Education in Cambridge University:(Keep this name as title)

Kothari worked at Allahabad for a short time. Verysoon, he won a United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh)governmentscholarship topursuehigher studies atCambridge University. It is interesting to recall that theIndian High Commission in London had first fixed hisadmission at Oxford University against his wishes. Inhis characteristically modestwayKothari says that’through the confluence of lucky coincidences’, he wasabletogettheadmissionchangedtoCambridgeUniversity.S Chandrasekharhad exactly the sameproblem, due to the bureaucratic approach of the HighCommission, and he had to put pressure from differentquarters to get the admission changed from Oxford toCambridge. At Cambridge, Kothari worked under LordRutherford,PeterKapitzaandRHFowlerattheCavendish Laboratory. It was here that he came intocontact with Chandrasekhar; their friendship (as wellasresearchinteractions)continuedunbrokenthroughout.
AtCambridge,Kotharioriginallyfeltthatit wasbettertodevotetimetolearnthenewphysicsandmathematics from the great masters than to work withinthe narrow limits for a PhD. But, thanks to a stronglywordedletterfromProfessorSahain1932,Kotharichangedhis mind.He got a 6-month extension ofhis2-year scholarshipthroughthe influence ofthe MasterofhisCollegewhowasamemberoftheBritishparliament. (An earlier request strongly supportedbyLordRutherfordhadbeenabruptlyrejected).