Journalist Prem Panicker took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that he is moving cities. He shared that he and his family are relocating from Bengaluru to Kochi after having lived in the Silicon Valley of India for 15 years.
‘Goodbye Bangalore’
“Advisory: After 15 years, my wife and I say goodbye to Bangalore. Tomorrow, we shift base to Kochi,” he said on X.
He expressed gratitude to the city for being “very kind” and for the “happy memories” he and his family will take away with them.
He added, “Thank you, BGL — you have been very kind to us and we have happy memories to take away with us.”
Towards the end, he added a “PS” (postscript) stating that he would be less active online because he and his family are moving houses.
“PS: Responses will be very limited here on; we are in the midst of packing,” he wrote towards the end of the post.
Panicker signed off with, “Au revoir,” which is a French word meaning “goodbye” or “see you again”.
Advisory: After 15 years, my wife and I say goodbye to Bangalore. Tomorrow, we shift base to Kochi.
— Prem Panicker (@prempanicker) November 11, 2025
Thank you BGL — you have been very kind to us and we have happy memories to take away with us.
PS: Responses will be very limited here on; we are in the midst of packing. Au…
‘Bangalore will lose a heartbeat,’ say social media users
His post has received over 1.4 lakh views and numerous likes. Many even took to the comments section of the post to share their thoughts. Some even said that Kochi is their retirement location.
“Good luck and happy move, Prem! Enjoy the backwaters,” commented journalist Madhavan Narayanan.
One social media user said, “Wishing you a happy shifting. May all fragile items reach in one piece, and the only things breaking will be the hearts of loved ones you leave behind.”
“Nice! Will join you there in a few years. Happy moving,” said yet another social media user.
A third commented, “Bangalore will lose a heartbeat- we will miss having you in Bangalore, sir.”
“Curious – is that your retirement location? I ask because we live in Bangalore and are exploring moving to Kochi when we retire as well,” asked a fourth.
A fifth posted, “That’s how you say bye to Bangalore.”
Who is Prem Panicker?
Prem Panicker is a veteran Indian journalist and editor, best known for his work in digital and print media. A graduate of Madras Christian College School (1975), he began his journalism career in 1990 as the Features Editor at Mid Day. He later worked as a Senior Editor with the Sunday Observer for three years.
From 1996 to 2009, Panicker served as an Editor at Rediff, one of India’s earliest digital news platforms, before moving on to become the Managing Editor of Yahoo India, a role he held for five years.
Earlier, between 2002 and 2006, he was the Editor of India Abroad, a New York-based weekly newspaper catering to the Indian-American community.
Since 2015, he has been associated with The Peepli Project as its Editor, and since 2021, he has also served as the Consulting Editor at IndiaSpend, a data journalism initiative.
