'Love's a Complicated Subject'

Gauri Sinh / TNN / Nov 5, 2005, 21:26 IST

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Amartya Sen on life beyond Economics. We steal a few private moments with the Nobel laureate and daughter Nandana.

Amartya Sen on life beyond Economics. We steal a few private moments with the Nobel laureate and daughter Nandana.
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen is playing a word game. It is 7.10 pm and he has a function to attend where he is chief guest, but he has been gracious enough to humour us. It is a game of association, he must say the first thing that comes to mind when a particular word is thrown at him.
"Nandana." A smile plays on the lips of his actor daughter, Nandana, seated next to him. He looks at her fondly. "Daughter," he mouths. That one's easy. "Love" offers BT. "Aah... It's a complicated subject," is Sen's answer. "The Nobel?" BT continues.
"A somewhat overrated recognition but it has some advantages. It has allowed me to start two trust funds, in Bangladesh and India, to help with basic health education and gender equity."

It is this directness about Amartya Sen that makes an interview with him instructive. In the city after 'around two-three years,' he says he likes Mumbai, though he doesn't know it too well: "I like what I see.
And there's a liking of the mystery of what I do not see," is his somewhat-enigmatic comment. Nandana, who's made Mumbai her base now, is three-films-old in Bollywood. Sen says he's seen only a part of her debut in Hindi, Black, but he's seen her act in international projects.

"I read a lot of my dad's books," says Nandana, then somewhat cheekily, "It's easier for him to see all my movies than for me to read all his books!" They both laugh.
Did he ever think that Nandana would be part of the creative world? "People from academia can be creative too," he shoots back. "I don't think I have much acting talent. I don't think her mother has much acting talent either. She gets it from somewhere. But not from our genes, I think!"
Nandana has perhaps inherited his penchant for directness. She certainly minces no words expressing herself, even if it means contradicting her father.
"I kind of disagree with that. Both my parents are extremely creative and emotional. They express their emotion in different ways. I think what I enjoy about acting and what has drawn me to it has a lot to do with my genes, in fact."
So what is the most important thing she's learned from her father? "Punctuality perhaps," Sen offers, clearly needling her. "My younger brother once pointed out that we're genetically deficient in that one area," Nandana agrees goodhumouredly, then on a more serious note, "I don't think I've met anyone who can do so many things at once, and not just work. I aspire to do that."
After which Nandana begins playing the game her father played with BT. "Movies," says BT. "Love," replies Nandana. "Economics," BT continues. Without hesitation comes the association: "Baba." That's Nobel laureate Amartya Sen for the rest of us.

End of Article