Mumbai’s tireless chronicler (1944-2016)
CAroon Tikekar was more of a scholar, a historian of Mumbai city, than a mere journalist, though he donned many hats during his chequered career spanning five decades. He dominated Marathi journalism for two decades, provided long needed depth to daily coverage and analysis of socio-political happenings in Maharashtra.
He was an expert on history of Mumbai University, was an excellent raconteur of Mumbai city, and knew its landmarks and stories behind them. He was more comfortable with the company of books which he loved, rather than spend time with socialites of the day. He spent months in Mumbai University library to unearth its history before he wrote The Cloister’s Pale – A Biography of the University of Mumbai. He donated a part of his personal collection of books to the same library. He played a major role in modernising the Asiatic Society during his long tenure as president of the institute.
Tikekar was born in a family of scholars and journalists and continued the tradition. He originally hailed from Solapur in Western Maharashtra. He began his career as a lecturer, then shifted to Delhi as an officer with the US Library of Congress office before ventuting into the field of journalism by joining the Times of India as Chief Librarian. He also worked as the visiting faculty for journalism in Pune and Mumbai University.
As Chief Librarian of the Times of India group he got into preservation of books, conservation and classification of newspaper clippings, and slowly shifted to daily journalism as an assistant editor of Maharashtra Times. He later joined the LokSatta as its editor for a long tenure. Subsequently he shifted to the Lokmat and become editorial director of Sakal daily newspaper published from Pune.
Tikekar was strict in his professional role and demanded equal competence from his colleagues, sometimes leading to bitterness. He was known for his voracious reading and disciplined way in writing as well as delivering speeches. His two excellent speeches on Justice Ranade delivered in the Mumbai University have been published in a book form, providing a glimpse of contemporary life and values in pre-Independence era in Mumbai city.
I met him just before he passed away suddenly when he enthusiastically talked about his new project on recent developments in Maharashtra. I used to meet him when I did a research on R.K.Laxman’s cartoons for a BBC documentary.
He was a prolific writer in Marathi as well as English and contributed occasionally on important issues to the Times of India and other publications. He cherished high moral values and always kept a distance from the ruling class. He was basically a non-conformist, liberal editor. His motto was, editors must be read and not be seen with the high and mighty of the society. He extensively wrote about contemporary Maharashtra and always took a moral stand on controversial issues, unmindful of what the people in power wanted.This gave an edge and sharpness to whatever he wrote in his columns and editorials. He continued the long tradition of Marathi journalism set by Lokmanya Tilak, of fearless journalism. He wrote a book on former Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and edited the compilation of speeches by Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar delivered in the Parliament. He has written more than two dozen books on various topics. Very few know that he was also a good cricket player and represented Mumbai University as a student.
As a PhD student, his thesis was on the Kincaids, the father-son duo who worked in India as civil service officers in the pre-Independence era. The thesis has also been published in a book form. He was very fond of Mumbai city and wanted the authorities to preserve its culture and historical monuments. He was a voice of reason and wanted the city to be remembered as a city of intellectuals, rather than as a city of commerce. The city has lost an erudite friend and a book lover.