'His lectures made economics come alive to generations of students'

"Prof Mrinal Datta Chaudhuri is no more," I heard over the phone. Instantly, my mind was flooded with memories. MDC, as he was popularly known by generations of students and faculty at the Delhi School of Economics, was a legend at the school. Over the years, he taught students economic theory, planning and transport economics. His lectures made economics come alive to generations of students. And, they made the driest of topics seem interesting.

MDC wore many hats: He was a policy advisor to the government and served on many committees and advisory bodies. He was an activist: During the Emergency, he was one of the few who were courageous in their opposition to it. I gather there was an attempt to persuade him to stand for elections in 1977 but he wisely, I believe, declined. He was a raconteur who could summarise a complex debate with pithy witticism, but the identity he clearly derived the most satisfaction from was that of a teacher.

It is in this capacity that most students and colleagues remember him. His teaching was not merely confined to the classroom, but in seminar rooms, discussions outside the coffee house and at his home. Many papers published from D'School during the 1970s to the 1990s acknowledge this contribution. Many scholars limit themselves to their narrow area of specialisation and hesitate to venture into other disciplines. MDC was a rare exception; he could be expected to contribute insightfully in virtually every aspect of social inquiry.

While he is not principally known for his academic writings, these were not unimportant. His early work on planning and his later works on east Asian economies were influential but he received significant academic recognition from a prescient paper he wrote on the challenges of economic reform in the context of both state and market failures in 1990. Reading the paper today, 25 years later, the depth of his insight into our development challenge is striking.

He received honours and awards: He was conferred the Padma Bhushan in 2005. But in my mind, the accolade he prized the most was in a newspaper piece written some years ago by my friend, Omkar Goswami, in which he recounted a dinner in the US at an ex-D'School colleague's house, where all guests had been associated with DSE at some point. The point about the article was how the common thread in all their memories of DSE was MDC. The memories and stories of MDC will continue to draw together many generations of Delhi School alumni.

The author is Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation