Enter the campus at any time of day and you're likely to espy several of the scribe brigade along with moving cameras, thrusting a mike into the face of anyone they suspect knew the great Sen even remotely. Trying to catch Professor K. Sundaram (Head of Department, Economics), proved a little trying, as the harried professor asked us to wait a few minutes while he tackled a TV crew. ``I thought you had an appointment for 5 p.m.,'' he said, rather confused, ``or maybe that was someone else''.

When asked about Sen, he said, in the vein of one who has learned by rote something he has been repeating all day: ``The award is richly deserved but long overdue. It is late, but very welcome.'' As for Sen, the person: ``He is a warmhearted person and is careful to maintain old links. He makes it a point to visit the school when he is in India, no matter how busy his schedule.'' A colleague passing by makes a crack: ``Your twenty-first interview of the day?'' Trying to catch a few moments of respite between interviews, he takes us to another room to introduce us to some other colleagues. Professor T.C.A. Anant and Aditya Bhattacharjea, both of the Economics Faculty, smile rather resignedly, while trying to welcome us.

``All this attention is rather nice, but we've been talking all day,'' says Bhattacharjea. About the man in question, he is much more enthusiastic: ``His range of interests and contributions is incredibly vast. His work is taken seriously not only by economists, but by political scientists and sociologists.'' He goes on to add: ``As a person he is very charming and can discuss a wide range of topics, including modern trends in Indian cinema''.

Anant adds: ``He is an amazing person.'' Anant first met him in 1982 in Cornell when he had just begun his Phd and Sen was a professor at Oxford and a visiting professor at Cornell. ``He took time to talk to each and every graduate student in a very involved way, despite his busy schedule. He is a very productive teacher and generates a lot of work around him. He made the department come alive around him''.

Another person all praise for Sen's teaching ability is Professor Om Prakash (Economics). He says: ``Though I was not a student, I used to attend Sen's lectures whenever I could. He was delightful.'' And DSE is delighted.