Mathemagic what?

Douglas Rintoul was explaining the concept of space when we entered the pool side banquet room at HHI where the workshop was on . We got Douglas as a consolation prize, the trophy going to two cities Mumbai and Hyderabad. Douglas is the associate director of Complicite who were in India this month with their magical production “A disappearing number”.( www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSLd7SKPQWA )


The play was staged in Hyderabad as part of the wider gamut of events organized in connection with the World Mathematical Congress this year. It is a shame we could not get this brilliant production to Kolkata .

Douglas was explaining how space can become alive .Listening to him I felt the mind keeps spaces and distances alive . Douglas was conducting a workshop for actors and other theatre enthusiasts. The participants had come from all over India to share and learn from the experience of this extremely talented handsome young man.We said hello to Douglas and asked him what he thought of the audience response to the play in India. Douglas felt the laughter was different and the interpretation of identity in context of the diaspora was very different .The socio-political aspect was picked up by people here which was not so elsewhere. He stressed that like theatre mathematics was highly creative and the play was an attempt to portray the idea.We did not have time to probe further .

Douglas was off to Varanasi next and like all creative people was looking for experience . In search of meaning of existence perhaps.

We got a whole lot of books on mathematics ,general stuff for our libraries in India . I was tempted to pick up Alex Bellos’ work (Alex's Adventures in Numberland), after I read Ian Stewart’s review of the book in Prospect .It is quite fascinating and I am sure people who understand numbers will find it absolutely brilliant. As a non-mathematician I am able to enjoy portions of this well researched book quite easily. http://alexbellos.com/?page_id=29

People are generally wary of mathematicians. I can recall this particular incident . A professor at IIT KGP wanted his son to practise mathematics as a hobby. I put him in touch with my friend PG who’s a brilliant mathematician , a researcher and ex- student of Penrose. This professor was extremely hesitant and I had to reassure him again and again that PG was a a simple normal human being and could be approached without being unduly terrified. I could see that the very thought of meeting PG was creating lot of stress in this guy's mind.