Irrational But Well Rounded!

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592307816406286 ….digits after digits arrayed effortlessly in his mind as this student recited the first two hundred and fifty five digits of π to the precision of a computing Machine as the rest of the school watched with a gasp! Whether the rest of them can memorize first five digits or hundred, they get the idea- this mysterious number can go on for ever, never ending, never repeating. This particular student won the π- digit memorization contest that our school proudly conducts every year as part of the π -day celebrations!

Each year, we celebrate π – day a little differently. In the past, we ate apple pie, doodled with circles, played bingo with problems that involves pi or just decorated the room representing the non terminating feature of this number. This year, it falls on a Saturday-and since we are racing to make up school days we missed due to snow, I was not planning to do anything special in my class. But students were quick to remind me today that Saturday is March 14th and wanted to celebrate it! They welcome any distractions wholeheartedly!

In a rare coincidence, it is also Albert Einstein’s birthday. π – Day is hence a tribute to the great scientist! As a high school teacher, I am also aware of a group of students anxiously waiting for this auspicious moment when MIT releases their irrational but well thought out college admission decisions every year. There is a pang of anxiety surrounding this date with certain section of the senior class here in Boston and around the country.

Coming back to the irrational nature of this number, the very existence of it as the ratio of the most symmetric geometric figure's circumference to its diameter has intrigued human mind from early on. How did this number come to exist? Who used it first? What is the context? Answers can be found in this great book: ” pi- the biography of world's most mysterious number”. Rereading this book after few years is my past time this weekend

Written for the general audience without much tedious mathematical processes, this book is an attempt to understand π and its beautiful aspects. The book is divided into six parts- what is π, history of π, calculating value of π, π enthusiasts, π Curiosities, applications of π and π paradox. I was fascinated by how the number evolved into today's form.

The first chapter explains in detail one of the greatest challenges the ancient mathematicians faced – trying to measure a circular figure in terms of a straight line.  The problem they experienced was that the circular arcs and straight line could not find a common measure; there were always something left over when trying to compare these types of measurements. The various approximation of the value of in ancient times was the attempt to find out what is left out from a circular measure to the straight line measure.

One of such early attempts was from Egyptians who tried to make a square with the same area as that of a circle. In Rhind Papyrus, a mathematical handbook from early Egyptians, there is reference to this construction which has fascinated the mathematicians for generations until finally they came up with a proof that it is an impossible construction. If we begin with a circle of radius d/2 and a square with side length 8d/9, we can see that Egyptians were reasonably close to the approximated value of. Babylonians approximated the value of to 3.125 in an attempt to find the ratio of the perimeter of a regular hexagon with the circumference of its inscribed circle.  It was Archimedes who is credited with calculating first most accurately. The symbol π, which is the sixteenth letter in Greek alphabets, was used in 1706 for the first time to represent the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of the circle by an English Mathematician.

The book also deliberates π’s appearance in unexpected places, like in Euler’s identity where it join its distant cousin e to form one of the most beautiful mathematical equations (e^(iπ)+ 1 = 0) or in harmonic series or where, at times it almost appears in places like that of square root of 10 or cube root of 30 or square root of 2+ square root of 3 (the values of these expressions being close to that of π). They are fun to read and experience the wonder where things that are seemingly unrelated fit as pieces of jigsaw puzzle.

Now, there are supercomputers that can approximate the value of π to millions and millions of decimal places. While just reciting or memorizing the digits in this number to some random decimal places don’t mean much in the long run, it is a chance for young children to come face to face with what a non terminating non repeating decimal number might look like and to appreciate the beauty of mathematics in their own ways! Just like Egyptians and Babylonians thousands of years ago, this mysterious number, its disguise in a well round figure with an irrational behavior, will continue to fascinate the mathematicians to come!

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Piscine Molitor Patel aka Pi Patel was born into a family who owned a zoo in Pondicherry, India. As a boy, he was deeply religious and spiritual. He enjoyed his childhood roaming around the zoo and learning about animals. Later the family decided to move to Canada for better prospects. They wind up everything in India and board a ship to Canada. On their way their ship sank. Pi was left alone with a Bengal tiger in a lifeboat- how he survived in a lifeboat with a tiger and made it to the other side of the Pacific Ocean is what this book of Yann Martel about. While telling this extraordinary story of courage and faith, Martel discusses god, plight for survival, kindness, love, solitude and much more- his method of storytelling by weaving a story inside a story is incredible. And at last he leaves it to the reader to draw his own conclusions. This is one of the good books I have ever read.I put the book aside few days ago, but I am still with Pi sharing the pain he endured in that lifeboat in the vastness of the ocean, alone and helpless but trying to find meaning in what he does at that moment. Isn’t this life is about too? Many a time don’t we feel ourselves in this situation? Alone, surrounded by emptiness and only a faint hope remaining?

The transition of Pi from an innocent vegetarian boy who couldn’t kill a fish to use as bait to eating raw fish and drinking blood of tortoise towards the end of his journey is a tragic tale of what one can change to under the circumstances to survive.

Pi’s faith in god is the reason that sustained his life through the ordeal. He believed in himself and did all he could to survive, he tried to find a meaning in his suffering, he went about his daily business in the lifeboat and all the while his faith remained unshaken.

Read this book if you are ready to share the suffering with Pi, but I promise you that your suffering is not going to be in vain. You will look deep into yourself, you will go searching for your god, you will enjoy the humor and above all it will arouse the tender feeling of love, compassion and kindness.

Two States: Story Of My Marriage by Chetan Bhagat

I came across ‘Chetan Bhagat’ few weeks ago in a blog; I was impressed by the story- a man quitting his Investment banking job to become a writer and his internal and external struggles as he started his writing career. And soon I came to know his books were made into bollywood movies and it was then I got “2 States, the story of my marriage” from a friend of mine to read.


Chetan aspired to be a writer because he hoped to bring changes through the mightier weapon. Conversely, the book reflects the drastic changes that already have occurred in my country. Moving in with a classmate and living together in campus was unheard of not so long ago when I was in the campus. (For my sanity I want to believe that sixteen years is a small time frame!) The conflict between the change in moral and social values of our younger generation with that of older generation who resists those changes are the main theme of the book. After sixty some years of independence, it will take a few more generations to break the boundaries of language and culture to assert we are Indians first and any other identity comes only second to this. As always, the first ones who try to break free have to get over the inertia.


Ananya and Krish represent modern India, middle class overachievers who earn in a year what their parents earned in a life time. What strikes me the most is their willingness to go to any length to get the parents onboard with them. As they widen their horizon to the endless possibilities of the new world they conquered through hard work and parental support, they are also held back because of their love and devotion to their parents. Their parents brought them up with great sacrifices, providing everything they wanted. The grateful children don’t like to go against the parents even when many of the customs, values, and tradition of their parents are not relevant anymore in the new world. How Kirsh and Ananya convince their parents of their choice and transcend the boundaries of the region and caste is the plot of the story. As for parents, they have a new struggle to face – while they feel proud of their children’s accomplishments, they can’t digest the price they have to pay for this success they help their children achieve. They can’t let go of their children.


Chetan’s language is crisp and humorous. As you read, you identify with the feelings of the characters and that’s exactly in my opinion, makes this book an irresistible read. You have heard this story before in many different forms, but there is something in the book that makes you want to finish this book in one sitting, at the end you feel as if you have come out of a movie theater watching a successful bollywood masala. I see a great scope for him as a script writer and wish him all the success.