Sunday, June 26, 2016

Inder Malhotra: RIP


It was with a bit of shock that I read about the death of veteran journalist Inder Malhotra about a fortnight back. Shock since it represented a breaking of the link with the past.

In the eighties as an impressionable teenager, I grew up reading the editorial pages of the ‘Times of India’. I cannot claim to have understood every scholarly word written there but it certainly shaped my desire to be a journalist. My favourite writer in those pages was Inder Malhotra. I looked forward to his columns especially ‘Political Commentary’ which if I remember correctly used to appear on Thursdays.

I really appreciated his quiet and understated way of writing. That was perhaps the reason that although he was a well known and respected journalist in political and media circles he was not quite a superstar in the public eye. His language held me in thrall. One frequently used expression of his was “More honoured in the breach than the observance”, which means that a particular law is broken more often than adhered to. Subsequently, I realized that this expression is from ‘Hamlet’ but then it captured the essence of the man’s writing: understatement.

Another reason that I shall remember Inder Saab was his ability to stand above the crowd. In 1989 when the media was in the midst of a frenzy writing about the general elections which the Rajiv Gandhi led Congress (I) was to lose, he kept writing about the deteriorating situation in Kashmir which he said had greater ramifications than Punjab.  The rest is history.

Life’s journey has taken me from being a journalist to a communications professional. But it has not diminished my admiration for the late journalist. That was the reason for me ordering a copy of his book ‘Indira Gandhi: A Personal and Political Biography’ from a well known e-commerce portal. Sure enough delivery was promised but a few days came the message that the book was not available and the transaction on my credit card would be reversed. It saddened me deeply but in a way seemed to capture the essence of  the man : understated but not too well known outside select circles. 

RIP Inder Saab. My life will always be tinged with the regret that I never met you.


3 comments:

Unknown said...

Well written, Ravi Saab. Your words bring out the pain of loosing the link to the bygone era. I too used to read his commentary, if my memory serves me write, in Times of India, those days. He was a very respected & known for his analytical essaying of current topics. I believed he also wielded a lot of respect in the Mandarins of power. RIP Inderji

Unknown said...

Well written, Ravi Saab. Your words bring out the pain of loosing the link to the bygone era. I too used to read his commentary, if my memory serves me write, in Times of India, those days. He was a very respected & known for his analytical essaying of current topics. I believed he also wielded a lot of respect in the Mandarins of power. RIP Inderji

June 27, 2016 at 9:40 AM

केतन बोन्द्रे said...

A short but insightful piece on Inder Sab's writing style and persona. It is expected from a former journalist to pick on Inder Sab's phraseology and draw parallels and you did it nicely Ravindran. Many thanks for letting us know the subtle nuances of Inder Sab's personality in this short piece.