There are columnists who fill a space and there are columnists who light up the space. S. Muthiah, historian, and columnist, was in the latter group, former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi said while speaking at the release function of Mr. Muthiah's book, A Madras Miscellany-A decade of People, Places and Potpourri.
Mr. Gandhi said the author had, with humour, served as the Madras man's knock on what is needed to be done, ironing out as he did, the ‘callousness of our times'. The city awaits the benefit of a heritage commission; but until it gets one, Chennai will be grateful to Mr. Muthiah, who has a great passion for preserving aging buildings, he said.
‘Symbiotic relationship'
The book is a collection of Mr. Muthiah's column published in The Hindu 's Metro Plus over the last decade. Mukund Padmanabhan, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindu , who is in charge of Metro Plus, said that with the column, the writer and reader were locked in a symbiotic relationship. The great charm of the column, he added, was that even as it dispensed information, it collected information, deepening our knowledge with every published piece. Mr. Padmanabhan also recounted Mr. Muthiah's journey from sending in typewritten, hand-corrected pieces into sending his pieces via e-mail. The columnist had a great sense of deadline discipline, promptly sending his pieces even if he was away from the city.
N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu , said a copy that arrives on time is a blessing for the editorial desk. Column writing is an art and not everyone can do it. In fact, the English language publications in the country were underserved by columnists, though there were some fine columnists in the Indian language. Mr. Muthiah had learnt the art of omission, of economy of writing, is well researched, but does not wear the research on his sleeve, he said. He commended the author and the publisher for an ‘excellently produced book.' Mr. Muthiah, in his acceptance speech, thanked his family and friends who had helped him to his 60th year as a journalist and 50th year as a columnist. In many ways, the book release function was a birthday (81st) celebration and a celebration of significant milestones in his life, Mr. Muthiah said.
