Obituary writing, like large swathes of newspaper writing, is a poorly developed and unevolving art in India. Except for the likes of Haresh Pandya from Rajkot, Gujarat, who files long, detailed obituaries for The Guardian, London, and The New York Times, our obituaries are ridiculously skimpy, colourless and plainly insulting to lives that are no more.
Result, obituaries have been reduced to fillers, if not a revenue driver for the accountants, and more often than not, a curriculum vitae with an updated lead. And when the deceased person is a journalist, heaven help us. Examine this exhibit from today’s Star of Mysore, as short an obituary as you can visualise. But at least it answers the five Ws and and the H.
Bangalore: K.R. Prahlad (54), news editor, Doordarshan Kendra (Bangalore), died at his residence this morning following a cardiac arrest. Hailing from Mysore, Prahlad leaves his wife, an employee of All India Radio, Bangalore, and two children.
IJR 