Vashishtha Narayan Singh, a mathematician from the small village of Basantpur in Bihar, remains an unsung hero whose life was full of tragedy. Born in 1942, he excelled in academics, topping both his BSc and MSc exams in successive years. Singh went on to collaborate with prestigious institutions like NASA, IIT, and the University of California, Berkeley. However, his life took a dramatic turn due to mental illness, shifting his trajectory from a promising successor to Ramanujan into a figure of unfulfilled potential.
The son of a police constable, Singh’s academic journey began at Netarhat School in Jharkhand and continued at Patna Science College. Recognising his extraordinary talent, the college principal advanced him rapidly through the academic ranks, and he earned his PhD in 1969.
Impressed by his genius, Professor John L. Kelly arranged for Singh to pursue further studies in the United States at the University of California, Berkeley. After nearly a decade abroad, Singh returned to India, where he taught at renowned institutions like IIT Kanpur, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) in Kolkata.
There are claims that Singh once challenged Albert Einstein's theory of relativity and played a key role in critical calculations for NASA during a computer failure, possibly contributing to the Apollo moon missions. His work earned him global recognition, though much of his legacy remains overshadowed by his personal struggles throughout his life.
Unfortunately, his career was derailed by schizophrenia, leading to the dissolution of his marriage and the decline of his professional reputation. Eventually, he was institutionalized for treatment. At one point, he mysteriously disappeared during a train journey and was later found living in poverty in his home village.
Singh received medical care at NIMHANS in Bengaluru and the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) in Delhi, with support from actor Shatrughan Sinha. After some recovery, he returned to academia, taking up a position at BNMU Madhepura. Despite his brilliance, Singh’s potential remained largely unrealized. He passed away on November 14, 2019, at 72, and was posthumously awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to mathematics.
