Remembering Amulya

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After the meeting, some of us had achance to interact with the speaker.When he found I was teachingeconomics, he asked me if I knew of the writing in the Economic and Political Weekly (and elsewhere) ofPrabhat Patnaik, which he admired greatly, and from which he had learneda great deal. This set off morediscussion. I was invited home that evening, and thus began a series ofsessions over rum generously pouredby the professor. I was seeking guidanceand wisdom, and he offered friendship.

He began to invite me to discussionsin the cell for the Application ofScience and Technology to RuralAreas. The group in ASTRA did greatwork in the next few years. I mademany new and valuable friends. Ilearned much from these interactions, and brought the lessons into my teaching. My students responded to acourse on appropriate technology withgreat enthusiasm. They published twovolumes of case studies over the next few years, which led to a deeperunderstanding of the factors involved.

On retiring from the IISc, AmulyaReddy set up the International EnergyInitiative to take forward the idea that he and others had developed in thepathbreaking book Energy for aSustainable World. This concern, not just to work on the theory, but to findways of implementing therecommendations of that theory is theunique mark of his work.

I got married in December 1974. Myfather was caught up in work abroad,and could not come for the wedding. Ipicked up courage, and requested theprofessor and Mrs Reddy to take onthe onerous role in the religious rituals,which he did with great élan. He askedme then – and on many occasions since – to feel free to call him “Amulya”. For me this was a problem.He was an elder, a respected professor who was like a teacher, even if he had not formally been one. I stuck to“Professor”. At least now that he is no more, I should respect that wish andtitle this piece accordingly. This is inremembrance of Amulya.

VINOD VYASULU

Bangalore

(Continued from p 1822)

Early Education

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This is far from the true reason for the neglect of the under-three age group. For it is common knowledge that pre-school or early childhood education (ECE), though an integral component of ICDS, is either entirely neglected, or reduced to a smattering of desultory activities. The World Bank report Reaching Out to the Child (2004), in fact, states the very opposite

– that “ICDS is less able to deliver ECE because of...the overload of crosssectoral demands on the AWW, and because of the lower priority given to this component”.

It is globally accepted that ECE is crucial to the development of human potential. If, as the article argues, the ICDS has been ineffective in promoting child survival and growth, it has also fallen short in promoting child development through ECE.

It is particularly important to understand this at a time when significant shifts in the ICDS implementation strategies are being considered. Amongst these is the deployment of an additional AWW. Will the existing AWW deliver if an additional worker for the under-threes is deployed? Is it time to consider making ECE a schoolbased intervention, so that ICDS can focus exclusively on the under-threes? These questions need serious debate if we are to achieve the optimal development of all our children.

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