VAIDYESWARAN RAJARAMAN - A true legend to whom much is owed by computing and engineering India

Dr. VAIDYESWARAN RAJARAMAN
Sep 8, 1933 - Nov 8, 2025

   Hailed as the father of digital computing in India and later as a pioneer of India's foray into parallel and supercomputing, Dr. Rajaraman lived a life exemplifying the best of Indian science establishment and its undaunted spirit of high achievement in spite of great odds.  Indeed, much has been written by him and on him ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaidyeswaran_Rajaraman ). This is just a brief personal homage to that great man.

   My contact with Dr. Rajaraman was through Dr. Kicha Ganapathy, one of his very early students in CS, who brought his attention to a book I was writing titled 'Innovation by India for India - the Need and the Challenge' making a case against 'Make in India' of others' inventions but in favor of accelerating Indian inventions owned by India.  Kicha had asked Dr. Rajaraman if he could read and comment on the manuscript, and also write a foreword if he liked it.  The initial reaction of Dr. Rajaraman was that he was too busy to be able to do that, but did ask Kicha to ask his friend to send him the list of chapters with a brief description of each chapter.  I was soon asked to contact him with the pleasant message that he would indeed like to read the book in its entirety.  Later he did acknowledge reading it and resonating with many of the themes in it as well as quite a few recommendations given therein.  I did not have the nerve to ask him for a Foreword for fear of being turned down.

   After a time lapse of a year and a half, I visited him at IISc with a printed hard edition of the book, and he was quite complimentary about the book and asked me how long it took me to write it.  I told him it involved nearly two years of gathering my thoughts together with supporting material, but the actual writing took only a couple of months, during which it occupied all my time.  Then came his shocking question, "Why would a mathematician like you who could have written a few good papers during that time waste it on this book; who would read it given today's state of affairs here?"  Naturally, I was taken aback, and I gave him my honest answer, namely, that to me this was a way of repaying India for what it had given me by way of a solid foundation in mathematics and probability, I strongly believed that if Indian administrators and scientists  would embrace innovation with a business focus, the nation would indeed join the club of developed nations quickly, and I wanted to start at least a discussion along that line with a set of straw proposals of mine.  I also added that compared to many lives that were sacrificed for India's freedom, my two years hardly mattered.  That prompted him to say on his own that he will review the book for the Consulting Magazine that had a good readership among decision makers in India, and that would be better for me than any foreword or a review in a scientific journal he could have written.  To my surprise, he followed through quickly and later sent me a copy of his review as well.  Many changes along the lines of my thinking have since happened in India, and it is not for me to say if my writings had any role in it, for the nation has an army of fine thinkers of its own.

    So, when I visited Bangalore again two years back, I wanted to visit Dr. Rajaraman again to thank him personally and also to take his blessings as an elder and as a much admired professor.  The meeting at his home was a memorable one, with kind hospitality offered by him and his wife and interesting conversations not only related to the book and sciences but also Carnatic music, a great passion of mine.  It left many lasting impressions on me captured by some great sayings such as: (a) a full pot does not spill or make noise; (b) age is but a number; (c) learning has to be a continuous lifelong activity; (d) satisfying one's own intellectual curiosity is the highest driver of good science, and many more.  It became clear that his amiability, equanimity, and contentment were obviously not a result of any recognition or awards, but of the greater values with which he seems to have led his life.

    Dr. Rajaraman has had a long life productive to its very end.  Man's life is not judged by its length, but by the accomplishments that have embellished it and the lives it has touched.  Dr. Rajaraman has an army of intellectual descendants who have made India great in computing and information technology; to them he has served as their mentor and more importantly as a role model.  Though not a student of his and though not having had the good fortune of being close to him in any way, I am honored to be in that league of people influenced heavily by him. 

    May Dr. Rajaraman attain the greater eternal peace that he has earned through a life well lived!
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A free pdf of my book is available for download at:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_YwcDddMAsYQi1aN2NWUVgwUzA/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-gQa3FEiJsesPYLNlDoCFWg