sans serif records with regret the passing away of N.S. Jagannathan, former editor-in-chief of The Indian Express and Financial Express, in Bangalore on Saturday, 24 December 2011. He was 89 years old.
NSJ, as he was known to friends and colleagues, succeeded Arun Shourie in the Express chair and held the post till 1992 after which he shifted to Bangalore.
T.C.A Srinivasa Raghavan writes in The Hindu Business Line:
“NSJ started his working life as a member of the Indian Revenue Service, a calling that soon palled on his finely developed senses. So he quit and became a writer for a small economic journal in Calcutta.
“From there he moved as Assistant Editor to the Hindustan Times in the late 1960sand to Delhi…. But in the mid-1970s the paper made a series of misjudgements, one of which was the summary removal of the Editor, B. G. Verghese, because he had the temerity to utter some home truths about Indira Gandhi’s style of governing.
“NSJ was appalled and chose to quit as well. He joined the Statesman and stayed there till 1980 when he retired. A few months later, he became the editor of the Financial Express where he stayed till he became the editor of the Indian Express for a few months preceding the death of Ram Nath Goenka, the owner.”
Mr Jagannathan edited Kamba Ramayana, the 12th century version of the epic, translated by his friend, P.S. Sundaram.
Photograph: courtesy The Indian Express
External reading: N.S. Jagannathan on Tambrahms
IJR 
N.S.Jagannathan’s insightful appraisal of Robert Calasso’s ‘Ka’ reminds me of the Tamil proverb: one grain is enough to judge the whole dish of rice (oru paanai sOrukku oru sOru padham). Critical appreciation, and constructive commentary were his forte.
Vasantha Surya
shocked to hear the news i have been calling his number all this time with no response.
He was gracious enough to have attended my Book Club participated in it ,
I and the members of my ” THE BOOK CLUB
” Bangalore will miss him
Lokkur Vasanthi Rao