Tamil Nadu has been the backyard of G.C. Shekhar during more than 35 years of reporting its politics, society, cinema and culture. As outstation correspondent for leading upcountry dailies he had been unravelling the state for readers located elsewhere in the country, before he joined Outlook during the post-Jayalalithaa tremors inMarch 2017. Ilayaraaja's music has been his staple diet for decades.