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During a long sea voyage to Europe in 1921 as a representative of the Calcutta University at a science meet, C.V. Raman, the young physicist, wondered why the water in the Mediterranean Sea was such a dark shade of blue. The answer to this apparently simple question, which he finally unraveled, won him the world's most prestigious award - the Nobel Prize.
Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman was possibly the greatest physicist this country has ever produced. His pioneering research on the molecular scattering of light, the phenomenon that causes changes in the nature of light when it passes through a transparent medium - solid, liquid or gaseous - culminated in his getting the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930. Raman's interest in physical optics appeared to have derived, in large measures, from his fascination with the aesthetics of color. He conducted a series of experiments on the sun rays passing through water, transparent ice blocks and other media. For these experiments, Raman used a mercury arc and a spectrograph. He obtained some new lines in the spectrum on passing the sun's rays through different substances. These lines were later called 'Raman Lines' and the discovery, the 'Raman Effect'.

Born in an orthodox South Indian Brahmin family in 1888 at Thiruvanaikkaval near Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, Raman proved to be a brilliant student. He passed his matriculation at the age of 11, and at 15 graduated from the Presidency College, Madras. Raman wanted to go abroad after his graduation, but a British doctor disqualified him on medical grounds, saying that he would not be able to withstand the rigors of the English climate. After completing his Master's degree, Raman took up a job in Calcutta as an assistant accountant general. But his interest in science did not decrease. He would spend most of his spare time in the mornings and evenings in the laboratory of the Indian Association for Cultivation of Science.
After ten years of government service, Raman resigned to work as a professor of physics at the Calcutta University, despite the fact that the University paid him a lower salary than the government did. It was at the University laboratory that Raman did the most important research of his life.
The world was not slow to recognize the importance of C.V. Raman's achievements. "When the Nobel award was announced, I saw it as a personal triumph, an achievement, a recognition for a very remarkable discovery, for reaching the goal I had pursued for seven years. But when I sat in that crowded hall and I saw the sea of western faces surrounding me, and I, the only Indian, in my turban and closed coat, it dawned on me that I was really representing my people and my country. I felt truly humble when I received the prize from King Gustav; it was a moment of great emotion, but I could restrain myself. Then I turned round and saw the British Union Jack under which I had been sitting and it was then that I realized that my poor country, India, did not even have a flag of her own - and it was this that triggered off my complete breakdown." He was so moved by emotions that tears started streaming down his face.

Raman was proud to be an Indian. Till the day he died, he did not give up his traditional Indian turban in favor of a European hat. In those days, going abroad was a rare event, and people were always curious to learn about one's foreign experiences. "Did you not find it embarrassing to move around London in a turban?" Raman was asked.
"Young man," he replied, "I will tell you about a little incident that happened while I was in London. One evening I went to the Royal Institution to hear a lecture by Lord Rutherford. I arrived a little late and by that time the lecture had started. And so I quietly slipped into one of the back rows and sat there. Suddenly, Lord Rutherford looked at me and said, 'Professor Raman, why are you sitting there all alone in the back row? Come up here to the front.' I then went and sat in the front row with all the famous British scientists. After the lecture, I asked Rutherford, 'Professor, how did you recognise me? This is my first trip to England and we have never met so far.' Rutherford replied, 'Well, I have read your papers and when I saw a person in the audience wearing a Madrasi turban, I knew it must be you.' So young man, now you tell me what is wrong with a Madrasi turban?"
In 1933, Raman left his professorship in Calcutta for the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. There he served as its director until 1937 and as head of the physics department until 1948.

The life of Sir C. V. Raman had been one of unswerving devotion to the pursuit of knowledge, and of unceasing service to the cause of science and the promotion of research in India. When the end came on November 21, 1970, his mortal remains were consigned to the flames in the campus of the Institute itself, as per his wishes. No plaque or monument marks the spot - just a solitary tree. Next time you go to Bangalore, visit the Institute, stand before the tree and pay homage to this great son of India.
Raman did some outstanding research on vibrations and sound, and on the theory of musical instruments. He studied how musical instruments like the violin and the veena, could produce harmonious music. Raman's studies on the violin were quite extensive and resulted in a remarkable book. Running to 158 pages, it is entitled, On the Mechanical Theory of Vibrations of Musical Instruments of the Violin Family, which is referred to by acousticians even today, 75 years after it was written!
A copy of Raman's monograph on the violin has an inscription by the great violinist, Yehudi Menuhin. It says, "In memory of my visit to the Institute, to an authority on sound, from an ignorant violinist."
Raman had a particular fascination for the mridangam, a South Indian drum, an accompaniment for a Carnatic music recital. He had even worked out the mathematics of its vibrations. One can only marvel at his experimental skill in producing vibration curves of great precision and sharpness much before the condenser microphone was invented. He extended his studies to the 'whispering galleries', where the architectural and acoustic features of several remarkable structures, such as the Gol Gumbaj in Bijapur and the Victoria Memorial in Calcutta, were discussed. Raman became such an authority on the subject of vibrations and the theory of musical instruments, that he was invited to contribute an article to Handbuch der Physik, the German Encyclopaedia of Contemporary Physics.
Raman loved trees, flowers and above all, his rose garden. All the best roses that Bangalore nurseries could supply were bought and planted in his garden. He admired them like a child would admire a new toy.
Colour fascinated Raman to no end, and was the subject of many of his studies. He wa3 particularly fond of the magnificent display of the tail feathers of the peacock. Raman also collected diamonds, which he called the 'Prince of Solids'. He was deeply interested in the physical investigation of the diamond. The need for diamonds, in all sizes, shapes and qualities, became so great that Raman began acquiring them by all possible methods, like purchasing, borrowing from shops and wealthy people. He organised them into a museum and would turn the ultraviolet lights on and off a hundred times, enjoying the sight like a child. Raman was convinced that the intensive study of diamonds could be of importance to physics and chemistry.

Raman was instrumental in establishing the Indian Academy of Sciences in 1934, to encourage talented scientists in their research. He pioneered scientific journals on the lines of the journals published by the Royal Society, London. The dozen or so journals published by the Academy today, trace their origins to Raman's times. "Do not allow the Academy's journals to die - for they are sensitive indicators of the quality of science done in the country. They will tell us whether science is really taking root in the country or not," he used to say. He would arrange popular lectures in schools and colleges to persuade the youth to devote themselves to science. His ability to talk on scientific subjects in simple language was such that at least a handful of India's scientists today state that they took to science because of Raman. One of his ambitions was to secure a prominent place for India on the scientific map of the world. He wanted opportunities to be created in the country for scientists, so that they need not look outside for inspiration. "The essence of science," he said, "is independent thinking and hard work, not equipment."
Raman retired from the Indian Institute of Science when he was 60 years old. But he did not retire from the field of science! He founded an institute where he could continue with his research even after retirement. The institute has come to be called the Raman Research Institute. The land for the Institute came as a gift from the then Maharaja of Mysore. For the first year at the Institute, there was no electricity, but that did not deter Raman from carrying out several optical experiments with sunlight, a few lenses and a pair of polaroids.
Several honours were conferred on Raman, including the Bharat Ratna in 1954. In 1924, he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society, London. In 1929, the year before he received the Nobel Prize, he was conferred the knighthood by the British Government. His name now changed to Sir C.V. Raman. Later in life, Raman was simply called Sir C.V. He also won the International Lenin Prize in 1957. When he was offered the Vice-Presidentship of India, Raman asked, "What shall I do with the 'ship'?"