Narlikar’s Newton apple tree tribute at IUCAA withered in Pune heat

Pune's IUCAA, founded by Jayant Narlikar, once hosted saplings from Newton's apple tree, symbolizing science's legacy. Current trees haven't borne fruit yet.

Pune: In the mid-1990s, renowned astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar sought to honour a foundational moment in the history of science by planting saplings grafted from the famous apple tree under which Sir Isaac Newton is said to have conceived the theory of gravity. These saplings were planted at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune, where Narlikar served as founder-director.

Professor Richard Ellis along with Jayant Narlikar as they planted authorised descendent of Newton’s apple tree at IUCAA in late 1990s. (HT)

Colleagues at IUCAA recalled that the institute’s courtyard includes statues of great scientists such as Galileo, Einstein, Aryabhatta, and Newton. At the time, Newton’s statue stood awkwardly beneath a sprawling banyan tree—an odd contrast to the apple tree associated with his legacy. To correct this, Narlikar arranged to procure saplings that were direct descendants of the original apple tree from Cambridge and had them planted near the Newton statue.

According to a 2017 interview, former IUCAA director Somak Raychaudhury noted that there were at least three efforts to nurture the apple trees between 1997 and 2007. While a few managed to grow and even produce apples, they did not survive long. Raychaudhury attributed the withering away to the city’s increasing temperatures.

Astrophysicist Ajit Kembhavi, a close collaborator of Narlikar, said the idea to plant Newton’s apple tree came during the design phase of the IUCAA campus, led by architect Charles Correa. “I remember one of the three saplings did produce apples,” Kembhavi said, reflecting on the symbolic gesture that fused history, science, and architecture.