Prof. Sushil Chaudhury, University of Calcutta, a NIAS Fellow in 1990/91, passed away after a brief illness in January 2019. He was with his family in Kolkata, India. Throughout the last three decades, he spoke fondly of his time at NIAS which resulted in at least one book on Indo-European trade in the 17-18th century. In the 2000s, Prof. Chaudhury also published in Bengali (his native language) on the overseas trade in that time period as well as the histories of the Battle of Plassey (1757) and the textile industry in Murshidabad and Dhaka.
One of the remarkable aspects of being at NIAS in 1990 was him learning how to use WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3 for the first time to assist with his research. He became a life long ardent user of computers for data analysis and writing for the rest of his life. The technical assistance he received at NIAS was invaluable in this regard and it was noteworthy that he learned these tools at the age of 55, not normally a time we associate with learning brand new technological tools. He visited NIAS on other trips to the Netherlands – in 2004 and in 2009 and was able to show his granddaughters the serene environment of the institute.
His legacy and spirit of innovation continues to inspire the undersigned, his children, who are both in academia themselves.
Dr. Parama Chaudhury (daughter), Department of Economics, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Dr. S. Raj Chaudhury (son), Innovation in Learning Center, University of South Alabama, Mobile, Alabama USA
The NIAS Staff and Community send Prof. Chaudhury’s family our heartfelt condolences.