A death, an obituary, and putting grief on hold

A death, an obituary, and putting grief on hold left State honours accorded to music director Deva. Special Arrangement Special Arrangement https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/9euwj2/article71613285.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_tribute-3_2_1_IDGMDFUB.jpg Arvind Prasanna A 11172@Chennai NOTEBOOK When a celebrity dies, a journalist must reckon with private grief while preparing to report on the public loss In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a few days after I joined my previous organisation, one of Indian music’s most beloved musicians, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, died. I remember breaking down on my way back home from work, listening to a voice that had accompanied me through much of my young adulthood. Seven months later, comedian Vivekh too died. I had wept when SPB died, but by the time Vivekh passed away, I had begun to develop the emotional distance I needed to report on the death, as a journalist. I cried for SPB; for Vivekh, I cried from a dry well.