In February this year, I met MV Kamath for the last time. Kamath, a veteran journalist, was dean of the Manipal Institute of Communication and had invited me to talk on the political situation in the country. We had to walk two floors: Kamath was 93, ailing, but insisted on taking the stairs. ‘I need to get fit,’ he said with a smile and twinkling eyes. Kamath was almost twice my age, we had sharp political differences and disagreed on many issues. And yet, we bonded. Maybe, we had a lot more in common: we were both Saraswat Brahmins ( yes, we Saraswats can be community conscious), we loved our fish curry rice, and yes, we loved journalism. Like all good journalists, he was opinionated, had a curious mind and always had a good story up his sleeve. Kamath was a journalist for over six decades: he wrote extensively. Whether it be as the Washington correspondent of The Times of India, editor of The Illustrated Weekly, as a columnist and an author, he just liked to put pen on paper. In fact, he was writing a weekly column till the very end. He was a great admirer of Narendra Modi and had written a glowing biography of the prime minister. He had one regret: Mr Modi had not come to release the book. Maybe, the book will be reprinted and the prime minister will release it at 7 race course road. I know it will make Mr Kamath up in heaven very happy.
