THRISSUR: Jayaram N Chengalur, who will take charge as the 10th director of the prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, was very studious right from childhood days, recall his close relatives at his ancestral village in Cherpu.
Chengalur is the second Keralite after Prof M G K Menon to be posted as the head of the TIFR, which was once rated as one of the best global centres for maths and physics, said founder-director of Nehru Planetarium and former scientist at the TIFR V S Venkatavaradan. Chengalur is currently working as the dean of the Pune-based National Centre for Radio Astrophysics. His areas of research range from cosmology, interstellar medium, extragalactic astronomy and fundamental constant evolution, among others. “It is a huge honour and great responsibility. I’m certainly honoured to be selected for the post,” Chengalur said over phone from Pune.
Chengalur belongs to a family which has produced several people who have made a mark in academics, literature and judiciary. Though born and brought up in Pune, Chengalur is in regular touch with his relatives. His wife Kshama was in TCS and they have two children.
“We are waiting for his arrival to celebrate. He used to come for most of our family get-togethers,” said Rajeevan Chengalur, his cousin.
Chengalur obtained his BTech from IIT-Kanpur in 1987 and did PhD from Cornell University before joining as a post-doctoral fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy.
Rajeevan said Chengalur is an unassuming person, and would prefer a cycle or an auto to go around, even when he comes to Kerala. He is a good swimmer and is seriously into mediation, he said.
Asked how he has been able to reconcile his pursuit of material science and meditation, mostly associated with spiritual fulfilment, Chengalur said, “I don’t think they are contradictory. I’m not sure whether you can call it spiritual. When you are doing Yoga, you are doing something for your body, and when you meditate you are doing something for your mind. During meditation, you work with the mind. I’m not a religious person, though I don’t go to the extreme position of an atheist as well.”
