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Unkempt and uncouth, he would visit offices, showing everyone his frayed notebooks and telling them that he knew mathematics and could do a clerical job. But no one could understand what was written in the notebooks and his applications for jobs were turned down.
Luckily for him, he at last found someone who was impressed by his notebooks. He was the Director of Madras Port Trust, Francis Spring, and he gave Ramanujan a clerical job on a monthly salary of ₹25. Later some teachers and educationists interested in Mathematics initiated a move to provide Ramanujan with a research fellowship. On May 1, 1913, the University of Madras granted him a fellowship of ₹75 a month, though he had no qualifying degree.
Explanation:
Ramanujan found it difficult to lead a normal life like others as he was not recognized for his work. His passion for Maths was not well received, as he had no particular degree. He had to survive, feed himself, and take care of himself. He was left alone to fend for himself. He did not concentrate more on dressing and hygiene. What little time he had, he spent on solving Maths. He, therefore, looked unkempt and uncouth.
An Unkempt man
In an attempt to get a clerical job, he kept showing his frayed notebooks to everyone he knew. But no one could match the level of Ramanujan's intellect in Maths. It is an example of how certain things do not happen in life, not because one is not capable, but just because one is simply not understood. All his applications are turned down as one understands his complicated theories. It proves to be too difficult for them, but they turn it down because they do not understand its value.
After a long struggle, Ramanujan was finally recognized by the Director of Madras Port Trust, Francis Spring. The Madras port was a place ships were docked. It showed that no man experiences sorrow throughout his life or happiness all through life. Thus Ramanujan's sorrows came to an end and a ray of hope shines in his life. His first salary working as a clerk in the port was \(₹25\). It was a good amount before the independence. However, he moved further in his life when he worked really well with the finances and calculations and gained recognition from teachers and educationalists. Finally, his hard work paid off when the University of Madras granted him a fellowship of \(₹75\) a month, though he had no qualifying degree. A fellowship is when the student could conduct his research and still get paid. He was awarded the fellowship on May \(1\), \(1913\), after many years of not getting recognition and being ignored.
Port
Words with Difficult Meaning:
| S.No | Words | Meaning |
1 | Unkempt | Not well cared for |
2 | Uncouth | Not clean; Socially unacceptable |
3 | Port | A place where ships are docked |
4 | Fellowship | A scholarship for conducting research in a subject |
5 | Clerk | A low rank officer |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2019). Term-2 English Standard-9. From Zero to Infinity (pp. 81-93). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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