Nallathagudi Srinivasa Ramaswami (November 1918,

Cuddalore Cuddalore, also spelt as Kadalur (), is a heavy industries hub and a port city, and headquarters of the Cuddalore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Situated south of Chennai, Cuddalore was an important city and port during the Britis ...

- 19 February 1987) was an Indian

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

who worked for four decades with ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', ''Mail'' and ''

Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language India, Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the Indian Express Limited, ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnat ...

'', and became an assistant editor at all three newspapers. He wrote four books on

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

— ''Winter of Content'', ''Indian Cricket'', ''Indian Willow'' and ''From

Porbandar Porbandar is a city and the headquarters of Porbandar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It was the former capital of the Porbandar State, Porbandar princely state. Porbandar and Chhaya, ...

to Wadekar'' — but was also well-versed in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

and temple architecture. Ramaswami often wrote under the pseudonyms "Cardusian" and "New Ebor", the former in honour of

Neville Cardus Sir John Frederick Neville Cardus, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (2 April 188828 February 1975) was an English writer and critic. From an impoverished home background, and mainly self-educated, he became ''The Manchester Gua ...

, that doyen of cricket literature, and the latter Alfred Pullin,

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

Edwardian In the United Kingdom, the Edwardian era was a period in the early 20th century that spanned the reign of King Edward VII from 1901 to 1910. It is commonly extended to the start of the First World War in 1914, during the early reign of King Ge ...

cricket correspondent for the ''

Yorkshire Post ''The Yorkshire Post'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper, published in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. It primarily covers stories from Yorkshire, although its masthead carries the slogan "Yorkshire's National Newspaper". It was previously owned by ...

'', whose pseudonym was "Old Ebor". He was most popularly known, however, by the initials NSR. One of the most subtle and observant writers on the game, Ramaswami's work is celebrated even today. "What he lacked," wrote

Suresh Menon Suresh Menon (born 10 January 1967) is an Indian actor, comedian and television personality. Career Menon has appeared in movies including '' Grand Masti'', '' Phir Hera Pheri'', '' Partner'', '' Fool N Final'', '' Krazzy 4'', '' Deewane Huye ...

in an otherwise laudatory piece, "was what some modern writers consider more important than style or flair — a harsh line in criticism. His writing was suggestive rather than brazen, his criticism based on larger principles rather than on passing trends." Ramaswami studied at the PS High School in

Mylapore Mylapore (also spelt Mayilapur), or Thirumayilai, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil ...

, Loyola College in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

and took BA Hons in

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

from

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institut ...

. He played in the Madras leagues as a right arm

off spin Off spin is a type of spin bowling in cricket. A bowler who uses this technique is called an off spinner. Off spinners bowl with their right-arm and a finger spin action. Their normal delivery is called an off break, which spins from left to r ...

ner for YMCA,

Royapettah Royapettah is a neighbourhood of Chennai, India. Location Royapettah is located at the central part of the city of Chennai, with an elevation of 9 m (29 ft.) above mean sea level. The neighbourhood comes under Teynampet Zone (numbe ...

. He suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

on 18 February 1987, and died the next day.

Books

* ''Winter of Content'' (1967) * ''Seven Pagodas: The Art and History of Mahabalipuram'' (1970) * ''Indian Willow: A Short History of Indian Cricket'' (1971) * ''From Porbandar to Wadekar'' (1975) * ''Amaravati: The Art and History of the Stupa and the Temple'' (1975) * ''Monograph on Temples of Mukhalingam'' (1976) * ''Indian Cricket: A Complete History'' (1976) * ''Tanjore Paintings: A Chapter in Indian Art History'' (1976) * ''Temples of Tadpatri'' (1976) * ''The Founding of Madras'' (1977) * ''Indian Monuments'' (1979) * ''Ramanathapuram District: An Archaeological Guide'' (1979) (with R. Nagaswamy) * ''Fort St. George'' (1980) * ''Tamil Nadu Cricket Association Golden Jubilee Commemoration Volume 1930–1980'' (1980) * ''A Monograph on Somapalem Temples'' (1981) * ''The Chief Secretary: Madras Diaries of Alexander Falconar, 1790–1809'' (1983) (editor) * ''House of God: Select Temples of South India'' (1984) * ''Political History of Carnatic under the Nawabs'' (1984) * ''India's Animal-Drawn Vehicles: An Inter-Disciplinary Survey of the State of the Art, Designs and Operations'' (1984) * ''Madras Literary Society: A History, 1812–1984'' (1985) * ''Pachaiyappa and His Institutions'' (1986) * ''Parrys 200: A Saga of Resilience'' (1988) (with S. Muthiah) * '' K. S. Venkataramani'' (1988) * ''2000 Years of Mamallapuram'' (1989) (editor) * ''Indian Philosophy and Culture'' (1996)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramaswami, N S 1918 births 1987 deaths Ramaswami Indian sports journalists Indian architecture writers Indian male journalists 20th-century Indian writers Journalists from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian male writers