AMARTYA SEN UNLIMITED

Meeting an internationally reverred a personality that too a Nobeal laureate is something that one may cherish for long but happens rarely. Economist Amartya Sen is one such personality whom I had keenly watched and longed to meet.

It was on 9th February 2007 that I got the opportunity to talk to him in an one to one encounter and later watched him delivering his key note address at the Nasscom Corporate Social Responsibility conclave in Mumbai's Grand Hyatt hotel.

Laced with humour and many anecdotes, Amartya held forth on the topic of marginalisation of social concerns by all governments particularly in the Third world and cautioned the resourceful corporates on their neglect of social responsibility in enagaging those at the bottom of the pyramid.

Sen's roaring conviction despite his stooping gait was in stark contrast to the straight jacketed Kiran Karnik, chairman of the software companies association Nasscom, who, sorry to say, pales into insignificance compared to the predecessor late Dewang Mehta who died at the early age of 39, five years ago.

Nasscom needs more activism and overhaul at the top. It should present a convincing face to the underserved with a better leadership. Grey beard and pedantic speech needs to be substituted by the collective panache of other software brains who are really passionate on a transforming India. This was the unmistakable undertone of Sen's address, which meant-stay off PR and networking but do a good job, seriously and genuinely.

From

G. Kalyan Kumar
New Delhi