Celebrated poet and journalist Vijay Nambisan has passed away at the age of 54 after being terminally ill for a long time. Known for his poem ‘Madras Central’, Nambisan won the first ever All India Poetry Competition in 1988.
Other well known works by him include a book called ‘Language as an Ethic’ in which he made an appeal to readers and writers alike about ethical use of language. He also worked with Jeet Thayil and Dom Moraes for a collection of poems titled ‘Gemini’ in 1992.
Nambisan’s death was followed by tributes on Twitter as well known personalities remembered his contribution. Historian Ramchandra Guha described him as a wonderful human being with a ‘gentle, dry, wit’.
Very sorry to hear of the passing of the poet Vijay Nambisan. He was a wonderful writer, and human being, with a gentle, dry, wit.
— Ramachandra Guha (@Ram_Guha) August 10, 2017
Extremely saddened to hear the poet #VijayNambisan's demise. #RIP We performed his poems fondly as part of @poetry_hoshruba @DenzilLSmith.
— Danish Husain (@DanHusain) August 10, 2017
Woke up to the news that one of India's finest poets Vijay Nambisan has died. Underrated and elusive, he'll be missed.
— Jairaj Singh (@JairajSinghR) August 10, 2017
Jeet Thayil remembered him with a couplet and wrote that Nambisan was a genius who never received his due.
Radium decays
— tweet thayil (@jeetthayil) August 10, 2017
A bit at a time;
Your poems have burned away
Line by half-line
Vijay Nambisan (1963-2017), genius who never received his due
Nambisan was a graduate from IIT Madras and also worked on translations of devotional works by famous poets.
