The National Book Trust’s India@75 series brings forgotten figures into the limelight  Premium

From woman scientist Anna Mani to unsung freedom fighters, the books are works of scholarship and storytelling intended to inspire the younger generation and reflect on momentous journeys

One of the walls of the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum Innovation Hub in Thiruvananthapuram has photographs of famous scientists including Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, C.V. Raman, S. Chandrasekhar, Homi Bhabha, and Stephen Hawking. In the long wall of honour, meant to inspire children, Marie Curie is the only woman scientist who finds space.

The Matilda effect and its impact on women in science is neither new nor unknown. A decade ago, neuroscientist and writer-researcher Asha Gopinathan had coordinated the Cafe Scientifique, a series of science workshops in the same city, in which a young audience fell silent when asked to name a woman in science.

However, when a lone voice uttered Marie Curie, Gopinathan felt the need to study and unravel the life of two trailblazing scientists from Kerala: Janaki Ammal, a botanist who pioneered plant breeding, and Anna Mani, a physicist who made India self-reliant in meteorology, solar radiation, and wind energy.

Two women scientists

It was not that people had forgotten the two women scientists; they simply did not know about them. This was Gopinathan’s attempt to document the struggles and achievements of women scientists who have been overlooked and denied public recognition.

Her first book, Anna Mani: The Uncut Diamond, was released at the New Delhi Book Fair earlier this year, marking a turning point in changing public perception about women in science. The book brings to light the genius, dedication, and perseverance of Anna Mani. It establishes her as the weather woman of India, who designed and standardised more than 100 weather instruments.