Chakravarthi Padmanabhan Ramanujam is known for his work in number theory and Algebraic Geometry. Like S.Ramnujam, the famous mathematician of India, C.P Ramanujam also had a very short spanned life. Ramnujam had realised at an early age that the spirit of mathematics demanded of him not merely routine developments but he wanted to develop a proper theorem for every given topic. He wanted to make mathematics beautiful.
Chakravarthi Padmanabhan Ramanujam was born on 9th of January, 1938 in the state of Chennai. Among all his siblings C.P Ramanujam was the eldest. He was the son of Chakravarthi Srinivasa Padmanabhan. Right from an early age Ramanujam exhibited an intense curiosity for all things around him. At the age of ten only he had started designing complex mechanical devices with his Lego set. When he was as young as 12 years old he had a Chemistry laboratory in his room where he constantly carried out experiments with different chemicals. Chakravarthi Padmanabhan Ramanujam right from his school days had an extraordinary zeal for learning and was known for embarrassing his teachers with difficult questions.
After completing his school he had joined the Loyola College in Chennai in the year 1952. His specialization in college was Mathematics and he had mastered the subject with great efficiency and vigour.
At the age of eighteen C.P Ramanujam had set out to Mumbai to make his career in Mathematics. In the year 1957 he along with his friend Raghavan Narasimhan and S. Ramanan had joined the TIFR.
It was said that Ramnujam could solve difficult problems with elegance and could also make it simple in nature. This Indian Mathematician of the 20th century also showed an incredible versatility and depth in the subject. During his doctoral days, Ramanujam exhibited exceptional talent and as a result was honoured with the post of Associate Professsor. As a student or it is better said as a mathematician C.P Ramnujam`s thirst for knowledge was never quenched with easy problems, he always wanted to experiment with difficult problems. In the year 1967 when Ramanujam took his doctoral examination he impressed all his teachers and it was concluded that C.P Ramanujam had extraordinary talent in the field of mathematics.
Mathematics was not the sole passion of Ramanujam he was very interested in beautiful pieces of literature including both fiction and non-fiction. He loved reading and always gifted others with books. Music was also very close to the heart of Ramnujam. In fact it can be said that he was a complete music freak and loved discussing music with the music lovers.
C.P Ramanujam loved good food and his other hobbies included playing chess and carom. As far as mathematics is concerned it was a mode of relaxing for Ramanujam. Whenever he felt the urge he would scribble it down on a piece of paper. Ramanujam was also known as a man of generous heart and never hesitated to share his things with anyone who approached him.
The cause of death Ramanujam was largely depression. On October 27th, 1974 at the tender age of thirty seven C.P Ramanujam took away his life in a feat of depression.
