FROM OUR ARCHIVES: ...But for that One Small Move

If Prof Rajaraman could have found time to get away from writing books on

computer-program ming, fundamentals, design, he may have vied with Alan Truscott

in writing popular bridge books. The present head of the computer science

department at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, was a keen bridge player

in his younger days. Yet, the bridge world’s loss is the computer world’s

gain and specially so for students of computer science in India. Prof. Rajaraman’s

books on computer science are a legend now. Almost any engineering or science

student necessarily goes through a computer language course using his books

written at home in the evenings in the backdrop of soft classical music.

Interestingly enough, Prof. Rajaraman started his career as a hardware man,

on analog computers- way back in the mid-50s from MIT and then Wisconsin

University. In 1963, he joined IIT Kanpur as a faculty member and was there till

1982, except for a year at the University of California. In his earlier days at

IIT K he started a 10-day intensive course in computers. The genesis of his

first book was from his cyclo styled lecture notes at IITK. And yet his first

attempts at getting a book published did not receive a very enthusiastic

response from publishers. They felt that the demand would not be great. However,

the first edition itself was a sell-out. His trump card lay in presenting a

complex subject with simplicity and lucidity. This approach comes through very

strongly in Prof. Rajaraman’s way of looking at life. He still enjoys teaching

the undergraduates in the computer science courses. Despite being involved in a

number of planning activities he remains primarily an academician with no

interest in attaining position or power.

Consultancy is another area he has been quite active in. Using an

indigenously made computer, he implemented a system to reduce billet wastage at

Bhilai Steel Plant. He is also involved in consultancy for encouraging the usage

of computers in rural development, development of CAD facility, and a host of

other projects of a similar nature. He is guiding a project on research on data

architecture and data flow. As he himself says, he is forced to do a regular

time-sharing job with tight scheduling.

He is a little critical of the Indian computer manufacturers. He feels that

they have so far adopted a conservative attitude towards investment on research

activities, and relied more on foreign knowhow. He is, however, quite hopeful of

the Indian spirit of self reliance and proposes a joint research center that can

serve as a guiding star to the Indian companies. Lack of qualified manpower and

incompatible salaries tend to draw people away from the education environment

which is more conducive to research.

Today, there is a proliferation of computer science courses in colleges. But

way back in 1952, when Prof Rajaraman did his Physics Honors from Delhi

University, there wasn’t a single integrated computer science course. India

has come a long way and Prof. Rajaraman and his books have made the

understanding of computer concepts a reality for a vast majority of

undergraduates-to edge them and tip them over into this fascinating world of

computers. Today he is singled out as one of the experts and pioneer

academicians in Computer Sciences. And it is no coincidence that almost every

computer professional in India has been through his books in learning the ABC of

the subject.

This piece was first carried in Dataquest’s 25th issue in 1985