Courtesy: http://apnabihar.blogspot.com/2005/12/great-mathematician.

html

Dr. Vasistha Narayan Singh. Who is the the greatest Mathematician alive. Who travelled a lot in
journey of his life from a typical undevloped villagein Bihar to USA, village primary school to Netarhat,
Science College Patna and then University of California, Berkley, the life of name and fame to the life of
mental disturbance and poverty. The mathematician who challenged works of Great Scientist Albert
Einstien. It was related to his Theory of Relativity(E=MC2).

Yes it's a matter of shame for all Indian's

His Village - Basantpur,(12 Km. from ARA), Bhojpur, Bihar

• Family - Poor Family, Father Constable in Bihar Police.

• Class X - Netarhat Vidyalaya - Gold Medallist in his passing year
• Class XII - Patna Science College

He is the record holder for Bihar Board in Matriculation Examination and Bihar Intermediate Education
Council for Intermediate Exams Sciene College.

In earlymid 1960's Bihar College of Engineering Patna, was in much better shape and world class faculty
members used to visit the College. There was some Mathematics Conference in Bihar College of
Engineering during mid 60's where Prof John L. Kelley, HOD University of California, Berkley(UCB) as
also present.

He had presented a list of 5 most difficult problems in Mathematics or so. Vasistha Narayan Singh solved
all of them and that too in different ways.

This Berkley professor got impressed and requested him to come to Berkley for further study. Vasistha
Narayan Singh told him that it would be difficult for him to come to US on his own. HOD promised all
the help and kept the word. HOD arranged for visa and flight ticket and got him into UCB.

He took good care of Vasistha Narayan Singh at UCB as Vasistha Narayan Singh is a shy person. Vasistha
Narayan Singh did not let down HOD and did his PhD with style and went on to work for NASA.

His Ph.D Dissertation Title was : Reproducing Kernels and Operators with a Cyclic Vector.

Following is the link of web page of UCB(Berkley) stating details of his Ph. D in 1969.

http://math.berkeley.edu/index.php?
module=mathalumman&MATHALUM_MAN_op=sView&MATHALUM_id=1148

In the meantime, Family was asking him to come to India and get married. Vasistha Narayan Singh had
nationalistic dreams and thought of doing his matribhoomi, Bharat, proud; rather that stay on in US as his
HOD and NASA wanted him to do.

Please note that 60s was the time of great Social and Student Unrest in USA as Vietnam War and
Hippy/LSD Movement was at its peak. UCB was the headquarters of this movement and drugs were
commonly used to expand consciousness! (Watch Forest Gump to get some idea) Beetles also a product of
this generation though they started in UK but became big in US.
It was rumoured that He had an affair with the daughter of his HOD at UC Berkely and wanted to marry
her but parental pressure and idealistic dream of doing India proud took precedence and he came back to
India. It is also rumoured, that he had started taking some drugs when he was in Berkley and it continued
when he came back to India.

He came back and his parents got him married to an Army Officer's Daughter with some good dowry.
This army officer was from Jaipur. Due to reasons unknown, marriage did not work out and his wife left
him after sometime to never come back again to him. This left him heartbroken and made his condition
worse.

He returned to India and worked at ISI Cal, IIT K and TIFR Bombay. He had a tough time at ISI Cal and
was disillusioned at other places also.

Soon after that, He lost his mental balance and was admitted to Mental Hospital, Kanke, Ranchi. But, Dr
Jagannath Mishra got him out of Kanke as he had to get some other person admitted there, in the VIP
ward. He did go to Merutt hospital and after that he ran away. He suffers from Schizonfrania. He has been
treated by NIMHANS Bangalore also but not much details are available. His family did not have enough
money to support his treatment and Bihar Govt threw him out of Kanke which made his condition worst.
It appears that he fled from Merut Mental Hospital and was untraceable for many years until someone
from his village saw him as a ragpicker in Chapra in mid 90s and informed his family.

His elder brother and others went to cross check the facts and went to see him. They were happy to see
him alive but were sad to see his misery. He was brought back to his village in late 80s or early 1990s.
There was a crowd of political bigshots and I think, Laloo was also one of
the leaders to have gone and met him.

He suffers from Schizonfrania. He has been treated by NIMHANS Bangalore also but not much details are
available. His family did not have enough money to support his treatment and Bihar Govt threw him out
of Kanke which made his condition worst.

Lets us try understand the situation of Dr. Vasistha Narayan Singh. He has been suffering with
schizophrenia. To understand this disease and to understand cure of this disease, you must watch the film
"Beautiful Mind". Dr. John Nash presently a professor at Princeton Unieversity had the same disease.

Medicational help is not much of help in this diesease. He need a proper environment to come back to
normal life. Age is also a factor in recovery. A proper nutrition and life long medication can re-vitalize his
life. But he needs a research related assignment and academic environment to be normal; besides having a
loving family. Mentally, he is still living in the age of 20-30, though he may be 60 + as of today.

Even he was not in limelight since a long time. We got attention by a News in Dainik Jagran of his
felicitation of Bank of India Employees Association(ARA).
 Department of Mathematics
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