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The street where Ramanujan lived
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Srinivasa Ramanujan lived on Swami Pillai Street. But not many of its present residents were even aware of his birth anniversary
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SWAMI (PILLAI) Street in Triplicane is varied in character. Modern apartments stand cheek by jowl with structures that have gone to rack and ruin. These time-worn buildings, barely latching on to existence with their creaking jambs and leaking roofs, give a flavour of a time when mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan lived there.
Significantly, the house he lived in - Summer House (as it was called then and now house no: 32) - is halfway between modernity and tradition. Nondescript, it has accommodated present-day architectural styles without compromising on its original structure - as in its early days, the house has a long passage that takes you to a corridor, which leads into poky little rooms. Resembling a dovecote, it accommodates people in rooms and portions that are as big as nest holes. Ramanujan was figuring out his numbers theory in one of these claustrophobic rooms! (In point of fact, the mathematician was also living as tenant on a few other streets in Triplicane. Notable among them are Hanumantharayan Koil Street and Saiva Muthiah Street. A house in Hanumantharayan Koil Street bears a plaque, which proclaims that Ramanujam lived there in 1913.)
Though "his room" has weathered the ravages of time, his memory seems to be lost in the shadows of change. This past Monday, the mathematician's birthday went without much acknowledgement, let alone a celebration among the residents of Swami Pillai Street. Some of them who have known or heard about him have either left the world or moved out of the locality.
During his stay in Summer House, Ramanujan paid rent to Ranganatha Chettiar, who owned a few houses, besides Summer House, on this street. In time his children sold the houses, and the ownership has been changing hands since then. Today, only one of Rangnatha's grandchildren - 72-year-old Mohambaram Chettiar - has a house here. Another old family, whose members could have said "how-do-you-do" to the mathematician, is that of Dr. Vedantham, a licensed medical practitioner. As compassionate as he was brusque, Dr. Vedantham would dispense treatment for free. His sons - lawyers Srinivasan and Aravamudhan and pharmacist Krishnamachari - who are much advanced in years today, turned their back on this street many years ago.
While most of its residents are blasé about Ramanujan, there are some discerning souls for whom Swami Pillai Street still resonates with the number-juggler's genius. This genius has spawned a few more, one may safely believe, for historian Neelakantha Sastri, librarian Ranganathan and (former) Accountant General of India Rajagopala Naidu also lived on this street.
PRINCE FREDERICK
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