Ashok V. Desai on Dr K.N. Raj in The Telegraph, Calcutta:
I went first to Delhi in 1966 to be a corporate economist, and then moved over to a research institute. But when I decided to take a chair I was offered in the University of the South Pacific in 1973, Raj sought me out and said, “Ashok, you should not go; we need people like you in this country.” I was touched, and would have listened to him if it had not been for financial compulsions. Five years later, when I was in Sussex University, Raj again came to me and said, “I have now started a new centre in Trivandrum; come and join me.”
I listened to him and went. I saw something unique. Raj had got hold of Laurie Baker, who built him a beautiful, low-cost campus. He bought cheap bricks, and soaked them in water for a couple of days; if they did not disintegrate, he used them. He made large windows with wooden shutters; they gave ample cross-ventilation in the local humid climate, and obviated the use of glass. He scattered a few buildings on a hill; the woods separating them gave them a sense of privacy. And he built a tower to house the library; one could find a seat with a breathtaking view of the surrounding valleys, and get lost in books. Being on the campus, I could walk to the library at any time of the day or night. We could talk economics and much else in any of the many cosy corners. Students would walk into my home whenever they wanted sustenance, material or intellectual. The place was ideally designed for debating and creating economics. It was the DSchool model in a different environment. More:
