertaining. The Man Who Knew Infinity lets us see its subject not only as an individual, but also as a product of, and both victim and triumph of, early 20th Century India and England.įor one, it’s comprehensive. Nor can I, or anyone, know if the book itself is 100% accurate in depicting Ramanujan’s life – in any posthumous biography, there is bound to be a certain amount of speculation and guess-work involved.īut Richard Kanigel’s book – at 359 pages no metro read – does a good job of portraying Ramanujan, the man – and equally important, his times. I’m not sure the movie is based entirely on the book of the same name. Buy The Man Who Knew Infinity at the best price. None of these things, according to the book The Man Who Knew Infinity, ever happened. The trailer for The Man Who Knew Infinity shows a slim, fair-skinned Ramanujan bidding a touching farewell to his young wife, then a suit-clad Ramanujan at the heel-end of kicks and blows from racist Englishmen.

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