Tragedy has once again touched Kerala’s small but globally respected scientific community. On this year's Vishu day, Dr. Ranjit Nair—distinguished physicist, philosopher, and founder of the Centre for Philosophy and Foundations of Science—passed away in Delhi at the age of 70, his departure largely unnoticed in his home state. Just four years earlier, Dr. Thanu Padmanabhan, Nair's junior in physics undergraduate class in Trivandrum's University College who later became a Distinguished Professor at Pune’s Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, died at 62. The two, along with another University College, Thiruvananthapuram alumnus, Dr. V. Parameswaran Nair—now a Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York—had co-founded the Trivandrum Science Society as young students, laying the foundation for a lifelong engagement with science and ideas.

Formerly associated with the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (NISTADS), Nair earned his masters and doctorate in physics and philosophy from Cambridge. He was a staunch advocate of the idea that science and scientists must remain “accountable and accessible to the society they serve.” Deeply committed to popularising science, he championed a vision of scientific inquiry that engages meaningfully with broader social values and institutions. He also edited several influential works, including Mind, Matter and Mystery (2001) and The Republic of Science (2008).

Here goes a note on Nair's widely regarded anthology,........

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