He lay motionless. Briefly, the white cloth that covered his face slid down gently, and I had a glimpse. I was not exactly shocked; I think I was overwhelmed to behold the face. He still had those sharp teeth in the upper jaw, skin shrivelled, but there was the same extraordinary aura and brightness on his face that I had experienced on a monsoon afternoon 40 years back. He was commanding, suave, and sombre on his last bed. The dignity and simplicity that personified him were radiating in the space around him. I think he was enjoying the last nap that he used to have every afternoon throughout his life, from his Kolkata days as a student through the Tanjore villages as a researcher and the Delhi days as a professor.

My first encounter with him was in July 1985. I had appeared for the entrance examination of the Delhi School of Economics for admission to the MA course of the Sociology Department. The results had come out, but my name was not on the list. I was........

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