The autobiography by C. N. R. Rao.
Climbing the Limitless Ladder – A Life in Chemistry by C. N. R. Rao
World Scientific Publishing Company , 2010 | Paperback, 222 pages | ISBN: 9814307858
"I have worked seven days a week all through the years eating lunch at home only on Sundays.... the modest success that I may have had in research is mainly due to hard work," Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra Rao says in this autobiography.
If the Guinness World Records has an award for research output it should go to Indian chemist C N R Rao with nearly 1400 papers to his credit that have been cited 40480 times; 42 books written or edited and over 100 PhDs supervised. The doyen of modern Indian science and one of the founding fathers of solid-state and materials chemistry is recipient of 48 honorary doctorates, a fellow of almost all the science academies of the world and has advised five Indian prime ministers including Manmohan Singh. "Climbing the Limitless Ladder" traces the events that shaped the research journey of CNR — as he is known — in a developing country, besides providing a glimpse of his candid observations in the corridors of power.
Still active at the age of 76, CNR no longer rushes to his laboratory directly from the airport as before but feels "guilty on days when I am unable to put in a few hours for research." He strictly goes by the principle that he should be in his lab for at least 20-22 days a month.
Born in Bangalore in 1934 to orthodox parents, CNR did not become a scientist by accident. The decision was made on the day he heard Nobel physicist C. V. Raman giving a 'fantastic' lecture at his school in Basavangudi. This made an extraordinary impression on the boy and he "made a subconscious decision to become a scientist."
After schooling and college in Bangalore, CNR went to Benaras Hindu University (BHU) for his M.Sc. in 1951. He published his first paper based on his M.Sc thesis at age 19. "The publishing virus that attacked me in my youth seems to have had a powerful effect." The virus became more active after he reached 60. Since the beginning of 2000, he has been publishing over 45 papers a year guided by his hero Michael Faraday's philosophy that "if anything is worth doing it must be worth publishing."
While BHU made CNR realize his research potential, Purdue University, where he got his PhD, and University of California at Berkeley, that he joined as post-doc, allowed it to blossom. By 1959 he had published over 30 papers. CNR found the Berkeley campus academically so overpowering that it was a difficult decision to return to India in 1959. He returned because he felt he could be of more use in India than in the US and also because he wanted to make his parents happy. Another reason was to get married to his sweetheart Indumathi to whom his autobiography is dedicated.
Among the various offers he got, CNR preferred to join the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore because of "the extraordinary academic freedom" it provided. However the meager facilities were a drawback and his plan to set up a new department devoted to solid state and structural chemistry (SSSC) did not materialise. So he absorbed himself in writing a book on ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy of molecules that became a classic. In 1963 he left IISc and joined Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK) as associate professor.
C. N. R. Rao. 
CNR believes that science and administration cannot go together. On being offered the directorship of IITK, he refused saying he did not want to give up research and teaching. When his directorship of IISc was extended for another five year term (1990-94) he was forced to miss working on some good ideas due to administrative responsibilities. "I always want to remain a scientist, essentially a scientist," he said to former prime minister Indira Gandhi. He avoided being in government administration or being a member of upper house of parliament.
CNR is not comfortable with scientists who become bureaucrats either. "It is difficult to talk to them since they seem to know everything already," he says. His one-year stint as member of the Planning commission convinced him "it was much too bureaucratic and a bit of a white elephant... I have the feeling that bureaucracy in India has increased with time. Unless there is a change it will be difficult for science to thrive in India."
Without directly getting involved with the government machinery, Rao tasted the corridors of power intimately as chairman or member of Science Advisory Committee (SAC) to successive Prime Ministers except during 2000-2004. The new departments for earth sciences and another for health research are the outcome of SAC recommendations. CNR is however unhappy that some recommendations got killed. One was a proposal in 1990s for a dedicated centre for advanced materials research. Another was a national council for S&T that would function independent of the political party in power. A national solar mission with a target of 1000 MW by the year 2000 and recommendations to improve participation of women in science did not see the light of the day.
CNR attributes his success to not following a beaten track and going after a lesser known subject. He made solid-state chemistry respectable in the 1960s when work in that discipline was not fashionable. His strategy was to make contributions in one field and move on the next. The internationally recognized book "New Directions in Solid-State and Structural Chemistry" co-authored by CNR summarizes the entire fields he covered.
Besides avoidance of crowded fields, CNR's autobiography offers a few more tips to young scientists: a)it is extremely important to pick the right place to start the career, b)avoid envy and selfishness as they can get in the way of good research, c)give up rebellious temperament as it hinders creative work, d)all that is needed is dedication, hard work and better choice of problems.
At home CNR listens to classical music every morning and evening. In the last few years he has attempted to reach young students all over India through direct contact programs.
In 2004 the much decorated CNR shared with two others the one million dollar Dan David Prize for materials science, considered to be the Israeli Nobel. However, for CNR, "science is not about getting awards or writing papers; it is a way of life. It involves the climbing the limitless ladder of excellence."
