The prime ordeal

Prime numbers have fascinated mankind through the ages. In fact, one may think that we know all about them. However, this is not so! One does not know the answers to many basic questions on primes. We shall concentrate here mainly on questions and discoveries whose statements are elementary and accessible. Right at the end, we mention a result whose statement is simple but whose proof uses rather sophisticated mathematics. Even here, we do not try to be exhaustive. The subject is too vast for that to be possible. After a long stint (1981–1999) at TIFR, Bombay, B Sury moved to ISI, Bangalore.