Ramanujan's Wife

                My husband and I recently watched The Man Who Knew Infinity.  It came out last year and I had never heard of, but was totally excited to discover this gem.  The movie has an incredible cast, including Dev Patel, the star of Slumdog Millionaire, Jeremy Irons, Jeremy Northam, Toby Jones, Stephen Fry and other notable British actors.  (Why this movie didn’t get more publicity with such a cast, I can’t understand.)  It’s the true story of an Indian mathematician, Ramanujan, who had an incredible mind and was able to quickly see formulas, equations, and theorem that it took others pages of painstaking proofs to arrive at.  The movie is beautifully made, and the characters are all compelling – from my point of view, especially Ramanujan’s wife, Janaki.

                I have been unable to find a lot of information about her as a person, so I don’t know if her portrayal in the film is accurate, but regardless of its accuracy, she is depicted as a kind, patient and valiant woman.  In real life she married Ramanujan when he was 22 and she was 10.  This was not uncommon in India at the time (early 1900s), especially for devout Hindus, as Ramanujan and his family were.  In the movie, understandably, they appear to be much closer in age.  At the time the movie opens, Ramanujan is living by himself in order to be closer to his place of work, and his mother and wife, Janaki, are living together elsewhere.  Finally he finds a better job, and is able to get a house where his wife and mother can come and join him.

                Ever since her marriage, Janaki has been in the difficult position of living with an overbearing, jealous mother-in-law.  We see that she is always patient and respectful toward her, even when she feels insulted and looked down on.  Because Ramanujan’s mother is her senior, she is the one who has charge of the household, as well as more influence over her son’s decisions regarding his work and his future.   Another struggle that Janaki must face is that she cannot understand her husband’s work.  She wants to be able to encourage and support him, but being uneducated herself, she has difficulty grasping what exactly it is that he is doing, and what draws him to mathematics.  There is a beautiful scene where he tries to put into very simple terms for his wife the kinds of problems he is solving, and why he loves the work he does.  While she still does not exactly comprehend, she feels more connected to him after that point.

                Ramanujan eventually writes to one of the professors at Trinity College, Cambridge, and asks him to help him publish his findings.  This professor, Mr. Hardy, arranges for Ramanujan to come to Trinity as a student in order for the two of them to work together.  The one drawback – he won’t be able to bring his wife.  But he plans to send for her once he is settled and sure that he can provide for her there.  So once again, Janaki is living with her mother-in-law, and without her husband. 

                Ramanujan lived in England from 1914-1919.  During that time his wife never came to join him.  [The screenplay writers may have used a bit of artistic license in explaining exactly why that was; I was unable to find anything to verify the events as shown in the film.]  Janaki is illiterate.  She needs to employ a scribe to write her letters to her husband, but since she is not in charge of the household, she cannot send the letters herself.  She must ask her mother-in-law to do it.  Her mother-in-law knows that her son plans to send for Janaki to come to live with him, and she is both afraid of being left alone and jealous of his love for his wife.  She decides not to send any of Janaki’s letters. 

                Janaki waits patiently for her husband to send for her.  All the time she is doing her best to keep her relationship with her mother-in-law as amiable as possible.  So many times Janaki is forced to hold her tongue when she is criticized or insulted by her, even in front of other people.  But instead of giving vent to her anger, she leaves the room and goes to a spot in the temple where Ramanujan had written out some equations on the floor.  Janaki is afraid that her husband has forgotten her and ceased to love her, but she still pines for him.

                Finally, shortly before Ramanujan returns home, Janaki realizes that he has not received any of her letters, and she discovers that it was due to her mother-in-law’s interference.  Janaki calmly asks her why she did such a thing to her.  It reminded me of the scene in Cinderella when Cinderella forgives her step-mother instead of hurling some well-deserved insults at her.  Janaki remains respectful of her mother-in-law, and continues to be patient with her.

                So yes, Ramanujan returns to his wife, they’re able to be together again, but I don’t want to ruin the ending entirely.  Of course, this isn’t the main plot of the movie.  It focuses more on Ramanujan’s relationship with Mr. Hardy, his mentor in Cambridge, and how the two of them are finally able to convince others of the value and importance of his work, despite his background.  Overall, it’s a beautifully done film, especially in its portrayal of Janaki’s patience and her selfless love, encouragement, and support for her husband.  I can heartily recommend it.

Janaki (1899-1994)