Vashishtha Narayan Singh: From Bihar village to Berkeley and global fame

Vashishtha Narayan Singh's story begins in Basantpur, a village in Bihar's Bhojpur district, far removed from the world's leading centres of mathematics. Born on April 2, 1942, into a poor family, Singh showed an unusual talent for mathematics from a young age.That ability eventually took him from a residential school in Bihar to the University of California, Berkeley, where he completed his PhD in mathematics. But his academic achievements tell only one part of his story. Behind them was a life marked by extraordinary ability, a career abroad and, later, a long struggle with mental illness.A mathematical talent noticed earlySingh studied at Netarhat Residential School before joining Patna Science College. It was there that his mathematical ability reportedly caught the attention of American mathematician Professor John L Kelley.Kelley recognised his potential and encouraged him to pursue higher studies in the United States.