Jagadish Chandra Bose: The Reluctant Physicist by Sudipto Das

“The enquirer must follow where he is led, holding the quiet faith that things which appear today to be of no use, may be of the highest interest tomorrow. No height can be climbed without the hewing of many an unremembered step…”

Sir J.C. Bose has been resurrected in many fields recently, more than five decades after his death. In the late 1990s, Bose was acknowledged as one of the inventors of the radio, alongside Marconi. We now know Bose held the first patent for a semiconductor device and he was the first to have used millimetre waves for radio communication, presently used in 5G technology. In plant neurobiology, scientists realized that Bose had claimed plants can feel pain, like animals and humans do, in the early 20th century.

Bose lived during a turbulent phase in India’s history. Closely connected to Swami Vivekananda, Rabindranath Tagore and two extraordinary European women, Bose’s life is a labyrinth of remarkable relationships unexplainable in conventional terms. Both favoured and disfavoured by the English, loved and hated by his acquaintances, mythified and forgotten by his countrymen, Bose was a contronym. This book is an attempt at demystifying the ‘Boseian’ myth

I was talking to my brother about a book review request I’d received and that I was contemplating whether I should take it up or not. I thought it might be a little too scientific for my taste. He asked me what it was about and when I told him, he said that’s the man who was the real inventor of the radio but never got due credit. Well, the thriller lover in me was intrigued. I knew then that this biography would surely include a suspenseful mystery which I had to read.

Sudipto Das covers the life and work of Jagadish Chandra Bose who is acknowledged as the first scientist of modern India. His study in the discovery of millimeter waves and public demonstration of his experiments brought him recognition from his global peers. He strongly believed science should be to serve the people, not for profit, and therefore did not patent his early discoveries.

He is also credited for his ground-breaking work in the field of biology – discovering plants have a nervous system. He famously invented the crescograph to measure plant growth and their response to stimuli.

The book traces Bose’s work in various fields, alongside similar discoveries making the news around the world, and the interest they created in the scientific community at large.

While the details include a lot of scientific history, the author’s account is much like a fiction novel, engaging you with the story, piquing your curiosity, building suspense. Das’s language style is simple in explaining complex scientific concepts, as long as you have a basic understanding of high-school science and history.

Bose’s ties with Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore were an important part of his life. The book covers his association with them in great detail and highlights their contribution to each other’s work. I was surprised to note that despite the influence they had on each other, Bose’s name did not carry as much historical significance as the others.

The author focusses on Bose’s desire for India to be acknowledged as a worthy member of the scientific community. When the first nationalist revolutionary movement for Independence started in Bengal, Bose was working hard to gain resources and opportunities from the government for research. Despite help from his peers, he faced many hurdles in his endeavours due to the British government’s reluctance in allowing Indians to match step.

There were three women who were closely connected to J.C. Bose and helped further his cause. Abala Bose, his wife; Sr. Nivedita, a disciple of Swami Vivekananda who was not only his closest friend but also his collaborator; and Sara Bull Chapman, the mother figure in his life, his sponsor, and co-applicant on his patents. The book details his personal and professional relationship with them and how it pushed him to do more.

A polymath with deep interests in various fields, Jagadish Chandra Bose was considered a ‘lapsed scientist’ as he moved his focus from physics to plant biology. However, his heart always lay in the study of plants which is why, perhaps, he is called the ‘reluctant physicist.

I am far from being a science or history nerd but this fascinating biography had me so enthralled I finished it much sooner than I expected. An insight into one of the finest minds of modern India, this book aims to put the spotlight on Jagadish Chandra Bose’s contributions not only in the field of science but for our history and our people, and in putting India on the global Science Map. An inspiring journey of a discoverer whose pioneering work in the previous century is building the foundations for the next.

Jagadish Chandra Bose: The Reluctant Physicist by Sudipto Das. Published in 2023 by Paper Missile, an imprint of Niyogi Books. This review copy courtesy of the author.

Book 4 of 2024.

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Available on Amazon*.

About Photo: I wanted to create something around waves to mark Bose’s research in the field of electromagnetic waves.

This wave-like pattern is made in Kirigami using a single sheet of 180gsm paper.

About the Author: An alumnus of IIT KGP, Sudipto is a successful entrepreneur, having co-founded two startups. He is also an author, musician, columnist and a speaker at TED events. A violinist, trained in Western classical music, he debuted as a music composer in 2014.
Sudipto lives in Bangalore with his family. History, culture, language, writing and music are of special interest to him. Member of an amateur music band, Kohal, he also enjoys travelling.

You can connect with him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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