The famous British physicist Stephen Hawking had visited India in January 2001 on 16-day long tour. He was invited to attend the Strings 2001 conference organized by the TATA Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. He was one of the three scientists to be awarded the first Sarojini Damodaran Fellowship. Around 300 researchers around the world had participated in that event to discuss the origin of the Universe.
In the event, he praised mathematical skills of Indians and exposed the astrology science giving the example of Albert Einstein’s theories. At string 2001 event, the British physicist gave various lectures about the universe. He delivered a lecture on The Universe in a Nutshell and stated about the recent development in cosmology and also predicted the fate of the universe. Hawking’s lectures are still there on the website.
Apart from this, he celebrated his 59th birthday in India at the Oberoi Towers hotel. As per the report, when he was just 21 and suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease, he visited India and traveled around Mumbai in a specially redesigned vehicle built by Mahindra & Mahindra which was suitable for his wheelchair.
Hawking was very much impressed by the mathematical skills that the Indian has. Hawking told then-president K R Narayanan that Indians are so good at mathematics and physics. When he was in Delhi with K. R Narayanan, on January 15, 2001, he gave the Albert Einstein Memorial Lecture which was titled as Predicting the Feature: From Astrology to Black Holes. In the lecture, Hawking stated that Einstein had given some wrong information on Quantum Theory and about the presence of black holes in the universe. Hawking also visited Jantar Mantar and Qutab Minar. Stating about Hawking, K.R. Narayanan said that Hawking was the symbol of hope and inspiration for the humans who are physically handicapped.
