Senior journalist and Assistant Editor of The Hindu’s Kerala Bureau, K Padmakumar, passed away on Sunday morning. Aged 54, Padmakumar breathed his last at 2.10 am at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. According to his colleagues, he died after a brief period of illness.
Endearingly called Pappan by his friends and colleagues, Padmakumar started his career as a journalist in 1988 with the Free Press Journal in Mumbai. He also worked for the Business World magazine in Mumbai from 1991 to 1994, followed by a stint in the Coimbatore, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram bureaus of the Indian Express. Padmakumar joined the news desk of The Hindu in 2000.
His body will be taken to the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club for the public to pay last their respects. The cremation will be held at Shanthi Kavadam at Thycaud in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday evening. He is survived by his wife Indukala C and daughter Varsha Nandini.
Padmakumar was known for his love of the mountains and was known to frequent the Himalayas. “With his passing away, the Himalayas has lost an ardent mountaineer and lover,” wrote his friend on Facebook.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan conveyed his condolences on the passing of the journalist. “He was a journalist who proved his mettle in news editing,” the Chief Minister said.