Well-known columnist and former editor of the Times of India, Sham Lal, died here today due to age-related illness, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. He was 95. He is survived by wife, two daughters, one of them Neena Vyas, a journalist, and a son.
A master in reviewing books of all genre, he died in his sleep at his residence in Gulmohar Park. He had been unwell for the past couple of days.
Born in 1912, his career in journalism began at a very young age with the Hindustan Times in 1934. He worked with the paper for 12 years. He then moved to the Times of India in early 1950s and went on to become its editor in 1967 and retired eleven years later. He was known for his strong and independent views.
Since then, he had been writing a hugely-popular weekly literary coloumn 'Life and Letters' for the Telegraph and occasionally for a journal 'Biblio: A Review of Books'. His literary column was instrumental in introducing many young Indian readers to scores of writers and thinkers, who left their mark post-World War literature and social thought.
Columnist Praful Bidwai described Sham Lal s the world’s greatest ever literary journalist. Bidwai told the Times of India, “If you ever visited his home, all walls were lined with books. Art, films and books were his passion, they were his life and he cultivated friends in those areas. All artistes from the progressive school of Bombay were his buddies. He would search them out and spend hours with them.”
Mourning the death of Lal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called him a “great editor and writer”. Singh also called him a “media icon of my generation”.
