N. S. Ramaswami

Nallathagudi Srinivasa Ramaswami (November 1918,^[1] Cuddalore - February 19, 1987) was an Indian sports journalist who worked for four decades with The Hindu, Mail and Indian Express, and became an assistant editor at all three newspapers. He wrote four books on cricket — Winter of Content, Indian Cricket, Indian Willow and From Porbandar to Wadekar — but was by no measure yoked to that field: well-versed in history, social commentary and temple architecture, he indited tomes on each.

Ramaswami often wrote under the pseudonyms "Cardusian" and "New Ebor", the former in honour of Neville Cardus, that doyen of cricket literature, and the latter Alfred Pullin, Victorian-Edwardian cricket correspondent for the Yorkshire Post, whose pseudonym was "Old Ebor". He most popularly known, however, by the initials NSR.

One of the most subtle and observant writers on the game, Ramaswami's work is celebrated even today. "What he lacked," wrote Suresh Menon in an otherwise laudatory piece, "was what some modern writers consider more important than style or flair — a harsh line in criticism. His writing was suggestive rather than brazen, his criticism based on larger principles rather than on passing trends."^[2]

Ramaswami studied at the PS High School in Mylapore, Loyola College in Chennai and took BA Hons in English literature from Madras Christian College. He played in the Madras leagues as a right arm off spinner for YMCA, Royapettah. He suffered a heart attack on February 19, 1987 and died the next day.

References

• Menon, Suresh. "In the line of Cardus." Cricinfo. 7 September 2008. (accessed November 2, 2008).
• Obituary in Indian Cricket 1987

Notes