Pritish Nandy (1951-2025), the everywhere man

Pritish Nandy, poet, producer, magazine editor and parliamentarian, died of a cardiac arrest in Mumbai on Wednesday. For the next decade, Nandy would busy himself with translations and publish over 40 volumes of poetry, exploring themes of love, urban isolation and desire “Come, let us pretend this is a ritual // This hand in your hair, your tongue seeking mine: this cataclysmic despair,” begins the title poem of The Nowhere Man, published in 1976). When the release of Deepa Mehta’s Fire, centred on a lesbian relationship in a conservative Hindu family, drew violent protests, Nandy is said to have defended the film. Having touched and transformed print and electronic media — while also launching India’s first cyber cafe in 1996 — Nandy was well-placed to predict Hindi cinema’s boom in the new millennium. In a tribute, PETA India VP Sachin Bangera wrote, “A dedicated supporter of PETA India, Pritish Nandy was instrumental in promoting the adoption of community dogs.