'It was sudden and the family is still shocked but he passed on peacefully and was surrounded by his family.'
Venkatrathnam's granddaughter, Teneille Pillay, told TimesLIVE that he was admitted to hospital on Wednesday.
Venkatrathnam, 84, was best known on the island for his well-thumbed"The Complete Works of William Shakespeare", a book which became a source of strength for Mandela and his fellow inmates during their darkest days of incarceration. She said that she hoped that in his death the book would grow his legacy and inspire South Africans as it had inspired her as a child.
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