Veteran journalist K Govindan Kutty passes away
Veteran journalist and author K Govindan Kutty has died after a brief illness here, family sources said on Thursday. Govindan Kutty (81) is survived by wife, son and daughter. He breathed his last at his residence here on February 18. Kutty, known as KGK in the journalists’ circle, had a deep knowledge of politics in Kerala and at the national level and had a notable career as a reporter and editor in Thiruvananthapuram and New Delhi.
He was the journalist who broke the news of the air crash involving the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai in 1977 at Jorhat in Assam. Desai had survived the crash. Kutty was one of the journalists who first reported the news of internal fissures in the monolithic structure of the CPI(M) in Kerala in the 1980s, which later led to the expulsion of its firebrand leader MV Raghavan in 1986 and a split in the party.
His journalistic writing at the peak of his career with the Indian Express was a model to young journalists of the period.
His fluent, yet sharp prose had attracted and moulded many aspiring young scribes.
Kutty, who had a long and distinguished career with Indian Express and India Today, had also authored ten books in English and Malayalam. He was the consulting editor of Pioneer’s Kerala edition in 2005.
His notable works include “An Intimate Story,” a biography of former Chief Election Commissioner T N Seshan and “A Wasted Death: Rise and Fall of Rajan Pillai,” a biography of ‘Biscuit King’ Rajan Pillai.
He also authored the political biographies of former Kerala Chief Minister K Karunakaran and former State Finance Minister K M Mani. His Malayalam work, “Kalakshepam” (Time Pass) had also won critical acclaim. In a message, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condoled the death of Govindan Kutty.
