Inspirations from Scientists of Manipur : Dr. Chandrakant Aribam
Downloadable Book Extract – Serial No : 9
Research Institute Of Science & Technology (RIST) *
Dr. Chandrakant Aribam
Snippets of a Journey
Dr. Chandrakant Aribam
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali.
I studied in the Don Bosco High School, Chingmeirong, Imphal. When I was around thirteen years of age, my mother, Paonam Shyama, who was a Lecturer of Chemistry at the Oriental College, and I would solve problems in Algebra and Arithmetic together. Many times, I was stuck, however, I discovered the joy in solving mathematical problems. She also told me about logarithms and exponentials, and also showed how to use the logarithmic table.
I remember spending long hours trying to solve a particular problem. My father, Aribam Rajeshwar, an ophthalmologist, gave me enough space to discover myself, and allowed me to pursue what I wanted to. At every stage of my education, my aunt, Paonam Mema, a professor of Political Science, also supported me. Apart from my high school teachers I also had the privilege of asking lots of questions to Oja Tomba and Oja Thoiba.
Around the age of thirteen, there was a craze of skating among many of our friends. One of my uncles gave me an old pair of skates, which I got repaired and started enjoying skating too. Since then, skating has remained a hobby. Around this time, my mother borrowed the book “A High School Geometry” by Hall and Stevens, from one of her colleagues, and I remember how enjoyable it was to solve the problems in this book.
I remember going to the annual book fair organized by the Manipur Central Library with my father, and it is there that I found some other interesting books. In fact, I used to go to this Library, sometimes accompanied by two other friends, Tarun and Malemnganba, to explore the books there.
There I found a book describing the Seven Bridges of Konigsberg Problem. Much later, away from Manipur, I was deeply hurt when I heard that the old Central Library caught fire. During my high school, I met many friends, some of whom gave me a lot of encouragement, and who would discuss and solve mathematical problems together.
After my high school, I went to the Kendriya Vidyalaya at Langjing, for the senior Secondary School. Sometime later, my mother got me in touch with Oja H. Jayantakumar, Department of Mathematics, D. M. College.
I still remember how openly he shared some interesting non-routine problems from the Hungarian Problem Book. This got me interested in the mathematical Olympiad problems. I also met L. Shanta, who in currently in the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Delhi, around this time and we spent a lot of time together solving these kinds of problems.
Much later, I met Jayanta Manoharmayum, Department of Mathematics, Sheffield University, UK, who also shared many interesting topics and also told me a few things about mathematics.
Often I visited the library at the University of Manipur to go through the problem sections of the “American Mathematical Monthly”. My mother also got me in touch with Oja Prof. M. Ranjit Singh of the Department of Mathematics at the Manipur University.
I went for my B.Sc. to the Ramjas College in Delhi. At some points of time, my parents suggested if it was not better to go for a degree in engineering. My brother Sanad and my sisters Jina and Awarmistha also supported my decision to go for higher studies in Mathematics. In Delhi, I got exposed to a larger number of people and initially got overwhelmed by it.
What a pleasure it is now to recall the times that I spent, the hikes, the failures, and the trips and tours that I made with my friends Hemant, Abhishek, Chaman, Amarjit and Birjit, in the hot summers or the cold winters of North India.
Download Inspirations from Scientists of Manipur - Serial No : 9 here ( 294 KB - PDF)
* Ngangkham Nimai Singh sent this Book Extract to e-pao.net
The sender can be contacted at nimai03(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
This article was webcasted on 01 June 2024
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