churumuri.com records with deep and profound regret the passing away of the legendary photo-journalist Tamabarahalli Subramanya Satyanarayana Iyer better known as T.S. Satyan in Mysore this afternoon.
Mr Satyan was five days away from his 86th birthday. He is survived by his wife Nagarathna, children, grandchildren and a City (and a profession) he dearly loved till his last breath.
Mr Satyan belonged to a golden generation of the Maharaja’s College in Mysore in the 1940s, from which almost everybody ascended to reach great heights in life. He took to photojournalism at a time when neither photography nor journalism was the first-choice profession and communicated with images the way another famous co-townsman of his (R.K. Narayan) did with words: simply and honestly, without any frills.
Fittingly, for someone who was full of life, Mr Satyan titled his memoirs In love with life. In the last few years, the octagenarian developed a love for the wired world, and wrote several pieces for churumuri, whose friend, wellwisher and guide he remained from the day of its inception.
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Also read: An interview with T.S. Satyan
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T.S. Satyan on churumuri.com:
Once upon a time, early in the morning
Once upon a time during the Quit India movement
Mysore’s shortest man was only in height
The Raja said, ‘Why don’t you go with Mohini?’
churumuri 
RIP. I guess many people will miss people like TS Satyan and HY Sharadaprasad.
Thank you, churumuri for letting us know of people whom we may never have known otherwise – atleast in the way we know because of churumuri.
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My profound condolences to him and his family!
May god bless the departed soul!
I am sure his fans in Churumuri will miss his ingenuity.
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Have followed his pieces for Churumuri and thoroughly enjoyed them…may he Rest In Peace…
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He was the king of black and white images having photographed the rich and poor. His prose was simple and bright like sunshine after a brief spell of rain. Another Era moves on… May His soul Rest in Peace..
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Mysore has lost a colossus ! It came as a shock a just yesterday and today he was fondly remembered during a family discussion. My Profound commiseration to the bereaved family members.
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IT IS REALLY A VERY SAD NEWS I heard about the sad demise of T. S SATYAN I live on the next street where SATYAN used to live I met him last week , on the corner of his house every time I see him one question when is my sister KAVERI comming ? I told him she will be in MYSORE next week aand today I heard about his demise . HE was a wonderful and a simple person and a pride of MYSORE we will miss him a lot
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:(
RIP!
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TS Satyan, “Satyan Mama” to us, was an integral part of our lives. My memories go back to when he was in Karol Bagh, when I was about 3-4 years old, then a memorable trip where our family and his went to Hampi, Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole and Bijapur in 1968 — and in which my brother Ravi, his son Ravi and I “starred’ in many memorable snaps on the banks of the Tungabhadra. His infectiously cheerful “cackling” voice would brighten up any gathering. And then I travelled with him, my father [H.Y. Sharada Prasad] and another photographer Bhawan Singh all over South Karnataka when my father and he were writing their photo book on Karnataka, when we visited Karanth, Puttappa, RK Narayan and many other interesting people and places — Mysore, Somanathapura, Mercara, Mangalore, Shivasamudra, Karkala, Moodabidri, Manipal, Udipi,…
Almost every one of our family events was documented by Satyan Mama. My photos before leaving for Kanpur, before leaving for the US, all taken by him.
Just the other day, I was thinking of him, and the close association with our family when looking at a photo of Kalpana, Ravi, Ravi and me on a stone elephant in Hampi
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I was shocked when I came to know the demise of Satyan. He was a true Mysorean and loved Mysore and its culture and captured them to exhibit across the world in popular magazines. He was a pioneer among the photo-journalists who had an eye for artistic angles in his black and whites. I had the privilege of receiving the Karnataka Press Academy award along with him at Vartha Bhavan, as both of us could not attend the award presentation at Belgaum. I now miss an elderly colleague of my profession. May his soul rest in peace.
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may his noble soul live forever in kailasa and continue to inspire us forever.
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churmuri has paid a true and rich tribute to T S Satyan, the photojournalist who brought name and fame to India through his pictures vividly capturing them from correct angles at appropriate nick of the moment. As far as I know, Satyan liked available light photography and hated using flashgun. He preferred black and white picures rather than colour. His pictures of Jawaharlal Nehru taking a stroll inside the parlament building at New Delhi, pictures of the Sanskrit students reciting vedas at Melkote, Sanskrit village in Shimoga district and pictures of Hampi are photographic treasures.
I recall my association with Satyan in the late 1960s when I was working for the Indian Express at Mandya when he told me ” Talented and dashing youngsters like you should work in the State Capital instead of slogging at a place like Mandya” . I took his advice and joined PTI to become its State Bureau Chief later.
Like Ekalavya, I learnt photography seeing Satyan’s historical pictures. I think no one can beat Satyan who is a legend in Photojournalism.
May his soul rest in peace
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Loss of a great personality. May his soul rest in peace.
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I spoke to him only once. I wanted something on Sir M Vishweshraya and telephoned him. He was so sweet. He had gone out of his way to help me.
The state of Karnataka he loved all his life will miss him.
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Churumuri’s masthead as’ t.s. satyan’ is a tearful tribute to the photojournalist Titan
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i feel really sad today as though i have lost someone very close to me, but the truth is I only knew mr satyan by his name and his photographs. It is churmuri which made possible for me to enjoy his writings.
I really miss his write ups.
Thank u churmuri for paying beautiful tribute .
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T S SATYAN – homage from the family
On behalf of our family, I thank you all for sharing your thoughts and sentiments, on the beloved person we all admire and would love to emulate.
On Sunday afternoon, my father, TS Satyan, passed away following a brain hemorrhage. While Mysore lost an eminent photojournalist and a distinguished citizen, our family lost a husband, brother, father and grandfather. In the hours following his death, we have received tremendous support from the community and from our relatives. We thank you all for comforting us during this difficult time.
My father believed in living life to the fullest. He made friends everywhere. He believed in keeping his mind and body active. He may have been old in age, but he was very young at heart. At the age of 80, he asked my children to teach him how to use the computer and he often sent them emails and attachments in the years that followed. He used to communicate with me on chat across the world, with utmost ease.
My father’s photos chronicled historic events and famous people. More importantly, they chronicled the life of the common man. Children were always his favourite subject.
While others have spoken and will be speaking much about him, I will dwell a little on his love for his place of birth and its citizens. As you are all probably aware, he had to leave Mysore in the 1950’s for Delhi with a young wife, an infant son that was me and with nothing else but a dream. A dream which became reality, thanks in no small measure to his unbound enthusiasm, incurable optimism & a ‘Never Say Die’ spirit, all of which as you know, was a credo he lived by till he breathed his last.
After making a name for himself and placing India’s photojournalism on the international stage, at a time when most Indians did not fully comprehend its import, he decided to return to his roots and friends. Often quizzed by the many friends and well-wishers as to the need to relocate to Mysore, he said that it was time for him to move on and catch up with the times and the people he had missed. He wanted to return to his roots- where his heart was.
Today is his birthday–Dec 18th. He would have been 86 years.
Today, we celebrate many things about him – his passion for photography, his devotion to my mother, his love for his family and friends, his charm, his fondness for Mysore Pak, Kesaribath and hot Jelebis and his insatiable curiosity about the world around him.
But most importantly, today, we celebrate a life well lived. An exceptional human being who gave generously of himself and received in abundance the love and affection of all of you here and others whose lives he touched.
On behalf of my family I thank you all for honouring my fathers memory.
Regards
Nagendra Satyan
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Dear Mr Nagendra Satyan,
Long live the legacy that your father has left behind for us. Your father and uncle together have created images that continue to inspire many photojournalists like me.
I thank churumuri for the fitting tributes it has given to the legend.
regards,
Nishant
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Nagendra,
I was deeply saddened to learn of your father’s death and I would like to express to you my sincere sympathies to you and your family at this difficult time. Although I never had the oppoertunity to meet your dad, I know he must have been a marvelous man because any time you spoke of him and his accomplishements your eyes light up.
Stan
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Dear Mr. Nagendra,
I am writing to get your help with a photograph your father took for the Life magazine. I have been chronicling the lives of women engineers in India and would like to reproduce a picture he took of one of these women in a book I will be publishing on these women.
The picture is from an article entitled “World Studies World” in the July 15, 1957 edition of Life Magazine showcased the contribution of India’s NPL to the project. It showed Sarada (the woman engineer) setting up the instrument to measure radio noise from the sun.
I would like to get your permission in publishing this picture in my book, with proper crediting.
Thank you,
Shantha
Shantha Mohan, Ph.D
USA
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