Veteran journalist and ex BJP MP Chandan Mitra sadly passed away last night at age 66. He was a wonderful man with a very big heart. A mentor of my mother’s, I would look up to him like a Godfather. Growing up, he was a source of comfort through many tough times. Seeing Mr. Mitra was always a heartwarming experience.

His funeral was attended by all of the old guard staff of The Pioneer, politicians, fellow journalists, family and friends. His son Kushan performed all the last rites. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind both took to Twitter to offer their condolences as did other notable figures such as Shashi Tharoor, Mamata Banerjee, Rajnath Singh, Amish Devgan, Swapan Dasgupta etc.

Mr. Mitra was a lovely personality. It was a joy just to be around him. His health in his final years deteriorated fast and left a lot of people around him incredibly worried. As the world bids adieu to Mr. Mitra, let’s remember him as the lovely man that he was. Warm, loving, kind and loved by all. He was incredibly humble and no family event was too small for him to attend. Every year, my mother would deliver him our homemade cakes for Christmas and that is where I learnt to continue the tradition.

May his soul rest in peace.