When times are dominated by talk of the pandemic, here is a story on a veteran scribe who turns a centenarian. Chennai resident G.N. Srinivasan will be celebrating his centenary year on Wednesday.
Having served as a reporter with The Hindu, his family members and friends have put together a souvenir containing news clippings of important events he had covered and a felicitation note from N. Ravi, Chairman of Kasturi and Sons Ltd.
Mr. Srinivasan, fondly called GNS among the reporting fraternity, joined The Hindu in 1953 and served the organisation for 30 years. During his stint, he covered the Assembly Council meetings, the Legislature, the Secretariat and political meetings attended by important leaders.
According to his daughter, Sandhya Ravi Mohan, GNS covered the proceedings of the Sarkaria Commission — a Commission appointed by the Central government in 1976 to inquire into the allegations of corruption against former Chief Minister and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi. His balanced coverage of the Sarkaria Commission was appreciated by all, she recalled.
Having completed his graduation in economics, GNS started his career in the Indian Express as a stenographer and later became a reporter. He joined The Hindu based on his reporting of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit to Chennai in 1953.
After his retirement from The Hindu, he served as a legal correspondent with the Press Trust of India for five years.
V. Jayanth, former Managing Editor of The Hindu, lauded GNS for helping groom youngsters in covering the Legislative Council meetings.
GNS had also served as president and treasurer of the Madras Reporters’ Guild.
