THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Veteran journalist MS Mani has died aged 80. He was Chief Editor at Kerala Kaumudi and founder editor of Kala Kala Kaumudi. MS Mani has been under treatment for age-related ailments for quite a while now. The funeral will be held at Kala Kaumudi gardens at Kumarapuram.
For excellence in news coverage, the Kerala govt honoured Mani with Swadeshabhimani Kesari Award Beginning his career as editor of Kerala Kaumudi in 1969, he published “Monday Magazine” and several others of the kind, heralding the magazine culture into Malayalam newspaper genre.
Mani studied at Pettah govt school and the St Joseph’s. He did his pre-degree at erstwhile Intermediate College(now, Govt Arts college) and graduated in Chemistry from the University college.
He authored several books including : Swargum Bhoomiyil Irangi Varunnu(Heaven descends to earth), Kaattukallanmaar(Forest Bandits), Sivagiryude Mugalil(Up From Sivagiri Hills), Thee Megangal(Fire Clouds). Mani also served as Executive Committee member at Indian News Paper Society and member of All-India Editors Conference.
In 962, Mani featured blanket coverage of Congress’s Patna Pleenum led by Jawaharlal Nehru and later the AICC conference presided by Indira Gandhi.
Mani was part of K R Narayanan’s team of delegates that toured England, when the latter became President of India. Later Mani made similar tours, alongside new Prime Minister Moraraji Desai, to former Soviet Union’s Moscow, Tashkent, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. Mani also visited America, Britain, USSR, West and East Germany and Hungary on invitations from governments there. He has also been to Egypt, Israel, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Taiwan, Singapore, UAE and Sri Lanka.
MS Mani was born on 4 Nov, 1941 to K Sukumaran, the renowned founder editor of Kerala Kaumudi daily and Madhavi Sukumaran. He married Dr Kasturibhai who was Associate Professor at Trivandrum Medical College. His daughter Vatsa mani was Assistant Editor at Kerala Kaumudi while son Sukumaran Mani was Chief Editor at Kerala Kaumudi.
Kaumudi clan journalists Late MS Madusudhan, MS Srrinivasan and MS Ravi were his siblings. Deepu Ravi, Chief Editor at Kerala Kaumudi and MD of Kaumudi channel is Mani’s nephew.
MS Mani, the grandson Kerala Kaumudi founder CV Kunjuraman, is hailed as a prolific media man who made his hall mark through investigative journalism par excellence.
