To Goanet - Recently I posted these snippets elsewhere and would like to deposit them here for the archives.
*****I recall there is a brief mention of DD Kosambi in the memoirs of the great mathematician Norbert Wiener. I may have the book on my shelf and if I find it I will post the excerpts (just for the record here - I have no illusions that very many are interested). Professor Wiener also fondly mentions a Goan priest he met in Bombay, if I recall correctly. Found it. The excerpts are from Wiener's delightful memoir "I Am A Mathematician." Wiener made fundamental contributions to electrical engineering, robotics, and signal theory. For an introduction to the man, see - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_Wiener ***** This is from the chapter where Wiener gives an account of his visit to India in 1953. "From Madras I made a brief excursion to the delightful city of Bangalore, where I saw more of Raman and I took an active part in lecturing and in the intellectual life. Thence I returned for a week as a guest of the Tata Institute at Bombay. Bombay was full of first-rate scientists, both Indian and foreign, and I found a rich opportunity both to teach and to learn and, in particular, to collaborate with and to criticize the work of several young mathematicians. My special crony during this episode was Professor Kosambi, who had been a boy at the Cambridge High School during a period when his father, a refugee from British India, was working over the rich Sanskrit material of the Harvard Library. The son, perhaps owing to his American early training, has been a bit more of a fighter and a bit less of a serene Indian scholar than most of his fellow countrymen. However, I found that he was not the only Indian to counter my admiration for the serenity of the Indian soul with an equal admirationfor the drive of the westerner." ***** The other reference to Goa: "After settling down at the Taj Mahal Hotel, which is a fascinating combination of the East and the West, I went the next day to the cornerstone laying of the new Atomic Energy Institute on mititary territory near the harbor. There was an interesting group of notables present, including Nehru himself, who gave a short and excellent speech. Among the visitors present was the Cardinal of India, a tall Goanese gentleman representing the old Portuguese religious tradition in India. This Christian tradition, like the old Syrian Christian tradition of the South, is often ignored by foreigners or, at any rate, not sufficiently emphasized. Actually, the Portuguese are older in India than the Mogul emperors. Notwithstanding the fact that Goa is not at present in India itself (as of the date of my writing, at least), Goanese are found all over India, particularly on the Bombay side. They consider themselves a thoroughly Indian element of the population. I had the pleasure of meeting Goanese officers both in the Army and in the Navy, and it was manifestly clear that they considered themselves, and were regarded by the others, as true Indians."***** r
