OBITUARY : M.S.S. Pandian

I met Pandian in the corridors of the Centre for Historical Studies the day before he went into hospital briefly, only to pass out of our lives forever. He was there to meet his students and had just finished a class. There were a few more classes to go before the examinations. I sometimes jokingly referred to him as ‘Talaiva’, meaning ‘leader’, because he was so quintessentially Tamil, an identity he wore on his sleeve. That day he seemed his usual self, a man of solemn demeanour belied by eyes full of humour and kindliness. But he looked tired, and I felt kind of sad when he said, ‘I am so tired and lonely.’