K N Raj (1924-2010) was one of the most eminent Indian economists of the post-Independence generation. He was an outstanding teacher, builder of institutions and public intellectual par excellence. In this collection of tributes, students and colleagues over close to half a century write about various aspects of his life and work: Raj's contributions to building up the Delhi School of Economics in the 1950s and 1960s, the creation and growth of the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram in the 1970s and 1980s, his interaction with students and colleagues, the wide-ranging nature of his research and also his multifaceted personality.