Across Seven Seas and Thirteen Rivers

  I will remember Syamal Gupta, or Syamalda to me and many of his friends and colleagues, as a man 1.       of complete integrity 2.       of impeccable character 3.       of inconspicuous charisma 4.       of innate empathy 5.       of intuitive networking skill 6.       of self-effacing leadership, and 7.       of unbounded curiosity. He had neither greed nor jealousy, and above all, he believed in plain living and high thinking. In short, he was more like the person described in Bhagavad Gita: Chapter 2, Verse 71. विहाय कामान्य: सर्वान्पुमांश्चरति नि:स्पृह: | निर्ममो निरहङ्कार: स शान्तिमधिगच्छति || vihāya kāmān ya ḥ sarv ā n pum ā n ś h charati ni ḥ sp ṛ iha ḥ nirmamo nirahank ā ra ḥ sa ś h ā ntim adhigachchhati That person, who gives up all material desires and lives free from a sense of greed, proprietorship, and egoism, attains perfect peace. On 20 April 2022, the family of Syamalda—his wife Chandra Gupta, and his three daughters, Debjani Sen, Damayanti