A new book shows how a Bangalore NGO adopted hands-on methods to teach science to school students

On a cool Bangalore morning in 2003, educationalists, scientists, policymakers and a host of other academics congregated in the JN Tata Auditorium to hear a series of lectures. Housed within the IISc’s stunning campus, the hall could accommodate about 900 people. It was barely half full as Ramji Raghavan took to the podium.

People of varying eminence were set to speak that day and the audience thinned and swelled in accordance with the same. Having been invited to speak at the annual Rotary Governor’s Meet, Ramji now looked unsure. The sparsely populated room stared back at him, the expressions of the audience a mingling of scepticism and a lack of recognition. Seated in the front row was KV Raghavan, whose presence gave Ramji a much-needed boost in confidence.

As he began his talk, some members of the audience continued conversing among themselves, as is sometimes the case when an unknown speaker tries to command a crowd. Ramji Raghavan is not a large man, and his manner is generally unassuming. However, his unequivocal command over the English language is something that others take notice of nearly instantly. He has a polished accent that can be characterised as neither Indian nor British. He speaks at...

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