Veteran journalist passes away

CHENNAI: Veteran journalist Tharian Mathew, who marked a name for himself with dogged, relentless, and public-spirited journalism for over four decades, passed away in Vellore on Friday. He was 69, and is survived by wife Rosemary and daughter Rebecca.

In the course of more than 45 years as a journalist, he reported about the agrarian crisis in Delta districts, and also worked in Chennai, Madurai and Vellore among other places, churning out hundreds of reports that created a change in the society.

He was part of the DT Next right from its inception, reporting from the State Secretariat before moving to Vellore to report from the region that once formed the undivided Arcot district. Before that, he worked with The New Indian Express for several years.

Members of the public, who reached out to him seeking help to highlight various issues they were facing, recall Tharian as a true ally, while his colleagues remember him as a model to emulate - go getter, resourceful and helpful. He mentored young journalists not only by advising them, but also showing them how it is done in the old-fashioned, shoeleather reporter's way. Even after becoming a senior journalist, he used to go on a bicycle on reporting trips, pedalling long distances.

He was the drummer in his college band, and his love for weightlifting stayed with him till the very end. The postmortem examination revealed that he died of a massive cardiac arrest in the wee hours.

Tharian’s favourite district was Vellore, from where he started his career and where he worked till hours before his death on Friday morning. His mortal remains were sent to Tiruchy, where the funeral will be held on Saturday.