Skip to content

Family

Roots, legacy and life in Neola

While Prof. Das was globally recognised for his contributions to functional analysis, his family life was deeply grounded in Odia values, rural heritage, and a warm, playful appreciation for his life's work.

Dr. Das and Mrs. Neena Das standing in the surf at a beach in Odisha

Ancestral roots & village connection

Despite a long academic career in major cities and prestigious international institutions, Dr. Das remained tied to his village home in Neola, Bari (Jajpur District, Odisha). The family maintained a close connection to Neola, using it as an anchor for family gatherings, social work and quiet reflection away from university administrative life.

Immediate family

  • Wife — Mrs. Neena Das (Nalini Prava). The cornerstone of the household, Mrs. Das provided steady support throughout Dr. Das's career — from his early days as a college lecturer through his doctoral research, international fellowships at University College London, and his tenure as Vice-Chancellor. She managed the household and welcomed generations of research scholars, students and academic guests into their home.
  • Daughter — Ellipse (Meeta). In a lighthearted reflection of his passion for mathematics, Dr. Das named his daughter Ellipse. She grew up surrounded by an academic environment and went on to co-author research with her father — a paper on stochastic integrals and random Fourier–Stieltjes series in the Journal of the Orissa Mathematical Society (1993–96), and another in the 1999 monograph Sequence Spaces and Applications.
  • Son — Epsilon (Raja). Continuing the tradition, his son Epsilon was named after the Greek letter ε, used endlessly in mathematical analysis to denote small, precise quantities. The names Ellipse and Epsilon became a warm talking point among family friends, colleagues and academic circles.
  • Son — Partha Das (Lony). Named Omicron at birth — the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet — and later called Partha, the youngest rounded out the family unit, growing up alongside his siblings in Bhubaneswar and the family's village home.

Family album

Three generations

Early years together.
With Ellipse.
Ratha Yatra with the family.
With his siblings.

More photographs in the Personal & Family gallery.

Family tree

The house of Purnachandra Das

Three generations, from Neola to Bhubaneswar and beyond.

  • Purnachandra Das

    Father · 1900–1960

    Saranga Das

    Mother · 1910–1998

    • Muti Dei

      Sister

    • Bivekananda Das

      Brother

    • Sachitananda Das

      Brother

    • Gokulananda Das

      1938 – 2025

      Naliniprava Dei

      “Neena”

      • Ellipse

        Daughter · Meeta

        the curve whose points keep a constant sum of distances to two foci

        Bapi

        Spouse

        • Rimjhim

        • Bapul

      • Epsilon

        Son · Raja

        ε — fifth letter of the Greek alphabet

        Babita

        Spouse

        • Ricky Spandan

      • Partha Das

        Son · Lony

        born Omicron, ο — fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet

        Lisa

        Spouse

        • Lora

        • Flora

    • Inda

      Sister

    • Pramila

      Sister

    • Kanaka

      Sister

Scroll sideways to explore the full tree · Prof. Gokulananda Das is highlighted in gold