Simplicity Incarnate

Vidyanand Madiman Rao passed away at his residence in Bengaluru on 1 May 2015. He was 85, and had been ill for some time. VM was known to all his admirers and friends as a simple human being and his works depicted that in full measure. Analytically, he covered a huge span, from agricultural economics and poverty to applied statistics and rural development. He was always known as an unpretentious worker with great human values, and for an ability to engage with the finer points in complex fields of analysis. His approach to any issue was scholarly, without any frills or jargon.

V M Rao was born in 1931 and had his early education in South Canara (Udupi) before moving to Bombay for higher education. In his early life, he suffered many upheavals, including the loss of his mother, and financial difficulties. He had to work for some time after graduating and his postgraduation was in 1956. He used to fondly remember his years at Fergusson College and the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune. He was taught by Dhanajay Rao Gadgil and N V Sovani. During his Pune visits, he used to renew his acquaintance with Pu Ga Sahasrabudhe, Pannalal Surana, G P Pradhan, Go Ma Pawar, Gangal, Oswal and many other erstwhile socialist friends, as well as cycle around the city.