H C Verma: Profile, Family and Children

Harish Chandra Verma, better known as H C Verma, is one of the most read authors of Physics in India. His two volumes book – Concepts of Physics – is widely regarded as a must-have for anyone preparing for IIT JEE or any other Engineering Entrance Examination.

It is nothing short of surprising that H C Verma has not revised this book since 1992. The content of the book has remained the same for 24 years, and still it is the best sellers among the lot.

It should be noted that Professor H C Verma has written many other books and has research interest in Nuclear Physics.

Profile of H C Verma

Prof. Verma was born in 1952 in Darbhanga, Bihar. He came to Patna when his father was transferred to the capital of Bihar. He was not a bright student during school days, and his father used to give lots of time to teach him mathematics and Science. 

Somehow, he passed the matriculation examination and got admission in the Patna Science College. This College taught him a lot and he did exceptionally well getting B. Sc. Honors in Physics. He then went to the IIT Kanpur for M.Sc in Physics. He did that and returned back to Patna Science College in 1980 as a lecturer. He had an offer from IIT Kanpur to join the premier engineering institute as a lecturer for Physics. But, he decided to serve the institute which had transformed his life.

At Patna Science College, he was asked to teach Physics to 11^th and 12^th Classes. He followed Resnick and Halliday as well as Irodov. He also got so many books, but found it little bit difficult to keep students interested in the subject. There were no good Physics book by an Indian author and his students couldn’t relate with tough language coupled with cultural difference of books written by foreign authors. He decided to write simple, interesting books replete with interesting numerical examples – all original.

It was not a small task. He spent full eight years to pen down the book. Every single numerical was formulated by him. The challenge was quite big as he was hoping that students will start to show interest in Physics by relating with real life stuffs in an Indian setting. Needless to say, he is successful in that endeavor.

Prof. Verma joined IIT – Kanpur in 1994. He never wanted to leave Patna Science College, but was compelled to do so. The education environment in Bihar was ruined by Lalu Government. The name and fame of Patna Science College was no more. There was nothing in Patna, apart from IIT aspirants. He was asked by colleagues to start a coaching institutes and make crores. That could have been quite easy for him. However, he decided to pursue research rather than making huge sum of money.

At IIT Kanpur, he wrote another book – Quantum of Physics. He started to work in the area of Nuclear Physics.

An Extraordinary Life

There is no denying that he is getting huge money as salary. He is senior Professor at IIT – Kanpur (retired recently). But, you will be surprised to know that he doesn’t own a car. He lives a very simple life. And, he is still going out in Kanpur market for shopping on his old scooter – Bajaj Priya.

He goes out of IIT campus and takes regular classes in slum areas. He also gives school fees to those poor students who want to pursue education.

H. C. Verma was bestowed with Padma Shri Award on 25th January, 2020 by the Government of India. 

Now coming to the Concepts of Physics, Bharti Bhavan is the publisher of this book, as you might know. You will be surprised to know that he gets more than Rs. 1 Crore as royalty per year just for this book. Oh God! Wait. He donates all of this money to charity and the Prime Minister Relief Fund. He is not taking a single pie of royalty coming out of this book for many years. His mission has been completed and he doesn’t want to keep making money of a book he had written years ago.