NEW DELHI: Senior journalist Ranjan Roy, who died yesterday after battling cancer for several years, was cremated here this morning, as family and friends gathered by his side to bid farewell to an editor known for his professional acumen and personal charm.
Roy, chief of the Times News Network (TNN) and a member of the paper's national editorial board, was 57.
An alumnus of Delhi's St. Stephen's College and Princeton University, US, Roy started his journalistic career in the Press Trust of India (PTI) in New Delhi as a trainee in 1982.
"Ranjan blazed a remarkable trail through the Press Trust of India in New Delhi and the Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur and New York before returning to India in 2004 to head TNN," the Times of India recalled today in an obituary -- Ranjan Roy: The man who ran the network.
PTI Editor-in-Chief Vijay Joshi, who worked with Roy in the Indian wire service in the late 80s and at AP in the late 90s, condoled his death.
"Like all good journalists, Ranjan was cynical and yet had the insatiable curiosity of a reporter. He had strong views but had the intellect of an academic. He was a fine editor, mentor and motivator," said Joshi.
"But what really blew me away was his outlook to life, and indeed death, when he found out about his illness. He never let that small detail of impending death pull him down, and until the end refused to be depressed. If he did, he didn't show it to those around him," said Joshi.
The Times of India recalled his "wonderfully impish charm" and underlined how he meticulously curated stories from across India as the head of TNN.
Roy leaves behind his parents, his wife and son -- and a legion of friends and admirers.