Senior journalist and chief editor of Malayalam daily Janmabhumi, Leela Menon, passed away in Kochi on Sunday night at the age of 86.
She was admitted to a care home for the elderly a few months ago and was suffering from age-related ailments.
“She passed away at 8:30 pm today. For several months, she had not been keeping well and was undergoing medical treatment. For the last couple of months, she wasn’t able to recognise anyone,” said Joseph Alex, managing trustee of Signature Aged Care, where she had been living.
Her body will be kept for public homage at the Ernakulam Town Hall before being cremated.
Leela Menon was born at Vengola, Ernakulam in 1932 and studied at the Vengola primary school and the Perumbavoor English school before joining the Nizam college in Hyderabad.
Considered a trailblazer for her ‘exclusive’ stories, Leela Menon began her journalistic career with The Indian Express in Delhi in 1978. After working there for 22 years, she started writing columns for The Hindu, Outlook and Madhyamam before joining Janmabhumi as its chief editor.
“She came into the profession after leaving a secure government job. She might not have even been getting half of what she was earning before. That shows her dedication to the profession. She was an extremely daring journalist and had a tremendous sense of news,” said MK Das, who was the Kerala resident editor of The Indian Express, at the time.
Leela Menon battled hard with cancer and was able to stage a full recovery. However in the last two years, she had been suffering from diabetes, hypertension and breathlessness.
She published her autobiography Nilykatha Symphony in 2007, which detailed all the major events of her life, including her work as a woman journalist, to her struggle with cancer and how she overcame it.