I first encountered the name of Dr. Jayant Vishnu Narlikar in the 1970s, while attending Netarhat School. My geometry teacher, Shri Mangal Deo Pande, would speak with immense pride about Dr. Narlikar’s globally recognized research. Interestingly, Dr. Narlikar’s father had been Shri Pande’s own teacher at BHU, Varanasi. At the time, Dr. Narlikar was pursuing his PhD with Dr. Fred Hoyle in Cambridge, and his work on the Steady State Model of the universe, a compelling alternative to the prevailing Big Bang theory, was a leading area of research.
In 1981, as a National Science Talent Search Scholar, I participated in a summer camp at TIFR. Having chosen Astrophysics, General Theory of Relativity (GTR), and Cosmology as electives during my Master’s in Physics at Delhi University, the summer camp coordinator assigned me to Dr. Narlikar for a project. I was instructed to meet him in a specific room at 3 PM.
Having revered him as a renowned scientist since my school days, and in the pre-internet era, I had no idea what he looked like. I instinctively assumed he would be an elderly gentleman. Precisely at 3 PM, I knocked and entered. To my surprise, a relatively young man (he was 43 at the time) greeted me with a smile. I initially mistook him for Dr. Narlikar’s assistant, on the verge of asking, “Where can I meet Dr. Narlikar?” when he graciously introduced himself: “You must be Prabhat Ranjan, I am Dr. Narlikar!” That moment saved me considerable embarrassment.
Over the next few weeks of our interaction, I was consistently amazed by his ability to simplify complex concepts. He would even join us for dinner in the TIFR canteen, offering opportunities for informal conversations on a variety of topics. After my summer camp concluded in 1981, I moved to the University of California, Berkeley. The following year, in 1982, Dr. Narlikar visited the Berkeley campus to deliver a talk. Many of us Indian students attended, and afterwards, a group of about five or six of us invited him to dinner, which he readily accepted. As we walked to the restaurant, he excitedly shared news of his wife having recently earned her PhD at a later stage in life. We spent a delightful evening together.
I returned to India in 1986 after completing my PhD and joined the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata. When Dr. Narlikar visited Kolkata on a later occasion, I requested a meeting, and we again spent some time together, along with others present.
In 2013, I relocated to Delhi to head TIFAC, India’s Technology Think Tank. During my initial period of staying in various guest houses, including the India International Center, I happened to spot Dr. Narlikar at dinner one evening. I approached him, and we spoke for a few minutes. That was the last time I saw him in person. Later, I tried to invite him as Chief Guest for a conference in Patna, but he politely declined, citing health reasons that prevented him from traveling.
Today, upon hearing of his passing, all my memories of him flooded back. I felt compelled to jot them down, to forever cherish these moments.
May his soul rest in peace, and may he continue to inspire countless young scientists.