Long-time Post editor chose to live by his words

Vernon Lionel Ram 1926-2013

Vernon Ram, father, mountain climber, dandy and one of the longest-serving editors at the , has died of pneumonia. He was 87. He died unexpectedly after a minor hip operation, following a fall while adjusting a light at his Lamma Island home.

Ram was pronounced well enough to receive visitors at Queen Mary Hospital, but died on December 16.

Best known for almost half a century's work with the , Vernon was born Ramachandran in Mumbai in 1926, one of almost a dozen children in a traditional Tamil Brahmin family. A superb sportsman and a brilliant student, he was offered a Rhodes scholarship. But his heart was in journalism and he turned it down to pursue that path sooner.

In those days, it was almost impossible for anyone with an Indian name to succeed at English-language publications. After numerous rejections he picked a new name out of a telephone directory, stabbing the pages at random. The new name, Vernon Lionel Ram, served him well and he soon moved to Delhi.

Friend Henry Bradsher, who met Ram in early 1959, writes: "He was a widely respected sports reporter, columnist and editor, a status he achieved at a relatively young age."

Ram wrote the , a popular sports column for the covering politics in the industry. During his career, he covered three Olympics - Helsinki in 1952, Rome in 1960 and Tokyo in 1964.