A beautiful mind
THE WEEK|August 22, 2021
In Home in the World, Amartya Sen, a dear friend and contemporary, has achieved the impossible. We are with him in Shantiniketan, savouring its unique ambience. Tagore is there, and encourages our brave Amartya to improve his competence in Sanskrit. At another time he is cycling from Shantiniketan to old farm sheds and warehouses in neighbouring villages, transporting a weighing machine to weigh boys and girls up to the age of five, to collect data related to the Bengal famine of 1943. We then follow Amartya at the age of 19, sailing to the UK, filled with wonderment at the endless ocean he sees around him. Then the great leap forward as he explores, debates and redefines the various elements that makeup economics—ethics, politics, statistics.
DEVAKI JAIN
A beautiful mind

From Aristotle to Wittgenstein to Gautama Buddha. He is forever curious, interested, amazed and intrigued by the phenomena that he observes or reads about. Moving from ancient texts to contemporary ones and engaging with some of what captivates him. He then pursues an explanation and an exposition of these for the rest of his life.

Injustice between men and women in all the dimensions of life, especially amongst the less privileged, bothers him. Addressing the woman issue—or the gender issue, as it is called now—has been a recurring theme in Amartya’s work over the decades. While he does not spend much time on this issue in Home in the World, he provided many concepts and ideas which many of us took forward in our work. We tried to redress the inequality between men and women—a pervasive phenomenon worldwide. In one of the first essays he wrote on women—Indian Women: Wellbeing and Survival—in The Economic Journal, to my great joy, he added a footnote acknowledging Pranab Bardhan and me for pointing out this issue.

ADDRESSING THE GENDER ISSUE HAS BEEN A RECURRING THEME IN AMARTYA’S WORK.

Denne historien er fra August 22, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 22, 2021-utgaven av THE WEEK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA THE WEEKSe alt
What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?
THE WEEK India

What Will It Take To Clean Up Delhi Air?

IT IS ASKED, year after year, why Delhi’s air remains unbreathable despite several interventions to reduce pollution.

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Trump and the crisis of liberalism
THE WEEK India

Trump and the crisis of liberalism

Although Donald Trump's election to a non-consecutive second term to the US presidency is not unprecedented—Grover Cleveland had done it in 1893—it is nevertheless a watershed moment.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Men eye the woman's purse
THE WEEK India

Men eye the woman's purse

A couple of months ago, I chanced upon a young 20-something man at my gym walking out with a women’s sling bag.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
When trees hold hands
THE WEEK India

When trees hold hands

A filmmaker explores the human-nature connect through the living root bridges

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Ms Gee & Gen Z
THE WEEK India

Ms Gee & Gen Z

The vibrant Anuja Chauhan and her daughter Nayantara on the generational gap in romance writing

time-read
5 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Vikram Seth-a suitable man
THE WEEK India

Vikram Seth-a suitable man

Our golden boy of literature was the star attraction at the recent Shillong Literary Festival in mysterious Meghalaya.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Superman bites the dust
THE WEEK India

Superman bites the dust

When my granddaughter Kim was about three, I often took her to play in a nearby park.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
OLD MAN AND THE SEA
THE WEEK India

OLD MAN AND THE SEA

Meet G. Govinda Menon, the 102-year-old engineer who had a key role in surveying the Vizhinjam coast in the 1940s, assessing its potential for an international port

time-read
4 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets
THE WEEK India

Managing volatility: smarter equity choices in uncertain markets

THE INDIAN STOCK MARKET has delivered a strong 11 per cent CAGR over the past decade, with positive returns for eight straight years.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 08, 2024
Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay
THE WEEK India

Investing in actively managed low-volatility portfolios keeps risks at bay

AFTER A ROARING bull market over the past year, equity markets in the recent months have gone into a correction mode as FIIs go on a selling spree. Volatility has risen and investment returns are hurt.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 08, 2024