C.S. Seshadri, one of the leaders of Indian mathematics in the post-Independence era, passed away late on July 17 in Chennai. He was 88.
A leader in the field of algebraic geometry, he made breakthroughs that lie at the base of many branches of this profound discipline. Themes that can be traced in whole or substantial part to Seshadri include projective modules over polynomial rings, geometric invariant theory, moduli theory, vector bundles on curves, the Narasimhan-Seshadri theorem, parabolic bundles, standard monomial theory and the geometry of Schubert varieties.
He continued to be engaged in subtle mathematics till the end, much of it in a long-running collaboration with younger colleague V. Balaji.
Seshadri began his career at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) as one of the first batch of graduate students. Along with illustrious colleagues such as M.S. Narasimhan, S. Ramanan and M.S. Raghunathan, he helped establish the School of Mathematics in TIFR as one of the leading centres for mathematics research in the world.
He moved to Chennai in 1984, to the Institute of Mathematical Sciences. In 1989, he got an opportunity to start the School of Mathematics as part of the SPIC Science Foundation, which has evolved into the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI).
CMI is a unique institution in India that attempts to integrate undergraduate education with research. It grew out of Seshadri’s vision that higher learning can only occur in an atmosphere of active research amidst the presence of masters in the subject. It was a brave venture in the face of extraordinary opposition and scepticism even from his close friends and well-wishers.
It was his dream to build a centre of learning that can compare itself with the great research universities of the world. It opens up opportunities for gifted students in India to learn in a unique academic atmosphere and also gives possibilities for active researchers to participate in this experiment, which one believes will leave an everlasting influence on the development of mathematics in India.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that CMI is now rated as one of the best schools in the world for undergraduate studies in mathematics and theoretical computer science.
Seshadri’s accomplishments in mathematics were recognised through numerous honours. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1988 and a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S., in 2010. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2009.
He was also deeply interested in music and an accomplished singer of Carnatic music, capable of great nuance.
The loss in October 2019 of his beloved wife Sundari — herself a talented singer and theatre artist and person of great joie-de-vivre — was a heavy blow. Over the past decade, Seshadri grappled with serious health problems — including, more recently, Parkinson’s — with characteristic grit and good humour. The end, when it came, was caused by cardiac arrest. He is survived by his sons Narasimhan and Giridhar.
