Narinder Singh Kapany: The Man Who Bent Light

Narinder Kapany

Description

The father of fibre optics, Narinder Singh Kapany was far more than your typical multi-hyphenate. Inventor, art collector, sculptor, farmer, entrepreneur, teacher, and a successful businessman, Dr Kapany was what Fortune magazine in its 1999 issue called, ‘one of the seven unsung heroes of the 20th century’. An insightful and inspirational life story, this memoir chronicles his ninety remarkable years. Charming, idiosyncratic, and highly engaging, The Man Who Bent Light serves up enough variety and verve to celebrate the lives of a half dozen individuals. But there is only one Narinder Singh Kapany, and his life, illuminated in his singular memoir, is a life like no other.

Sujets

• entrepreneur
• Inhibidor de la recaptación de noradrenalina
• Sijismo
• Narinder Singh Kapany
• Biography
• Optical fiber
• NRI
• Philanthropy
• Sikh
• Physicist
• Non-fiction
• Roman non fictionnel
• Business
• Autobiography
• Scientist
• ART
• Sikhisme

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 04 octobre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789392130007
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 17 Mo

Extrait

The father of fibre optics, Dr Narinder Singh Kapany was far more than your typical multi-hyphenate. Inventor, art collector, sculptor, farmer, entrepreneur, teacher, and a successful businessman, Dr Kapany was what Fortune magazine in its 1999 issue called, ‘one of the seven unsung heroes of the 20th century’. An insightful and inspirational life story, this memoir chronicles his ninety remarkable years. Charming, idiosyncratic, and highly engaging, The Man who Bent Light serves up enough variety and verve to celebrate the lives of a half-dozen individuals. But there is only one Narinder Singh Kapany, and his life, illuminated in his singular memoir, is a life like no other.

Dr. Narinder Si ngh Kapany (1926–2020) was born in Punjab and after graduating in India, moved to the Imperial College London for his doctorate. In 1953, working alongside Harold Hopkins at the Imperial College, he was the first to successfully transmit high-quality images through fibre bundles. His breakthrough achievements helped create a foundational element of the internet age, affecting the lives and businesses of millions around the world. In 1961, Dr Kapany along with his wife moved to Woodside where he founded Optics Technology Inc., successfully taking it public in 1967. He was the first Indian Sikh to take a company public in Silicon Valley.
A noted philanthropist, Dr Kapany was also deeply committed to championing Sikh culture and language. He created the Sikh Foundation in 1967 which pioneered the display of Sikh Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC and at the Rubin Museum New York. He established the first permanent Sikh Art Gallery in the United States at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and in Canada at the Montreal Museum of Art.
Recipient of various awards and honours, including Padma Vibhushan, one of the highest civilian awards of India, Dr Kapany was a man of enormous intellect, boundless energy and an infectious laugh. His passionate commitment to science and Sikh art has left an indelible impact on the lives of innumerable people around the world.
 
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FORTHCOMING TITLE Various The Dark Hour: India Under Lockdowns
 

 
ROLI BOOKS
This digital edition published in India, 2021
First published in 2021 by
The Lotus Collection
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M-75, Greater Kailash- II Market
New Delhi 110 048
Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.rolibooks.com
© Narinder Singh Kapany, 2021
Front cover : Dr Narinder Singh Kapany, in an advertisement shot for Bank of America in late 1960s, Palo Alto, California.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, print reproduction, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Roli Books. Any unauthorized distribution of this e-book may be considered a direct infringement of copyright and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
eISBN: 978-93-92130-00-7
All rights reserved.
This e-book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated, without the publisher’s prior consent, in any form or cover other than that in which it is published.
 
Acknowledgments
I am deeply indebted to Tom Parker , who tirelessly worked for a year towards recording my experiences, authenticated them, and prepared the final draft of my book.
Sonia Dhami , Executive Director of the Sikh Foundation, worked diligently to select the images, consistently reviewed the relevance of the topics, and oversaw this book’s production.
Furthermore, I am deeply indebted to Raj Kapany and Kiki Kapany for steadfastly listening to my experiences and making valuable suggestions.
 

Kapany Coat of Arms at the family home in Woodside, California
 
Dedicated to the youth everywhere…
And to my beloved grandchildren,
Ariana Kaur Kapany Schwarz and Misha Kaur Kapany Schwarz
Tara Kaur Kapany and Nikki Singh Kapany
May they learn the teachings of the Sikh prophets and pursue them.
 
Contents
I. BOYHOOD
Property
Sodhi-Wala
The Ring
The Power of Belief
‘Here, Bino, Take My Hand…’
Stolen Fruit
Naughty
Almost-True Stories
Chain Reaction
Father’s Radio
The Drunken Elephant
Deadheading
Partition
II. LEARNING
Obsessed
More Mentors
Satinder
My Wee Scottish Sojourn
Rainy Day Woman
Re-obsessed
London Snapshots
Piled Higher and Deeper
The 80-Pound Car
The Plan and the Man at the Back of the Room (1)
Campari
III. COMING TO AMERICA!
Gestation
It was a Very Good Year
The Plan and the Man at the Back of the Room (2)
The Right Thing
IV. IN BUSINESS
The Bet
Optics Technology
Searching for Something New/Veni, Vidi, da Vinci
Delhi Again?
‘If There’s a Fork in the Road, Take It’
The Little Company that Could… and Did
V. TEACHING
‘Anything you Want’
Making it Happen/Seeds
VI. FARMING
A Sikh, a Farmer
Wine and Oil
VII. BEING SIKH
Sikhism: Equality and Charity
The Art of Giving
Sikhism: A Spiritual God and an Equal Opportunity
VIII. COLLECTING AND SHARING SIKH ARTS
The Gift of Art
The Koh-i-noor
The Sikh Foundation: Inspire, Educate, Enrich
IX. RULE, BRITANNIA!
A Home with a View
‘I Cooked for You!’
X. BELONGING
Belonging
XI. MASSACRE
Massacre
XII. FAMILY MATTERS
Once-in-a-Lifetime
Kids
Family Ties
Passing
Oh, Satinder…
Eulogy
In Closing
 

 
PART I
BOYHOOD
Facing page: Watercolour and pen on paper, artist Sumeet D. Aurora
 
I was born Narinder Singh Kapany to Kundan Kaur and Sundar Singh in the town of Moga, in the province of Punjab, on the subcontinent of India, on 31 October 1927.
I am now ninety years old. I have written this book to capture some memorable moments and scenes from my life. But first, a few words about memory. When prompted, as I am frequently, by my son, Raj, or daughter, Kiki, I recall details from days long gone by, sometimes fine, sometimes coarse, sometimes, without being aware of it, details that may be more imagined than actually remembered. But always, always they are details in search of the truth.
I offer, for example, those memories evoked by my passage with my wife, Satinder, from England to New York on a German luxury liner. Memories of that cruise and of the provenance of the vessel – as provided by one of my fellow passengers – live as clearly and vividly in my mind as do those of my most recent dinner with one of my grandchildren. And yet, the entire voyage, at least as I initially remembered it, could never have happened. The Fuhrer’s aviso that I recall sailing the Atlantic on was decommissioned and dry-docked in 1951, and Satinder’s and my crossing took place, without doubt, in 1955, following our marriage. Confronted with this fact, I thought perhaps there was a second German liner that was twin to the first. No such finding in web searches. And yet, the journey itself is still so indelible, the writing on the page – before I modified it in the service of the truth – so very convincing.
And then I realized: but, of course! These are my memories. If they are faulty in places, so be it. So what if I conflated a story I’d once heard about a German dispatch boat with that of my own crossing of the Atlantic on a larger Cunard liner?
What matters is that I am able to capture the spirit of the person (or the ship) and his (or her) essential truth, and the role that he played in my life, and the place he takes up in my occasionally flawed but, I’d like to think, rich, powerful ability to recall the past.
And so I begin…
 
Property
Shhhh! Quiet. If you listen carefully you’ll hear them. My grandmother – my manji – and my Auntie Nuntal. Up on the roof. Four floors up.
It’s 1930, or thereabouts. I am roughly three years ol