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Music in the Midst of Noise: Life and Times of Vikram Sarabhai

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Celebrating the 100th birth anniversary of the Father of Indian Space Programmes, in light of the recent successful launch of the Chandrayaan 2.

 

On 12th August 2019, India and her space industry celebrated the 100-year birth anniversary of Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, the founding father of ISRO, and a rare combination of scientist, innovator, industrialist and visionary.

An alumnus of Cambridge University, Sarabhai founded the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad followed by the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad, and spearheaded the establishment of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

Not only this, Dr Sarabhai realized the need for an institution of management and initiated the establishment of the second Indian Institute of Management (at the time) in India in Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Sarabhai, a man beyond his times, was often questioned about the relevance of space exploration by a developing country, one that was still struggling to feed its masses; to which he replied by saying, “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society.”

In 1974, a moon crater was named the Sarabhai crater by the International Astronomical Union in Sydney, Australia. It is a small, circular crater with an 8 km diameter, located on the northeast part of the moon.

Earlier last month, the ISRO launched its first lander-rover mission from India to land on the moon, study it and relay information back to India. The lander that is carrying the rover has been named ‘Vikram’ after the ISRO founder.

Every student has a great deal to learn from the philosophy and path-breaking vision of Sarabhai; more so from his famous quote, “He who can listen to the music in the midst of noise can achieve great things.”

Feature Image Credits: The Hindu

Bhavya Pandey

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