Daddy's Day Out: Raghuram Rajan loves playing video games with son

Addressing an excited gathering of 300 students, parents and professors at Mumbai's St Xavier's College on Day 1 of the Malhar festival, RBI governor Raghuram Rajan was at his eloquent best.

He discussed education, skilled manpower and employment generation and also took pains to explain the world economy and the 2008 financial crisis to the youngsters. However, following his keynote and a round of Q&A by students, a query came the 51-year-old's way that temporarily broke his easy flow.

The question: How does he feel to be so young and occupying a post that is usually considered the domain of silver-haired seniors? Rajan, one of the youngest RBI governors, took the question gamely. The mirth in his tone unmistakable, he replied one can be as young as one wants to be.

"One needs to adopt new ideas. I exercise and play video games with my son and...I also try and adopt new ideas as much as I can," he said. Despite these exertions and his belief that age is just a number, Rajan went on to reveal that his son is none too impressed.

"Age depends on how you look at it. I may think otherwise, but my son thinks I am from the Stone Age," he added with a laugh. For Rajan, who at 40 was the youngest chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, that must feel like sweet irony.