Pritish Nandy Passes Away At 78: Legendary Editor, Poet And Journalist Leaves Behind A Lasting Legacy

Kolkata: It’s a sad day for the literary and journalism world. Pritish Nandy, one of the most vibrant editors around, passed away this afternoon at the age of 78. A close source mentioned that he had a shower around 1:30 PM in his South Bombay apartment and then sat down. Sadly, he suffered a massive cardiac arrest and didn’t make it before help arrived. His family held a private funeral later that evening with just a few close friends.

Pritish was a true poet at heart, making waves in Kolkata and beyond. He even bagged the Padmashri award when he was quite young. He was known for his poetry readings at the home of the famous writer Kamala Das. He had quite a few admirers, including the talented dancer Mallika Sarabhai.

He later took the reins as editor of The Illustrated Weekly of India, a publication that had seen some big names like Kushwant Singh. Pritish really shook things up with his daring celebrity interviews, drawing in the biggest names from politics, business, and Bollywood. His interviews were so powerful that they could even rattle governments. One memorable interview with Devi Lal stirred quite a crisis in the VP Singh government.

His office at The Times of India became a hotspot, with VIPs dropping by almost daily. He had a knack for attracting pretty actresses and was a big supporter of artists like Souza and Manjit Bawa. He was proud of his impressive art collection. I remember one time he asked me to introduce him to Bal Thackeray, and before I knew it, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

But I have to say, I’ll never forgive him for one thing. I had held back news about Neena Gupta having a child with Viv Richards, and Pritish went ahead and put it on the front page with his byline. He always had to be in the spotlight. Yet, when he left the TOI building for the last time, not a single person came to see him off to his car. It’s a bittersweet end for such a vibrant personality.