G Mahadevan, a senior assistant editor at The Hindu in Thiruvananthapuram passed away on Saturday after a long drawn out battle against cancer. He was 47. His body will be displayed at the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club for the public to pay their respects.
Mahadevan was diagnosed with cancer of the heart in 2013, for which he underwent treatment and went into remission. He was diagnosed once again in December 2017. He underwent treatment at the Apollo Hospital and KIMS, Thiruvananthapuram. He passed away at a private hospital at 1 AM on Saturday.
Mahadevan was a student of Mar Ivanious college in Thiruvananthapuram, and was widely known and appreciated for his skills in debating, oration and theatre. He has also done voice overs for many documentaries in English and Malayalam. He joined The Hindu as a journalist in 1996.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan issued a statement on Mahadevan’s passing. He said, “The intervening of Mahadevan through his reports for a qualitative change in the field of higher education was notable.”
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala also issued a statement on his passing. He said, “His death is a huge loss in the field of creative journalism. He was personally close to me.”
Among journalists, he is remembered for his friendly and affable personality, his serious contribution to journalism in the education sector, and his detailed, measured and unbiased reporting.
A journalist and close personal friend of Mahadevan, Charmy Harikrishnan recalls his deep interest in reporting on higher education. “He was very passionate about it and covered it in depth. He was not a sensational headline-grabber, but had the intensive understanding about policies that good journalism requires. As a person, he was kind and also philosophical, with an interest in spirituality.”
Ramakrishnan, a retired PTI journalist, remembers both his unbiased work and his good-natured personality. “He has pinpointed many important issues in his reporting on education, like irregularities in university selections and other issues. No one can beat him. He was such a nice person, always friendly, always smiling. The way he talks to people and listens to people, it was very different. He was a real [The] Hindu man. As journalists, almost everyone has their own politics, but Mahadevan never used to express his politics in his writing. I’ve not seen him criticising any political parties. He was a decent man, he would come, do his duty and go, and was as a whole very friendly. Everybody thought he will recover, we were all so sad to hear this.”
Sreejan Balakrishnan, Metro Editor of Thiruvananthapuram, Times of India, also discussed his important reportage and likeable personality. “He was a very serious and sensitive reporter: he has done some really good stories, like on shortcomings in regulations in engineering entrance exams, that were powerful enough to initiate changes in government. He was very well-behaved, a real gentleman. Despite being a very senior journalist and editor, he would go out and report routine press conferences, he wouldn’t find it a small task, he enjoyed doing that. Even when he went to press conferences, he would ask sharp questions but toned in a way that the person in the chair would not be offended by them. That was a very positive aspect about him. He was a real gentleman in the media circle in Thiruvananthapuram.”