Former The Hindu journalist R. Madhavan Nair dead

R. Madhavan Nair | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

R. Madhavan Nair, former chief of bureau and deputy editor of The Hindu, died of cardiac arrest at Kochi on Friday night. He was 68.

Mr. Nair had a long innings as journalist and spent most of his life reporting from Malabar, where he was The Hindu’s only correspondent for several years. He retired as chief of the Kozhikode bureau in 2014.

After beginning his journalistic career with The Indian Express, he moved to The Hindu, where he worked for three decades. He reported on a variety of disciplines, including politics. He extensively covered the Indian Union Muslim League.

A native of Thiruvananthapuram, Mr. Nair was a winner of the prestigious Statesman Award for rural reporting. He was also a recipient of a Commonwealth Award.

He had also won the awards instituted by the Moidu Moulavi Foundation and the B.V. Abdulla Koya Fundation, P.P. Ummer Koya Foundation, besides a fellowship for a study tour of Germany. He was a member of the board of studies for journalism at Calicut University.

He is survived by wife, Sucheta Nair, former Pro Vice Chancellor, Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (Kalady), and head of the Department of Journalism, University of Calicut, and two daughters Anjali and Anjana.

His body will be kept for homage at his home near the Cochin International Airport till 1.30 p.m. on Sunday, after which the last rites will be performed at the NSS auditorium near U.C. College, Aluva.