Someone totally unconnected with Physics gave me this amazing link - where Prof. A.K. Raychaudhuri is interviewed by Parthasarathi Majumdar, Soumitra Sengupta and Jayanta K. Bhattacharjee.
Although I never had an opportunity to know Prof.Roychaudhuri personally - he inspired over a generation of Physicists from Kolkata - to say the least. There are many people who do good work - but beyond his research - he was an outstanding teacher in the sense of the term , according his students - which includes my father and uncle too - in my family. And this video was taken on July 2005 - just months before he passed away - makes it more special.
But to me - its more touching - because of the interviewers. Soumitra Sengupta , formerly of JU , now in IACS , is perhaps the reason why I came to Physics at the first place. Looking back at the summer of 1997 , still undecided about the career path - his inspiring lectures at JBNSTS summer school - which more often than not went beyond the scheduled hours - were one huge reason for me finally going in Physics. Then in spite of his busy schedule - we always had "SSG" as our mentor in JU days. Jayanta K. Bhattacharjee of IACS , much better known as "J.K.B" seemed to have an unofficial responsibilty of getting JU students started with some research in their undergrad years - and I was no exception. I must admit that due to other commitments - many times my effort did not live up to his expectations - but he was always so patient and encouraging - it was a real learning experience to work with him. Partha Majumder - of SINP , formerly of IMSc , had been a family friend - and he is an integral part of the Kolkata Physics circuit - but personally I did not have too many chances of interacting with him.
They called it an "interview" - but its more like an "adda" session. Adda is an integral part of Kolkata culture - and physicists are no exception. It was a nostalgic feeling for me to hear all those familiar voices discuss anything and everything - and somehow rekindles the focus for Physics again.
And before I forget - here is the link -
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7361442212004324371
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