Professor Rahul Basu passed away today. He had been one of our senior professors. He had obtained his PhD from SUNY, Stony Brook and afterwards joined IMSc, Chennai where he worked as a scientist till his untimely demise. An expert on Quantum Chromodynamics, he worked on Phenomenological aspects of High Energy Physics. Professor Basu was highly regarded as a teacher, he taught Quantum Field Theory in IMSc and was often invited to teach short courses at various Schools, most often SERC THEP Schools.
Outside his work, Professor Basu's interests were many and varied. An admirer of Orwell, he maintained a blog where he offered his insights on various contemporary issues. The blog will bear testimony to his deep interest in humanity and the liberality of his thought.
Professor Basu also maintained a blog for sharing interesting recipes and a guide for eating out in Chennai.
I had always wanted to know Professor Basu better. Unfortunately we had spoken only a few times. He had a great sense of humour. He once described the Rock Garden of Chandigarh as 'Jackson Pollack gone mad', a description I shall always remember. I heard tales of his extreme generousity.
In IMSc he had a reputation among students of being a strict and demanding teacher. Students who slacked lived in fear of being subjected to his sarcasm. 'I am harsh in class' he once conceded in my presence. I believe it was his way of making sure that the students worked hard.
Our longest interaction was when I went to him to discuss the possibility of giving Coffee Mugs with the IMSc logo to the new batch of students as a welcome gift. He told me where I could get Coffee mugs and showed me a new design he had made for the logo. When I was leaving he offered to accompany me when I would go to this shop, should I need help. I was touched by his offer.
I regret that I did not know him better.
