G. Balakrishnan, former Vice-Principal of St. Joseph’s College, passes away

G. Balakrishnan, former Vice-Principal and head, Department of English, St. Joseph’s College, died on Thursday in Tiruchi. He was 80. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

A well-known name in quizzing circles, Balakrishnan was born and brought up in Tiruchi, and was a familiar face as a judge or quiz-master in regional school and college competitions.

His eloquent style of conducting quizzes in English and Tamil earned him a large fan base. Starting off in 1970, Balakrishnan conducted his 1,000th quiz in 2010, and kept up his interest in the game even after retiring from St. Joseph’s College with 35 years of service behind him. He was known to research his quiz programmes extensively and was a specialist in themed quizzes.

A skilled orator, Balakrishnan had broadcast at least 100 programmes on All India Radio Tiruchi on a variety of topics.

Published - June 12, 2025 06:18 pm IST