PROF. Mosharraf Hossain, the eminent economist, professor, and scholar, passed away in Dhaka on February 21, 2013. He was a role model for scores of economists and other social scientists who worked with him in the government, and/or at Dhaka and Rajshahi Universities. It would not be an exaggeration to state that he left legends of passionate admirers, where those who entered the economics profession before and after Bangladesh's Independence acclaimed him for being universally respected for his brilliance, uprightness, and wisdom for more than half a century.

I came to know Professor Mosharraf Hossain when he was in the faculty of the Economics Department of Dhaka University where he taught me Development Economics. His classes were a great draw for his erudition, passionate delivery, and the great enthusiasm with which he covered each topic in this course.

Our classes would meet in a big classroom located on the third floor of the Arts Faculty building in Nilkhet. The first thing that caught our attention was his very friendly and broad smile. We already knew of him from his work during the War of Liberation with the Mujibnagar Government, and his subsequent tenure as one of the founding members of the first Bangladesh Planning Commission.

I was torn between taking Development Economics and International Trade as my fourth subject for my Masters Program. In the past, Development Economics class was avoided by the MA class because of its fluid curriculum, and con-

troversy between the different schools of thought in the discipline. But, when I registered for his class I was not disappointed. Prof. Mosharraf Hossain brought to bear in his lectures not only his practical experience, but also his grasp of the issues and a sense of critical openness to the views of the various camps.

His classes were both challenging and exciting, since it was sprinkled with constant jokes, and mostly, due to his ability to present difficult issues with a sense of humor — his big booming laughs always kept us energised while engaged.

In a big class, it is often easy to get lost, but "Mosharraf Sir," as we used to call him, knew each of us by name, and took a personal interest in our studies and career interests. I remember that one day when I dropped by his office for an informal chat, to seek some guidance on my career path, he was very honest and insightful about my skills and knack, and ended by saying, "I think you will do well in research."

It took me by surprise that he not only correctly guessed about my area of interest but also was willing to offer his opinion in such a forthright fashion.

Prof. Mosharraf Hossain was also my boss in my first professional job. He hired me as a Lecturer right after we finished our MA final exams. It was then the practice at DU to publish the results of the exams a few months after the last paper was over. After our

MA exams were over, 1 and another classmate got an invitation from Prof. Hossain as the Chairperson to join the Economics Department as a Lecturer while we were waiting for the results to be announced.

During my brief tenure at Dhaka University, he was a very good mentor and generous colleague. I also had the good fortune of knowing his wife Inari who was a faculty member of the English Department, and his sons who were at Udayan School with my youngest brother Salek.

It was indeed an honour to have been Prof. Mosharraf Hossain's student and colleague: A very warm person, who was unstinting with his friendship, and always ready to greet you with his very heart-warming smile.

The writer lives and works in Boston, USA.