Srinivasa Ramanujan Story for Kids: The Boy Who Loved Numbers

Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of the greatest mathematicians the world has ever known. He grew up in a small town in Tamil Nadu with little formal training in advanced mathematics, yet he discovered thousands of results that still amaze mathematicians today. His life is a story of passion, perseverance and the joy of numbers.

For children, especially those who love puzzles and patterns, or those who find maths hard, Ramanujan's story is inspiring. This article tells the Srinivasa Ramanujan story for kids in simple words, explains the famous number 1729, and shares fun number activities to try at home.

A boy who loved numbers

Ramanujan was born on 22 December 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu, and grew up in Kumbakonam, a temple town. His family was not wealthy; his father worked as a clerk in a cloth shop. From an early age, Ramanujan showed an extraordinary talent for mathematics. He amazed teachers and classmates by solving problems far beyond his age.

As a teenager, he came across a book called A Synopsis of Elementary Results in Pure and Applied Mathematics by G. S. Carr. It listed thousands of results, often without full proofs. Ramanujan worked through it on his own and then began exploring far beyond it, writing his discoveries in notebooks.

Struggles at college

Ramanujan won a scholarship to college, but he was so absorbed in mathematics that he neglected other subjects and failed his exams, losing the scholarship. He tried again at another college and failed again. For several years, he lived in poverty, continuing his mathematical work and searching for a job.

Many children find this part of the story surprising. The great mathematician failed exams! It's an important lesson: marks in one exam don't decide how far you can go. Passion and hard work matter.

Lesson: Failure in exams doesn't mean failure in life. Keep pursuing what you love.

A job, and a famous letter

With help from people who recognised his talent, Ramanujan got a job as a clerk at the Madras Port Trust. He kept working on mathematics in his spare time. Encouraged by friends, he wrote letters to famous mathematicians in England, sharing some of his results.

In 1913, he wrote to G. H. Hardy, a leading mathematician at Cambridge University. Hardy was astonished. Some results were known, some he couldn't believe at first, and many were completely new. He realised Ramanujan was a genius and invited him to Cambridge.

Life in Cambridge

In 1914, Ramanujan travelled to England. It was a huge change: cold weather, unfamiliar food and a very different culture. As a strict vegetarian, he often cooked for himself. Working with Hardy and J. E. Littlewood, he published many important papers. Hardy helped him write formal proofs, while Ramanujan brought brilliant ideas and intuition.

In 1918, Ramanujan was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, one of the highest honours in science, and was only the second Indian to receive this honour. He was also elected a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge.

The taxi-cab number: 1729

One of the most famous stories about Ramanujan took place when he was ill. Hardy visited him and mentioned that he had come in taxi number 1729, which seemed a rather dull number. Ramanujan immediately replied that it was a very interesting number: it is the smallest number that can be written as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.

1729 = 1³ + 12³ = 1 + 1728

1729 = 9³ + 10³ = 729 + 1000

Today, 1729 is known as the Hardy-Ramanujan number.

Return to India

Ramanujan's health had become poor in England. He returned to India in 1919 and passed away in 1920 at the age of just 32. Even during his illness, he kept working, and his last letters to Hardy contained new ideas, including what are now called mock theta functions. Mathematicians are still studying his notebooks today, and his work has found applications in areas he could never have imagined.

The lost notebook

Ramanujan's story has a fascinating mystery too. In 1976, more than fifty years after his death, an American mathematician named George Andrews was searching through papers in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. There he found a bundle of pages in Ramanujan's handwriting, filled with formulas from the last year of his life. It became known as Ramanujan's "lost notebook". Mathematicians have spent decades proving and understanding the results in it.

Children love this part of the story: a treasure hunt that took half a century! It shows that good ideas can last long after the person who had them.

Faith and family

Ramanujan was deeply religious and devoted to his family, especially his mother. He is said to have credited the goddess Namagiri of Namakkal, his family deity, with inspiring his ideas. For older children, this is a nice opportunity to talk about how people find inspiration in different ways, whether through faith, nature, music or simply quiet time to think.

Ramanujan's legacy

• National Mathematics Day: India celebrates his birthday, 22 December, as National Mathematics Day.

• The notebooks: His notebooks have been published and studied by mathematicians for decades.

• Films and books: His life inspired the book and film The Man Who Knew Infinity.

• Inspiration: He remains a symbol of how talent can come from anywhere.

Lessons from Ramanujan

Follow your passion

Ramanujan loved mathematics so much that he worked on it even in hard times.

Failure is not the end

He failed exams but became one of the greatest mathematicians in history.

Ask for help

Writing to Hardy changed his life. It's okay to reach out to people who can help. Encourage your child to ask teachers questions when they are stuck, rather than worrying about looking silly.

Teamwork matters

Ramanujan's ideas and Hardy's skill at proofs made a great partnership, and each learned from the other.

Curiosity everywhere

He saw beauty even in a taxi number. Our guide on how to encourage curiosity in kids has ideas to nurture this.

Fun number activities inspired by Ramanujan

• Cube hunt: Find 1³, 2³, 3³ up to 12³ and check the 1729 sums yourself.

• Magic squares: Ramanujan created magic squares as a boy. Try a 3×3 square where each row, column and diagonal adds to 15 (use the numbers 1 to 9).

• Number patterns: Explore patterns like 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 (each number is the sum of the two before).

• Birthday maths: Make up interesting facts about your child's age, birthday or house number. Is it odd or even? Can it be split into equal groups?

• Maths day celebration: On 22 December, play board games, puzzles and maths games as a family.

For younger children just starting with numbers, our guide on how to teach numbers to kids is a great place to begin.

Ramanujan for different ages

• Ages 5 to 7: "A boy who loved numbers so much he discovered new maths that amazed the world."

• Ages 7 to 9: Tell the full story and try the magic square.

• Ages 9 to 12: Explore 1729, cubes and the idea of mathematical proof.

For more great Indian minds, see Indian scientists every child should know, the APJ Abdul Kalam story for kids and the C. V. Raman story for kids.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Srinivasa Ramanujan?

Ramanujan was an Indian mathematician, born in 1887, who made extraordinary contributions to number theory and other areas of mathematics, largely through self-study.

Why is 1729 called the Ramanujan number?

Because Ramanujan noted that 1729 is the smallest number that can be written as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.

When is National Mathematics Day?

National Mathematics Day is celebrated on 22 December, Ramanujan's birthday.

Did Ramanujan go to university?

He attended college but failed exams in non-maths subjects. Later, he worked at Cambridge University with G. H. Hardy.

How old was Ramanujan when he died?

He passed away in 1920 at the age of 32.