Vishnu Vasudev Narlikar FRAS (26 September 1908 – 1 April 1991) was an Indian physicist specializing in

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...

. The Centre for Theoretical Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia has instituted the annual "''V. V. Narikar Memorial Lecture''" in memory of him.

Personal life

Narlikar was born in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is ...

, India on 26 September 1908. His father Vasudevshastri Narlikar was a pandit in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

and delivered

pravachan Pravachan, or Pravacana () is a term for any exposition of a doctrine or treatise, or to the recitation of a scripture or text in Jainism and Hinduism traditions.Monier Monier WilliamsSanskrit English Dictionary with Etymology Oxford University P ...

s. Vishnu was the youngest among three brothers. He studied at the Vidyapeeth High School and

Rajaram College Rajaram College, Kolhapur ( Marathi: राजाराम महाविद्यालय, कोल्हापूर) is a government college affiliated to Shivaji University in Kolhapur. It offers junior college-level courses such as 11th ...

in Kolhapur. Vishnu continued with his education despite his father's demise and secured the fourth rank in the

Matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

exam. He won scholarships and studied at the

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1823, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the ed ...

and Royal Institute of Science in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. He stood first in the B.Sc. exam. Upon receiving his B.Sc. degree from the

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate, state-owned, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the university had 711 affiliated colleges. Ratan Tata is the appointed h ...

in 1928, Narlikar continued studies at the

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

in England, where he passed the Mathematics Tripos in 1930. His studies at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

were sponsored by the J. N. Tata Endowment Scholarship. He also received a loan from the Kolhapur State, with a condition that he would be employed with the Kolhapur State upon his return to India. Vishnu Narlikar became a Star Wrangler after completing the Mathematical Tripos at

. He was also a recipient of the Isaac Newton Studentship and the Rayleigh Prize. In 1932, Narlikar married Shridevi Navare of

, but she died due to illness within few years. He then married Krishna () Huzurbazar, sister of V. S. Huzurbazar, in 1937. Vishnu and Sumati had two sons, the astrophysicist

Jayant Jayanta ( sa, जयन्त, "victory"), is a character who appears in Hindu literature. He is the son of Indra, the king of the devas (gods), and his wife, Shachi (Indrani). He has a sister called Jayanti. He appears in various Hindu scri ...

and scientist Anant.

Career

He returned to India in 1932 as professor of Mathematics and Head of the Department of Mathematics at the

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...

in Varanasi at the age of 24.

Madan Mohan Malaviya Madan Mohan Malaviya ( (25 December 1861 — 12 November 1946) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement. He was president of the Indian National Congress four times and ...

, the founder of the

, repaid the debt which Narlikar owed to the Kolhapur State, thereby making it possible for Narlikar to work at the university. He became a professor of mathematics at the University of Poona in 1966 and retired in 1973. From 1960 to 1966 he served as the chairman of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission. He was elected a fellow of the

Royal Astronomical Society (Whatever shines should be observed) , predecessor = , successor = , formation = , founder = , extinction = , merger = , merged = , type = NG ...

in 1931. He served as the president of the

Indian Mathematical Society Indian Mathematical Society (IMS) is the oldest organization in India devoted to the promotion of study and research in mathematics. The Society was founded in April 1907 by V. Ramaswami Aiyar with its headquarters at Pune. The Society started ...

from 1981 to 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Narlikar, Vishnu Vasudev 1908 births 1991 deaths People from Kolhapur 20th-century Indian physicists Indian theoretical physicists Banaras Hindu University alumni Marathi people Presidents of the Indian Mathematical Society Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society Scientists from Maharashtra