Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee visited renowned novelist and poet Nabaneeta Dev Sen at her Hindusthan Park residence and spent nearly an hour with her. Sources said the Nobel Prize winner had decided to visit Padma Shri awardee Sen after she wrote to Banerjee requesting him to meet her. During his visit, Abhijit Banerjee inquired about the health of the ailing poet.
Banerjee, who is on a oneday visit to Kolkata, did not participate in any event during the day. 81-year-old Sen, who is also a former student of Presidency College (now Presidency University) like Banerjee, has expressed her inability to attend the felicitation of the Nobel laureate planned by the varsity’s alumni in January next year.
Dev Sen gifted her book titled Bhalobashar Baranda to Banerjee, who had some refreshments at her residence.
Mr Banerjee later went to a reputed fabric outlet in South Kolkata, which is known for its collection of ethnic clothing, and stayed there for about half-an-hour. A spokesman of the outlet said he bought a churidar set for girls and a sherwani kurta for boys. He also purchased a kurti set from the ladies section. Banerjee obliged the requests of the customers present at the shop and took group photos with them.
Representatives of the alumni association from Presidency met Banerjee at his eighth floor apartment on Wednesday morning and handed over an invitation for a felicitation planned for January next year. They also gave him a scarf. He was also conferred with the lifetime membership of Mohun Bagan Athletic Club today.
The Nobel laureate, who arrived in the city on Tuesday evening, is slated to leave the city early on Thursday.