Bhagwan Chandra Bose, the Deputy Magistrate of Mymensingh was a nationalist himself, who built Bangla Zilla Vidyalaya. There he sent his little son, Jagadish. It was here that the seed of patriotism was sown in the clay of the childhood mind. The talented Jagdish went on to study physics at Cambridge and London universities and later joined the Presidency College in a teaching position free of charge. That was his protest. His protest against inequality. If he will be paid half of an English professor's salary, why should he take it? I don't want a salary, he said. The rebellion bore fruit. After three years, the college authorities finally offered him equal pay.
A spirited Abala Bose was thoroughly impressed by the tenacity and strength of character of the poor, talented boy. After they marry, Jagadish begins a dream flight with Abala as his new source of strength.
His innovations began in a small laboratory, with minimal materials. It was here that the microscopic millimetre-length waves were born. The use of these waves will later go on to revolutionize the world, through television, satellite, smartphone or Wi-Fi technology. The laboratory also witnessed the first evidence of the existence of electromagnetic waves and the consequent origin of radio broadcasting.
Jagdish, busy inventing scientific equipment one after another, eventually wanted to spread the hunger and motivation for experimental science. To this end he wrote science books in Bengali, rooted in the Bengali district school of his childhood. The lessons of nature that started there completed a full circle when proved the existence of life and life-cycle in plants. As a result, the world learnt what ‘bio-physics’ was.
He is the scientist and inventor Acharya Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, a beloved friend of Kabiguru Rabindranath, who impressed even Sister Nivedita. The Vajra symbol of the Basu Vigyan Mandir is his appropriate symbol.
NABC 2023 is honoured to present a tribute to the legend through an ensemble of multimedia and dramatic stage presentations.
