BENGALURU: Senior journalist K S Sachidananda Murthy, who had been ailing for some time, died at a private hospital in the city on Friday. He is survived by his wife and two sons.
The mortal remains were kept for public viewing at the Jayanagar T Block residence and the last rites will be conducted at the Banashankari crematorium, according to family sources. Sachidananda Murthy, who hailed from Kolar, had undergone a lung transplant, but had again developed lung problems and had been hospitalised.
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Chief Minister Siddaramaiah condoled the death of Sachidananda Murthy and posted on X saying, “I am shocked by the death of senior journalist K S Sachidanandamurthy, former resident editor of ‘Malayala Manorama’ and ‘The Week’. My dear friend and well-wisher Sachidananda Murthy was one of the very few senior Kannadigas journalists active in Delhi’s media scene. The death of Sachidananda Murthy, who was like an encyclopedia of state-nation issues, is an irreparable loss to the media. I join his family and friends in sharing the grief”.
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Former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai posted on X, “Pained by the news about the death of veteran journalist Sachidananda Murthy (Sachi). As editor of Malayala Manorama and The Week, he rendered service through journalism. Seeking sadgathi for his soul, I pray that God blesses his family with the strength to bear their loss. Om Shanti”.
Popularly known as ‘Sachi’, he joined The Week in 1982 and rose to become its resident editor. He worked in Delhi for four decades and was even secretary general of the Editors Guild of India. He retired last year, but continued to be associated with the Malayala Manorama group.
He was an authority on national, international and political analyses and was popular through his ‘New Delhi’ column in Malayala Manorama’s editorial page. Started on February 26, 1991, it was later renamed as Deseeyam (National), and was one of the longest-running political columns. Sachidananda Murthy wrote it without a break till his retirement in September 2022.
In 2006, he was presented with the Karnataka State Media Award. He was appointed chairman of the Lok Sabha Press Advisory Committee in 2009 and media advisory member of the NHRC in 2011.