Who Was Dr Mangala Narlikar? Eminent Mathematician Dies At 80

Dr Mangala Narlikar, an eminent mathematician and the wife of Dr Jayant Narlikar, passed away on Monday. She was 80. 

She was the founder director of the Pune-based Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA). 

IUCAA director Prof R Srianand said Dr Mangala was suffering from cancer. “The last few months were difficult due to age-related problems. However, she was extremely positive and was a huge pillar of support for Dr Jayant Narlikar,” he added. IUCAA authorities said Dr Mangala’s funeral will be held around noon on Monday.

@IUCAAstro family is in great grief due to the sad demise of Mathematician and popular writer Dr. Mangala Narlikar at her residence in Pune, early this morning. She was 80 and was ailing from a recurrence of Cancer. pic.twitter.com/lxEUqoAUZF

— Inter-University Centre for Astronomy&Astrophysics (@IUCAAstro) July 17, 2023

Born in 1943 in Pune, Dr Mangala’s family gave utmost importance to education irrespective of one’s gender. She excelled in academics, particularly Maths and went on to pursue BA and MA in Maths.

“I knew Math was a male-dominated subject back then, but I couldn’t accept the generalisation that girls are bad at Maths or the calculations jokes because here I was, topping all my examinations, including my final year at the university,” she earlier said in an interview to The Better India.

After moving to India from Cambridge, England with her husband, she started working at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. She also joined as a lecturer at Bombay and Pune universities. Her core fields of interest were real and complex analysis, analytic geometry, number theory, algebra and topology, reports The Indian Express.

Dr Mangala also wrote several research papers and in 2013 was appointed as the Chairman of Balbharti. She also made several significant developments in the state curriculum.

She is survived by her husband, three daughters and five grandchildren.

Her mortal remains would be kept at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) here for people to pay homage. The cremation will later be held at the Vaikunth crematorium.

Tributes for Dr Mangala

Till Dr Mangala Narlikar from Pune became a mother of three, she was known as the wife of celebrated scientist Dr Jayant Narlikar. Very few knew she was a Math wizard waiting to explode. #WomenInSTEM https://t.co/abYm15ZhdT

— Amit Paranjape (@aparanjape) March 10, 2021

ज्येष्ठ गणितज्ञ, शास्त्रज्ञ आणि लेखिका डॉ. मंगला नारळीकर (वय ७९) यांचे पुण्यात राहत्या घरी निधन झाले. गेले काही महिने त्यांना कॅन्सरचा पुन्हा एकदा त्रास सुरू झाला होता. ज्येष्ठ खगोलशास्त्रज्ञ डॉ. जयंत नारळीकर यांना त्यांच्या संपूर्ण कारकिर्दीत पत्नी आणि सहकारी म्हणून मंगलाताईंची… pic.twitter.com/afScXZaHIV

— Mayuresh Prabhune (@mayureshgp) July 17, 2023

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