Renowned city-based chronicler and writer-journalist S Muthiah passed away in Chennai on Saturday. He was 89. The news was announced by his friend and historian Sriram V on Twitter. “Farewell S Muthiah - The Chronicler who kept Madras history and heritage alive for decades. My guru, guide, philosopher and friend,” he wrote.
Muthiah was born in 1930 in the erstwhile Madras Presidency, in what is today the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. He attended school in Colombo, Sri Lanka and went abroad to pursue higher education. Launching his career as a journalist after a Master’s degree in the United States, he worked with The Times of Ceylon newspaper in Colombo for 17 years. He rose to be second-in-command of the newspaper but could not make it to the top since the country required media chiefs to be Sri Lankan nationals and Muthiah’s application for citizenship was rejected.
Uniting with his parents in Chennai after his newspaper stint, Muthiah took up a job as a cartographer with the newly-launched TT Maps by the TT Krishnamachari Group to publish a tourist guide of the city. His seminal book on the city's rich history and heritage was published in 1981, titled Madras Discovered. The book, which is the go-to on Chennai for history enthusiasts has undergone several re-prints and was subsequently named, Madras Rediscovered.
He was best known for his popular column in The Hindu, called Madras Miscellany, which arrived with the newspaper every Monday morning.
Despite religiously archiving the city, its culture, and people for over five decades, Muthiah did not wish to be identified as a historian. Speaking to Bishwanath Ghosh of The Hindu, he had said, "I am a chronicler, I am not a historian."
The column, which launched in 1999, chronicled snippets about the city and included everything from why a particular bylane was so named to the uneasy relationship that British colonisers had with their subjects in Madras. It included a section called 'When the postman knocked' which answered questions from curious readers.
He was awarded the the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2002 for his accomplishments.
Upon his retirement in 1991, Muthiah launched his own fortnightly newspaper called Madras Musings in English with the tagline, "We care for Madras that is Chennai." The tabloid format paper, which also exists online, was sponsored by Chennai Heritage, a non-profit set-up by Muthiah and other heritage conservationists.
Condolences have been pouring in for Muthiah, with him being dearly remembered by people as a great historian and heritage buff.
S.Muthiah was devoted to Chennai alias Madras. Indeed, it is thanks to his tireless excavations of the history of Madras that many of our forgotten places and relics have had life breathed into them and they have become cherished landmarks! https://t.co/dy8EoEl5BX
— Malini Parthasarathy (@MaliniP) April 20, 2019
...Nothing was too insignificant for him when it came to Madras. Bygone restaurants, old rugby matches, road names, forgotten Armenians: he wrote about them all. Any city would be fortunate to have had him as a chronicler...
— Samanth Subramanian (@Samanth_S) April 20, 2019
...Madras will miss him terribly. No better way to remember him than by reading and caring about his best-beloved city. Here's the archive: Years and years of Madras Miscellany columns, just waiting to be read. Dive in.https://t.co/JqcnnOCkKz pic.twitter.com/yfsTlBwlVo
— Samanth Subramanian (@Samanth_S) April 20, 2019
S.Muthiah was devoted to Chennai alias Madras. Indeed, it is thanks to his tireless excavations of the history of Madras that many of our forgotten places and relics have had life breathed into them and they have become cherished landmarks! https://t.co/dy8EoEl5BX
— Malini Parthasarathy (@MaliniP) April 20, 2019
Muthiah was a Dronacharya for me. I never met him. But learned a lot from him. Go well Sir.
— செந்தில் / Chenthil (@chenthil_nathan) April 20, 2019
If I’d have to call anyone the Grand Old Man of #Chennai, it’s be S. Muthiah. He knew as much about the city as there was to know. He passed on today. R.I.P. #MadrasMusings
— Ramya Kannan (@ramyakannan) April 20, 2019
RIP S.Muthiah Sir. Madras that is Chennai owes you a debt of gratitude. https://t.co/dDrUxWCufI
— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) April 20, 2019
Farewell S Muthiah, the man who preserved the city's heritage in print. How much he loved the city was evident in how many events/publications he was at the heart of.
— Baradwaj Rangan (@baradwajrangan) April 20, 2019
Madras Musings
Madras Book Club
Madras Day
He will be missed. https://t.co/Y9KXuspdtS
With the passing of S. Muthiah, Chennai has lost its prime historian. It is a personal loss to me. A heritage buff, Muthiah also had a wry sense of humour. I met him about a year ago when he attended an event on my Tamil book on Sri Lanka, one of the areas of interest to him.
— Ramakrishnan T (@Rama_Krishnan) April 20, 2019
RIP S.Muthiah sir..You will be remembered as the person who continued to remind us of the greatness of Madras.. I have the Madras Rediscovered and Madras miscellany..plus photopies of your work on kapaleeshwar temple!!! A true treasure trove for anyone interested in Madras's past https://t.co/R8df1T6rut
— Dipankar Chyau Patnaik (@dipankarpatnaik) April 20, 2019
His first books are from my first employer M/s East West Books, very nostalgic 80s , RIP S Muthiah Sir :-(
— Venkatesh A R (@arvenky) April 20, 2019