Writer Jeyamohan said he does not foresee print media losing its power for at least the next 25 years, speaking at the pearl jubilee celebrations of Dinamalar.
He recalled that although Dinamalar has expanded across Tamil Nadu, it began in Kanyakumari district and grew from the erstwhile Travancore region into a large institution. He also spoke of his personal connection through writer Sundara Ramasamy and noted the newspaper’s role in the shaping of Kanyakumari district.
Jeyamohan referred to the legacy of Vaiyapuri Pillai and the major scholarly efforts associated with Tamil—such as the early encyclopaedia initiative and the first comprehensive dictionary prepared under Vaiyapuri Pillai’s leadership with students’ work—calling such foundational projects a lifelong achievement.
He also recounted an anecdote shared by journalist Kolappan, attributed to V.A. Subramaniam, about Ramassubba Iyer selling his fields to start a newspaper—an uncommon decision at a time when journalism was seen more as service than business, before print became profitable after the 1950s and 1960s.
While acknowledging that the rise of the internet over the past 25 years has reduced the prominence of print, he said his recent observations in 2026 suggested a renewed phase for print in the US, with newspapers and printed books being read and sold again. He argued that there are no clear signs even in the US of print disappearing soon, and added that trends seen there often reach India in the following decades.
