Bureaucrat, poet and historian Narendra Luther passes away

Well-known poet, historian, author and retired bureaucrat Narendra Luther passed away on Tuesday morning at a private hospital. He was 88 and ailing for some time. “He was not keeping well. He had a fracture and has been in hospital for some time. He gave up the fight today,” said a family member.

He is survived by wife Bindi, daughter Sandhya and son Rahul. Born in Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1932, he began his stint in Indian administrative service in Kurnool in1956 and was posted to Hyderabad in 1959. Mr Luther quickly developed a fondness for Hyderabad’s history and took to the city with his knowledge of Urdu.

In 1991, when Hyderabad was celebrating its 400 years of foundation, Mr. Luther found himself in the Department of Rehabilitation with a lot of free time. He wrote the monogram on Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah and other books on poetry, Deccan rocks, Secunderabad Cantonment, the lives of the Nizam followed. He played a key role in Save the Rock society and built his house around a rock in 1977 in Banjara Hills area.

Political leaders, citizens, heritage activists joined together in mourning the demise of Mr. Luther as his family members broke the news on social media.