Veteran journalist K. Kasturi Rangan died here on Wednesday following a brief illness.
He was 78 and is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. Mr. Kasturi Rangan began his career as the New Delhi correspondent of The New York Times in 1963. During his nearly-two decade tenure with the paper, he covered key issues, including the Nellie massacre in Assam and the liberation of Bangladesh.
While in New Delhi, he founded the Tamil literary magazine Kanaiyazhi, collaborating with eminent writers such as T. Janakiraman, Asokamitran, Indira Parthasarathy and Sujatha (Rangarajan).
The magazine was highly regarded in serious literary circles and was an incubator for several creative attempts in Tamil literature, besides providing a launch pad for promising young writers.
He moved to Chennai in the early eighties and joined Dinamani as Associate Editor. He later became the Editor of the publication. He was involved in some important initiatives in the publication, including the revamping of its supplement, Dinamani Kadir.
A Gandhian, Mr. Kasturi Rangan also ran Swachid, a journal that sought to espouse Gandhian philosophy and values.
