GUWAHATI, March 17 - Tributes were paid to Stephen Hawking and his great contributions towards the enrichment of human thought and advancement were recalled by several elderly citizens at the monthly meeting of the Guwahati Senior Citizens� Association (GSCA) held here today with DN Chakravartty in the chair.
Initiating the discussion on the life and achievements of Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest thinkers of the modern world, Biman Sarma, retired additional director, economics and statistics who had translated into Assamese Hawking�s A Brief History of Time, said that the life of Hawking itself was a miracle and a great inspiration for all sections of people.
�Being physically handicapped at the prime age of 22 after suffering from an incurable disease which generally limits one�s lifespan to only two years, Hawking overcame all those handicaps and proclaimed the triumph of human determination and infinite inquiry about the secrets of the universe,� Sarma said.
He said that books written by Hawking have been translated into over 40 languages of the world and the resultant books number several million. His theory of Big Bang, Black Hole, etc., would continue to inspire succeeding generations of scientists and investigators of the mystery of human life throughout the world, he added.
Participating in the discussion, Ramani Kanta Deka, Bimal Kumar Hazarika and Jeshim Ahmed Hazarika paid tribute to the great contributions of Hawking and suggested that there be more discussions on his life and works in order to introduce the Assamese students to the vast area of science as discovered by Hawking.
Chakravartty in his presidential remarks suggested regular discussions on the life and works of Hawking in the higher secondary classes and in the colleges and universities of the State.
