The late S. K. Rau, whose birth centenary occurs during 2014, was part of Pothan Joseph's team of Assistant Editors on the day "The Deccan Herald" hit the streets of Bangalore.

Although he spent only a very short period in The Deccan Herald, his Editor, Pothan Joseph, left a lasting impression on him. During that brief period of association and daily interactions with Pothan Joseph, Rau was able to make mental notes on his style of writing, the manner in which he sourced information for his daily humour column "Over A Cup Of Tea", his political views, his approach to journalism, his views on the role of editors etc. There was never a need to maintain notes or a diary because his photographic memory provided him material for whatever he wrote.

In a journalistic career spanning 40 years in various parts of the country - pre and post partition - Rau worked in several newspapers in different capacities - Sub Editor, Reporter, Chief Sub Editor, News Editor, Special Correspondent, Editor in newspapers in South, North West India, Western India, Northern India and Eastern India. This gave him an opportunity to work with eminent Editors like Sadanand, A. A. Hayles, Khasa Subba Rau, Rama Rao, Iswara Dutt, Chalapathi Rau, M.S.M. Sharma, Pothan Joseph, S.N. Ghosh, and Madhavan Nair.

Rau's financial circumstances precluded him from moving beyond the school leaving level. Thus, he could begin earning a livelihood only as a temporary clerk in the Office of a District Collector to support himself and his widowed mother. Yet, he had a deep interest in English Literature and a flair for writing. Being meticulous about correct usage of words, grammar and sentence construction, he chanced upon a noting of the Collector. He considered the noting to be incorrect usage of the English language. He had no hesitation in pointing this out. It was an act that was to entirely alter his life.

On observing the corrections made on the file, the Collector summoned Rau, paid him his dues and sacked him from the temporary position. Rau was told he was destined for something much higher in life, and should not be allowed to rot in the bureaucratic maze of a Collector's office.

Thus, began Rau's career in writing. From a short story writer and a casual columnist for the Sunday Times, he moved into mainstream journalism - daily newspapers like People's Voice, Swarajya, the Madras Mail, and Daily Gazette in distant Karachi.

The shift to the Gazette entailed changing trains on five occasions from Madras and going through Rajasthan's biting winter cold to take up an assignment as Assistant Editor in The Daily Gazette.

Post-partition, he bid good bye to Karachi and plenty of valuable personal assets - except his Underwood portable typewriter as his prized treasure, which his son, Keshav Rau, still retains in working order. The sudden shift from Karachi saw him trying his hand at several newspapers in Madras, Mumbai and Delhi. He worked for just four days in The Hindustan Times during the Editorship of Dev Das Gandhi, but didn't continue because the compensation offered fell short of his expectation by Rs. 25/-. He also worked with D.F. Karakka's tabloid, Current in Mumbai just for a few days.

He finally landed at Deccan Herald as its Assistant Editor at the time it was launched under the Editorship of Pothan Joseph. Evidently impressed by his abilities as a journalist, Pothan Joseph advised him to quit DH at the earliest opportunity because he could never aspire to be the editor of DH because communal factors would act against him.

That's how Rau came to The Pioneer of Lucknow. He always considered that Pothan Joseph's advice resulted in pan-Indian exposure for him, which finally got him an Editor's position.

Even as he was nearing the age of 60 and after having had a stint of nearly quarter of a century in The Pioneer, Rau couldn't resist the temptation of moving to Patna, when he was offered the editorship of The Searchlight. The assignment also earned him the "Durga Das Ratan Devi Trust Award" for "Excellence in Investigative Journalism." He was still serving as Editor of The Searchlight when a massive cardiac arrest ended his life at the age of 64.

It will be observed that in the Vidura article, Rau had described Pothan Joseph as a Bohemian by temperament, never liking to stick to a place or job, always prepared to take a calculated risk. This could well be said of Rau also as would be evident from his career graph.