THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: MS Mani, one of Kerala's tallest journalists and Chief Editor of Kala Kaumudi daily, died at his residence at Kumarapuram here on Tuesday. He was 79.
Mani, who was also former Editor-in-Chief of Kerala Kaumudi daily, was born in Kollam on November 4, 1941 to K Sukumaran and Madhavi Sukumaran. He was the grandson of late C V Kunjiraman, a stalwart of Malayalam literature and journalism.
Mani was a leader of the Students Federation while pursuing his B.Sc. degree in Chemistry from University College, Trivandrum.
He started his career in 1961 as a staff reporter at Kerala Kaumudi and within a year was posted in Delhi as Parliament Correspondent. In the early 60s, he extensively covered Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
In 1965, he returned to Thiruvananthapuram and took over key editorial responsibilities of Kerala Kaumudi daily along with his father K Sukumaran.
A decade later, he founded Kala Kaumudi Publications which launched the first Malayalam daily from Mumbai, Kala Kaumudi.
Mani was a member of the Indian Newspaper Society’s National Executive Committee and was also a member of All India Newspaper Editors Conference. He is a recipient of Ambedkar and Kesari awards.
He is survived by wife Kasthuri Mani, son Sukumaran Mani – the Managing Director and Editor of Kala Kaumudi Publications - and daughter Valsa Mani, who works with Kerala Kaumudi daily.
CM condoles demise
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of Mani and described his passing away as a huge loss.
"His contribution to the world of journalism has always been appreciated and is also credited for building a huge talent pool of journalists. The hallmark of the veteran was even when he differed on issues, he always saw to it that never affected his personal relations," he said.