The rebellious maths teacher

In 1924 in the Madras Province, Kothandarama Iyengar and Seshammal welcomed their firstborn, P.K. Srinivasan, whose gift for teaching showed early, as he tutored classmates in Panagal Park, while still a school student himself.

After graduating with a degree in mathematics from Loyola College in 1947, inspired by Gandhiji’s call to “Go Back to the villages”, he traded his father’s hopes of a “bureaucrat life” for an uncertain path as a village teacher. His father had sacrificed property to fund his children’s education. Yet at the age of 23, Srinivasan chose to pack two trunks — one filled with khadi clothes, the other with his beloved books — and left the comforts of Madras for the unknown hardships of rural life, and reached Lakshmi Naickenpalayam, a small village in Coimbatore district.

In his five-year village sojourn, Srinivasan undertook a self-anointed mission to offer intellectual freedom to young rural minds. Recognising the widespread fear of mathematics, he set out to change it with creative, hands-on learning methods and small maths exhibitions. After moving across villages, he served as the first headmaster of Gandhi Kala Nilayam School at Karattumadam, before deciding to return to Madras.

In 1952, Srinivasan returned to Madras and joined the Muthialpet high school near the harbour as a mathematics teacher. His students, many from underprivileged families and fishing communities, saw in him a teacher who not only guided them academically but also personally visited their homes, when needed, to ensure they stayed in school.

He believed “there are no dull students, but only dulled students”, and challenged the colonial “Macaulay mindset” that promoted rote learning over creativity. One of his students, R.G. Chandramogan, founder of Hatsun Foods, recalled Srinivasan’s message: “My teaching is not to make clerks out of you, but leaders and change-makers.” Chandramogan took this message to heart, eventually becoming a Forbes-listed billionaire.

Srinivasan was deeply inspired by, and intrigued about, Srinivasa Ramanujan, whom he called “a genius among geniuses”. When the Indian government announced a stamp commemorating Ramanujan’s 75th birth anniversary in 1962, Srinivasan saw an opportunity. He formed a group of “old boys” and embarked on a successful mission to unearth personal letters, accounts, and memorabilia, portraying Ramanujan as an inspiring figure and a champion of the underdogs. On the day of the stamp release, Srinivasan led a 300-strong procession of students and teachers to Mount Road Post Office to purchase first-day covers. This tribute effort gained international attention, with Robert Kanigel recounting it in his book The Man Who Knew Infinity.

In 1965, a Fulbright Fellowship took Srinivasan to the U.S., where he showcased his innovative teaching methods. Invited to address the National Council of Teachers in New York, he presented Ramanujan as a “model student” of mathematics. The U.S. welcomed Srinivasan, and was ready to celebrate his means, methods and maverick brilliance as a teacher. He was offered a permanent job, and the opportunity to bring his family to the U.S. But Srinivasan chose to return to India, believing his own country needed him more.

Back in India, he resumed his role at the Muthialpet school and completed the first-ever biography of Ramanujan. In a grand ceremony, statesman C. Rajagopalachari released the volumes, presenting the first copies to Janakiammal, Ramanujan’s widow.

In 1975, Srinivasan embarked on a new adventure, this time in Africa for seven years as a Senior Federal Education Officer in Nigeria, training teachers who often lacked even a basic understanding of mathematics. He earned their respect and admiration by transforming their presumptions about themselves, proving to the African community that race played no role in the prowess of the intellect.

Back in India, he launched “Operation Taking Ramanujan To School” through the Association of Math Teachers of India. He pioneered the concepts of “Math Expos” and “Math Labs” to make learning more accessible. With support from Chandramogan, educator A.T.B. Bose and N. Ravi, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, Srinivasan opened the Ramanujan Museum in Royapuram in 1993.

For eight years, Srinivasan lived all by himself in a small room in Royapuram, busy organising workshops across the country, creating maths kits, and low-cost no-cost teaching aids. In 1999, he traded his khadi attire, for the first time in life, for a green Ramanujan T-shirt gifted by Bruce Berdnt, an American mathematician. By his final years, Srinivasan had published 30 books in English and Tamil on maths education. On June 20, 2005, after a brief illness, he passed away.

His birth centenary was celebrated on November 4 in Chennai, which was attended by former ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, who said, “It would be a fitting thing to declare November 4, the birth anniversary of P.K. Srinivasan, Maths Teachers’ Day.”

(Ko Sesha is a Tamil film lyricist and screen-writer, and the grandson of PK Srinivasan.)

koseshaofficial@gmail.com