We have primarily addressed the problems raised by the application of the theories of Relativity from a local perspective. In the exact or approximate solutions we have formulated, we have always assumed that spacetime has a domain at infinity and that, within this domain, its metric is very close to the Euclidean metric. By specifying the nature of these conditions, we have been led to formulate others that allow us to pose the problem of Celestial Mechanics within the theory of Relativity with considerable generality. These conditions are such that if spacetime is regular everywhere, it is Euclidean, and conversely, if a gravitational field exists, there also necessarily exist singularities of this field. These singularities, if they satisfy certain conditions that we state in Chapter V, can be considered the physical cause of the field. By seeking to give them as simple a form as possible, we arrive at a schematisation which seems to generalise in Einstein's theory the notion of a material point (of non-negligible mass) from classical mechanics.

Within three years after the starting of the College, affiliation was obtained for the prestigious three-year Honours courses following the Intermediate. First year Honours in Mathematics and Economics commenced in July 1927. The enrolment went up to 503. ... Rev Fr Murphy, S.J., was Rector and Principal between 1937 - 42, a period of remarkable expansion for the College. The provision of three sections in Intermediate Science led to a great increase in the strength of the College. ... 1938-39 was the year of improvement. Lecture Halls for B.A. classes were built up.

My Reverend Father,

Father de Grangeneuve asked me confidentially if I thought Father Racine should return to India after his upcoming visit to Europe. My Reverend Father, it is difficult for me to answer this question categorically. Father Racine had hoped to undertake a great apostolate - intellectual and religious - in India. He had formed an idea of ​​India far exceeding reality. Hence, his profound disappointment. I believe he was unable to adapt to reality - he lacks optimism. He must certainly have sometimes thought about returning to Europe, provided he could find a suitable kind of ministry there.

One of the reasons why he hasn't been able to adapt here with complete satisfaction is that, in some respects, it seems to me, he doesn't understand Indian psychology. He looks at our students, practically speaking, as if they were young university students from Paris, and he expects them to react naturally within European circles. The remarks and criticisms he makes in their presence, the directives he sometimes gives them, do more harm than good - something Father Racine doesn't always realise.

If, in light of all this, and particularly in light of his family's situation, Father Racine himself seems inclined to remain in Europe, especially if Your Reverence believes he can do more good there, I believe he should not be hastened back here, but rather that this idea should be approved. If, on the other hand, Father Racine, examining the situation with hindsight, feels more reconciled to the conditions in India, more willing to be patient with people and circumstances, less harsh in his judgments about them, and consequently sincerely desirous of starting again, I believe he should be allowed to return. His great personal qualities and solid religious virtues would still ensure him a fine apostolate among us.

Fr Racine was a mentor not only for me and Seshadri, but also for almost all of that whole generation of mathematicians. He was a member of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits as they are called, and Loyola College is run by them. He taught in Loyola College, and earlier in Tiruchirappalli too. And the amazing thing was that he was in touch with many of the modern developments in mathematics. He was also a close friend of many top French mathematicians of the day like Jean Leray. In fact, he was a PhD student of Élie Cartan himself.

At that time, if at all, there was one subject that was taught well in mathematics in Indian universities, it was analysis. We had never even heard of modern algebra or anything else. Mostly, some bad textbooks in the British genre of applied mathematics were used. As a refreshing change, and for the first time, at least in south India, Racine introduced algebra - the so-called modern algebra of that time, and what you would now simply call algebra. And it was taught very well. The way it was taught was by insisting not only on computations, but also on concepts. This gave one a slightly different view of mathematics than what you would normally get. And also, somehow, he induced in motivated students, mainly by talking to them, a realisation and understanding of what was deep mathematics and what was not. In a sense, he cultivated some kind of a mathematical taste in his students. It's all very difficult to explain in precise terms what mathematical taste is. Without yourself being aware of it, you were actually moving into a different level of mathematical appreciation and knowledge, thanks to his mentoring.

He taught only the honours class, and never used to teach in the first year. However, he still wanted to get in touch with his students before teaching them. So on Monday mornings, there used to be a catechism class in Loyola College, which was meant for Catholics. The other students had something called a moral instruction class. Racine used to take the moral instruction class, the idea being to get to know the students whom he would teach mathematics. But the only thing he used to do was to come to the classroom and write letters, doing his own work, while the students were mostly just left alone. One day, I still remember, he came in with a serious face and said, "The Indian mathematician Pillai has died in an accident, and let us stand up in silence and pay our respects." Of course, we had never heard of S S Pillai at that stage.

I got to know him fairly well from then on. More seriously, I think that was the way in which I first got exposed to some kind of mathematics at a high level. I mentioned that algebra was introduced in our honours course curriculum. The book by van der Waerden, in my opinion the best book on the subject, was the book that was followed in our class. There was only a German edition of the book available then. Racine used to personally translate it into English, type it on his own like the French usually do, and distribute notes - because there was no good textbook in English at the time. Somehow, I came to know that there was an English edition that had just then become available in Higginbothams, the bookstore on Mount Road. I went there and ordered two volumes of the English translation, which was somewhat of a strain on our finances at the time. Anyway, I got them, and went to Racine and showed them to him.

"How did you get it?" he asked me. He didn't know there was an English translation because he didn't care. He had a German version and he could read German. In the first English edition, there were some wrong translations. So when I had some problems following it, I used to go and ask Racine. He would immediately consult his own copy of the book in German and would agree that I was right, and help me along too.

I wouldn't call him a very good teacher in the usual sense. I mean, in terms of teaching courses, he just used to give these notes, which were well-written; you just read it yourself. Importantly, if he found that some students were good at mathematics and interested in it, he used to meet them outside the class and talk to them personally, one on one, and that's how it really happened. One of the main things Racine did was to bring in new ideas which either he himself taught, or which some other good lecturer taught. He introduced to us new material like algebra, and thereby inculcated a completely new and different way of thinking. Direct contact with him in conversations outside the class also helped immensely.

Fr Racine taught us a course in Algebra in Honours Mathematics following a book by Van der Waerden published in the 1930s, titled 'Modern Algebra'. This was a very influential and pioneering book. With the exception of F W Levi in Kolkata, Fr Racine was the only person in India to teach such a course at that time. I took the Honours Course during the academic years 1950-53. Fr Racine could not actually be called a great teacher in the usual sense. However, he had a knack of identifying and nurturing good students and keeping in touch with them even after they finished college. I remember that he gave me a textbook by Stefan Banach on Classical Mechanics to read. I don't think that I benefited much from it. He also lent me the book 'Introduction to Modern Algebra and Matrix Theory' by Otto Schreier and Emanuel Sperner to solve problems from the book. I was quite successful in this endeavour, and it gave me a lot of confidence.

The influence of Fr Racine therefore lay not in his direct teaching, but in creating an awareness of what is important, and later encouraging us to pursue it. I would say that in those days, undergraduate education was quite good in many colleges.

Fr Racine wrote to my father that I had potential and that I should come back to college. The next year I went to college again but the story repeated itself. It was during this time that I used to go to Racine's room in the Fathers' Quarters, chat about mathematics, and borrow books from him.

Around the end of 1974, I visited France for a few months and before my visit, Fr Racine wrote to me asking me to say 'hello' to Henri Cartan. Henri Cartan was an institution in France and I duly ignored the advice. One day, I saw an old gentleman near one of the steps outside IHES in Bures sur Yvette, and the gentleman said "You must be Swarup, Racine wrote to me about you". It turned out to be Henri Cartan ...

The Alumni from Loyola College working at TIFR got together in 1957 when they learnt that Fr Racine was turning 60. They instituted the Racine Prize to be awarded to a young mathematician with the best contribution to Mathematics. In 1987 a portrait of Fr Racine was unveiled a the Mathematics-Science Institute (Ramanujam Advanced Centre for the Study of Mathematics of the University of Madras), as one of ten eminent mathematicians.

It is curious that those who lived with him longest knew him least. One thinks of Fr Racine as quiet, like a hermit in his cell, everlastingly thinking of the sublunary abstractions of number, infinitude and inescapably God; friends, a few and those intellectual; interest unknown … and how completely false! He was, like so many mathematicians, a lover of music, a keen conversationalist, witty, observant and interested in everything around him.