A JOURNAL OF THE PRESS INSTITUTE OF INDIA ISSN 0042-5303 January-March 2015 Volume 7 Issue 1 Rs 50 Why media ‘on the margins’ needs to be strengthened

Does all that is happening and should be of interest to the taxpaying public get reported through conventional, mainstream media? It’s media ‘on the margins’ which CONTENTS does not have a wide readership that plays an important • A double whammy for poor role exposing malpractices. It is these ‘margins’ that need women / Susan Philip nourishing and strengthening if the fabric at the centre is • When Good Samaritans can to be safeguarded, says Sakuntala Narasimhan. The be devious / Susan Philip ball, then, is not in the court of the ‘marginalised’ media • Analysing the mind of the but in the hands of us, readers and subscribers, who seek Sakuntala ‘masculine’ Indian male / information, unbiased news and the truth about the goings- Narasimhan Aditi Bishnoi on in the corridors of power, she points out • Making schooling meaningful for girls / Pamela Philipose ver 380 officers of the Indian Telecom Engineering Service in the • We need a credible news Department of Telecoms, at the level of general manager, are being channel / Nava Thakuria paid over one lakh rupees each as monthly salary, without any “O • work. They are surplus to the DOT’s companies, BSNL/ MTNL, and are all Well-told stories with asked to sit at home. This adds up to an annualwaste of over Rs 40 crores – substance always score / and this, while both BSNL and MTNL are running up losses of over Rs 10,000 Sunaina Batra and Sarita crores per year.” These details never appeared in any newspaper. They are Anand from a small monthly bulletin called ICTs and Society (Journal of the Centre for • Of stalwarts and decades Telecom Management and Studies) published from Hyderabad by a retired, past / R.V. Rajan former high-ranking official of the department who focuses relentlessly on • Assamese Cinema : Ably what is wrong, not only with the working of our telecom services but in other surviving against the odds / sectors of society . Bharati Bharali Like the following details that we as taxpayers should be aware about – • in 2004, Andhra Pradesh had just around 200 engineering colleges with an A tribute to a poet and a footballer / Shoma A. intake of under 70000 students. During 2008 alone, the then chief minister, Chatterji Rajashekhara Reddy, sanctioned 270 additional engineering colleges. Does it matter? It does, for the consequences it has on quality – since there were not • History of Konkani sufficient applicants, the qualifying marks were set at 25 per cent. The long- Journalism / Mrinal term repercussions, in terms of quality of professional work and standards, can Chatterjee be imagined, especially in engineering (can we predict news reports, a decade • Remembering from now, about substandard bridges that collapsed, killing people?). B.G. Verghese/ Raghavendra Rao/ Robin Williams (Continued on page 3)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 1 FROM THE EDITOR A need, perhaps, for considerable restraint and dignity

It was horrendous. The headquarters, also in Paris. Threats writing by these words: simplicity, attack against French satirical notwithstanding, editors of the clarity, brevity and dignity. My publication Charlie Hebdo that has magazine have remained defiant in lecturer’s words found echo in left many dead, in France and continuing its critical satirical line. what Pope Francis said a few elsewhere. The killing of innocent days ago while on his way from schoolchildren in Peshawar was In some ways, the Charlie Sri Lanka to the Philippines. He barbaric and the world was yet to Hebdo incident in Paris and that said there were limits to freedom come to terms with that episode which played out in Tiruchendur of expression and that following when the chilling attack took in Tamil Nadu about a week the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris place in the heart of Paris, in later have similar echoes – it “one cannot make fun of faith”. He the heart of the free world. If the is freedom of expression that’s added that freedom of speech was bloody massacre in Peshawar was facing the guillotine. Tamil writer a fundamental human right but randomly executed out, the one Perumal Murugan, the author of “every religion has its dignity”, in France’s capital was methodi- Madhorubhagan, after receiving and “man had slapped nature in the cally carried out. The two heavily threats and under duress, decided face”. It’s the discretion we use – to armed men apparently called to issue a statement offering an write, to publish. For example, Sky out the names of the journalists “unconditional” apology for having News took an editorial decision not to make sure they were the ones hurt the sentiments of a certain to feature the cover of the ‘survivors’ they wanted before shooting section of people and withdrawing Charlie Hebdo issue. So did the Daily them. Millions walked through the all his books, asking publishers not Mail, The Telegraph, Sun, Mirror, streets of Paris a few days after the to sell copies anymore. The writer ITN and Press Gazette. However, incident, in a show of unity against in him was dead, he proclaimed. the Guardian (online only), Times, the attack. It was not just freedom of Murugan’s book, incidentally, was Financial Times, the Independent and expression that had been violated; published in 2010 and all was quiet BBC decided otherwise. Websites it was an attempt to instill fear, to since. Resentment against written Huffington Post, Buzzfeed and destroy the human spirit. Despite material has surfaced in the past, Yahoo News published the Charlie the courageous show of strength, too. For example, Ulysses (by James Hebdo front page. Has Charlie and Charlie Hebdo coming up with Joyce) was declared by government Hebdo been crossing limits over the a special ‘survivors’ issue’ that flew officials in the UK in the 1920s to years? The question can be debated off the shelves and sold millions of be “unreadable, unquotable and endlessly and there will be no copies, journalism may never be the unreviewable”, according to The clear-cut answer. But what appears same again, at least for a long while. Economist. Thanks mainly to the clearer at the end of all this is that Indeed, as a statement issued by final chapter in the book which journalists will have to exercise WAN-IFRA says, “It is not just an none other than D.H. Lawrence felt restraint and bring some amount of attack against the press, but also an was “the dirtiest, most indecent, dignity to their work, else they will attack on the fabric of our society and obscene thing ever written”. Copies have to be prepared to fight their the values for which we all stand. of the book were burnt on both own battles. Even as other battles This should be a wake up call for all sides of the Atlantic. Now, of course, are likely to be played out in the of us to counter the rising climate Ulysses is considered one of the best public space. of hatred that threatens to fracture of modernist fiction of the 20th our understanding of democracy.” Century. Sashi Nair It must be noted, however, that the [email protected] incident was not the first on Charlie When I was a student of Journa- Hebdo. In 2011, an arson attack had lism more than two decades ago, one destroyed the publication’s then of the lecturers encapsulated good

2 VIDURA January-March 2015 (Continued from page 1)

The March-April 2013 issue of the ICT journal (edited by its founder, T.H. Chaudary) also carried further details about how brokers buy students for engineering colleges to fill up quotas, how the government is reimbursing fees for 80 per cent of the students ‘certified’ as “poor and backward”, and how the library is not used because many of the new colleges are situated far from

the urban areas, in outlying rural Photos: Internet hinterland (where land is cheap Citizen Matters, which was launched in 2008 by the Oorvani Foundation has and there is no hostel facility. This won several prestigious journalism awards, including the Manthan Award in is a devastating indictment of 2014. the education scene, especially in technical education, but it took cannot even be bought on the news media are characterised by a tightly a media outlet “on the margins” stands, so their visibility is low knit two-way relationship between (without mainstream subscriber which makes for a vicious circle. the producers and readers – most base) to expose these malpractices. There are plenty of examples, of readers buy them because they want Almost all of us depend on media on the margins, kept alive by to know what others’ viewpoints newspapers, magazines, television dedicated individuals, but I shall are, while mainstream publications and, sometimes, the Internet, for restrict myself to just two examples dish out what they think the public news about what is happening – the Bengaluru-based Citizen wants to read and will pay for. In around us. But does all that is Matters (from Oorvani Foundation) a milieu where profits become happening and should be of interest and the Delhi-based Down to Earth the dominant yardstick, these to the taxpaying public get reported published by the Centre for Science ‘other’ media publications on the in these media? It is the answer and Environment. There are some margins become, in fact, even more to this question that validates the like the Economic and Political important. existence – and proliferation – of Weekly (from Mumbai) that do not Citizen Matters, which was a number of ‘off stream’ media/ exactly count as mainstream, nor launched in 2008 by the Oorvani publications that offer information are they like the bulletins of the Foundation (Meera K. and Vincent that ought to be in the public Centre for Telecommunications and Subbu are co-founders) has already domain but doesn’t get there Management, but they have a very won several prestigious journalism through conventional, mainstream dedicated (albeit small) readership, awards, including the Manthan media. and serve a very important Award in 2014. Citizens bored with They make no profits, don’t function in terms of dissemination reading about politicians’ antics and carry ads and therefore generate of information as well as opinions, celebrity tantrums can share their little revenue, but serve a vital which is important in a democracy. comments about issues that affect purpose in terms of bolstering the They may be outside the ambit them day in and day out – from watchdog sector. And that sector, of the ABC figures, but that does traffic chaos to unaccountability in in a democracy, includes we the not bother them; they are not city administration. ‘Speak up it’s people, for whose sake governance owned by corporate houses, and your city’ is Citizen Matters’ tagline and public projects are undertaken, not in business to make profits and, apart from reports by its staff we the people who provide the – although profits never hurt writers, there are also inputs from rationale for all administration and anyone, and could in fact facilitate citizens who focus on metropolitan policy-making, and we the people the promotion of dissenting issues of concern, so it is a two-way who shell out money by way of or alternative perspectives on relationship, which seems to work taxes, to finance the government issues of public importance more very well. CM (has stopped its hard projects. Yet, not many even know effectively if they commanded copy distribution, it is available of the existence of such publications wider support from readers. That online, at www.citizenmatters. that serve a significant purpose, kind of readership numbers are, in) maintains a strict code about much less subscribe to them and unfortunately, outside the realm disclosure, which is more than help them survive and thrive. Their of reality. Unlike in mainstream what one can expect from most circulations are small, and they papers or magazines, these ‘other’ mainstream media owing allegiance

January-March 2015 VIDURA 3 farmers are often not even aware of cleared the IIT entrance despite the rules that require them to have being the son of a poor rickshaw registration cards to become eligible puller, do make it to the mainstream for these facilities – or, as one farmer media but, as I said earlier, only as in West Godavari District put it, “If small, ‘human interest’ fillers, not I applied for the card my landlord as ‘hard news’ worth broadcasting will give the farm to someone else, I widely. Whereas, these are the will be out of work.” reports that ought to be more ‘No land, no money’ by M. widely known, lauded, and used Suchitra, in Down to Earth (April as inspiration for countless others. 16-30, 2013), for instance, exposes The readers (mainly middle-class, Down To Earth comes in print and lacunae in the new jan dhan yojana, or urban educated) who read such digital versions. It calls itself ‘India’s first magazine on environment misguided policies on traffic control ‘human interest’ stories are not the and science’ and it does expose the in the national capital that cause more ones needing inspiration. It is those environmental problems created by the harm than good. Each story is very who are not reached by mainstream current model of ‘development’. carefully researched and vetted, and media who need to know these it is not all bellyaching either, there stories, to be able to attempt to one political party or another, or are also reports about small, obscure replication – and that is what commercial interests. groups in the interior that have ‘development’ ought to be all about, Oorvani is also public-funded fought against adversity and come and what the media’s role ought and non-profit (which differentiates up with inspiring solutions that can to be, in terms of dissemination, it from mainstream media which be replicated elsewhere, by other moulding and creating awareness are mostly corporate owned and communities. But Down to Earth does for social betterment. In fact, I run for profit) and described as a not reach the kind of readership that would include Grassroots (a Press platform for independent , non- it deserves, even among the upper Institute of India publication) also partisan journalism – which raises middle-class, urban educated. Why? in the media group ‘on the margins’ the question: will the public be The magazine also comes with a but I do not see a focus on its kind the new champion of such citizen- supplement for children called Gobar of stories making it to any of the funded, independent media ? For Times, to sensitise children about mainstream publications, given a well-governed democracy, don’t issues of vital concern to their lives, the commercial considerations that we need involved citizens? And but how many schools even know drive newspapers and magazines for citizens’ involvement, they about it, forget about subscribing? that ‘sell well’. need information – unbiased, well- Write-ups about IIT graduates I am not referring to the researched, with no eye on profits. giving up lucrative jobs with MNCs alternative media (radio, local If this information is provided to start NGOs for helping rural publications in local languages, by marginalised media, can we communities despite poor returns, etc) that are proliferating in rural categorise them as ‘on the margins’, feature in mainstream media, but communities, because they do not based on readership or profits almost invariably as ‘ two or three compete with mainstream media, generated? column fillers’ or human interest especially in the urban milieu. That

Down to Earth calls itself ‘India’s stories on an inside page, never as is where the real swell of support, first magazine on environment and main stories. Why not? Politicians’ for the ‘margins’ ought to come < science’ and it does expose, fortnight speeches, even if full of inanities, get from. after fortnight, the environmental prominence and coverage, not what problems created by the current gutsy and patriotic individuals (The writer, based in Bengaluru, model of ‘development’, whether it are doing, believing that they owe gave up a job with The Times of is a report about mining in Karnataka something to society, without an eye India, Mumbai, to write her columns, (causing extensive pollution and on economic returns. This returns acquire two PhDs and become an chronic illnesses among residents us to some basic questions about activist for consumer rights. She is a in the region), tribal distress and the role of the media – does such recipient of the Media Foundation’s dispossession in Odisha, or scams a focus on what VIPs say and do Chameli Devi Award for Outstanding and malpractices in implementing amount to becoming collaborators Woman Journalist (1983), the PUCL the law on compensation to farmers in subverting the idea of democracy, National Award for Human Rights in Andhra Pradesh. The landowner, by sidelining and ignoring the Journalism, and other awards. Her not the landless farmer for whose common man? fortnightly columns on gender issues benefit the scheme is meant, Grassroots stories about women and consumer rights ran in the collects the loans, compensation who defied khap panchayat diktats, Deccan Herald for 27 years. and subsidies, because the illiterate in Haryana, or a teenaged boy who

4 VIDURA January-March 2015 ‘Time poverty’: a double whammy for poor women

Deprivation and poverty are generally associated with financial and material resources. But time is an important dimension of deprivation – the poverty of time has impacted both economies and societies. Delivering the Fourth T G Narayanan Memorial Lecture on Social Deprivation, Jayati Ghosh, professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, says deprivation of time is often ignored, and in doing so, the poverty of economics itself is exposed. Susan Philip was present at the lecture

alking eloquently on ‘Time India, since 1993, the definition Hailing the Poverty and the Poverty of included market activities and some breakthrough Susan Philip TEconomics, Prof Jayati Ghosh, non-market activities, but excluded in the 10th professor of Economics’, Jawaharlal domestic work and “miscellaneous” International Conference of Nehru University, said the fact that activities like begging and Labour Statisticians in 2013, which time poverty was most often not prostitution, she pointed out. distinguished between work and factored in to economics had led to Stressing the difference between employment and expanded the the formulation of wrong policies paid and unpaid work, Prof Ghosh concept of work to include any over the years. Time poverty, or noted that it had been established activity “performed by persons or the shortage of time, is commonly that, world over, women and girls any sex and age to produce goods associated with a busy, stressful spend more time on unpaid labour or to provide services for use by life, such as is led by the rich and than men and boys. Therefore, the others or for own use”, she said the professional middle-class. In burden of time poverty on women the use of the phrase ‘for own use’ fact, it is considered a symptom is immense, because they have to provided the crucial difference, as of ‘affluenza’. It is rarely, if ever, fulfill both paid and unpaid work it included the production of goods associated with the poor. Yet, obligations. Surveys have found and services performed in the home poverty of time was an offshoot of that even women in rich households for other household members and poverty, said Prof Ghosh. work harder than men in ultra-poor for personal use. Employment has Economic poverty precludes households in terms of time put into thus been made a subset of work. facilities such as piped water and work. The empowerment of women “If we include in the labour readily available fuel, which are is thus impacted. force that has been studied, those taken for granted by the middle- Prof Ghosh called the attention segments that were earlier left class and the rich. It also precludes of the audience to a unique out, the results will be different,” the luxury of outsourcing of feature in the Indian scenario – the Prof Ghosh said, adding that, the activities like fetching water or declining ratio of women in the decline in women’s work force will collecting firewood. These jobs workforce for the last fifteen to then become very small. She was have necessarily to be done by the twenty years. Ironically, this has also critical of the use of Purchasing members of the poor households been an offshoot of employment Power Parity (PPP) as a basis for themselves, bringing them under generation programmes, which exchange rates for calculating time pressure and, consequently, have increased the incomes of men, income. “Don’t be taken in by time poverty – in other words, they and by inference, households, thus numbers that are thrown around; are doubly poor. giving the patriarchal society a look beyond that,” was her advice Talking of the term ‘work’, Prof handle to push women out of paid to the budding media persons at the Ghosh said in India, understanding employment and back into unpaid Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), of that term was skewed. Work work, she said. The shift from paid, which organised the lecture jointly should be defined as anything that recognised work to unpaid work, with the Media Development cannot be delegated – which leaves with women being pushed back Foundation. only leisure and consumption out to unpaid household labour, is Referring to T.G. Narayanan, of the scope of the word. Work is itself an indicator of women’s in whose memory the lecture was different from employment. In status. being held, Prof Ghosh said the

January-March 2015 VIDURA 5 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration: very fact that a war correspondent instituted at the Asian College of (Susan Philip is a freelance writer worked so hard for peace was Journalism by his son, Dr Ranga based in Chennai. She has had a inspiring. T.G. Narayanan, a Narayanan. Speaking on the decade-long stint editing copy at the journalist with The Hindu during occasion, Dr Narayanan noted that Press Trust of India.) the War years, was known for his ACJ was one of the few colleges coverage of the Bengal famine, the which dealt with deprivation, war on the Imphal front and his encouraged students to think interviews with India’s freedom critically and offered insights to the fighters. His writings on the famine important topic. were one of the earliest instances Sashi Kumar, chairman, Media of investigative journalism. He Development Foundation and Asian subsequently joined the UN and College of Journalism, welcoming at the time of his death, was the the gathering, said deprivation was Subscribe to deputy and personal representative a trademark course of ACJ, and to UN Secretary General, Dag added that it has made a difference VIDURA Hammaskjoeld, on Nuclear to media engagement with the Disarmament at the 18-nation talks issue. He reiterated the institution’s Only Rs 200 for

in Geneva. commitment to serious, purposeful The T G Narayanan Memorial journalism. < 4 issues Lecture on Social Deprivation was

6 VIDURA January-March 2015 ACADEMIC ERUDITION AND ABJECT POVERTY Can we ever bridge the gulf?

As millions in India live lives of destitution, where mere survival is of all-consuming importance, what do terms like ‘freedom’, ‘self-determination’ and ‘GDP’ mean, wonders Mukesh Rawat

“Poor people, who wander about, could have been bettered, I suddenly the regiment find no work, no wages and starve, saw, hopping like a kangaroo, a of rag pickers whose lives are a continual round of child of about three, approaching who scrounge sore affliction and pinching poverty, from a distance. Looking at his for ‘gold’ in cannot be proud of the Constitution or joyful energy, I was reminded for the stinking its law.”- Dr S. Radhakrishnan a moment of the carefree days of mounds of Mukesh Rawat my own childhood. But as he drew refuse in and was returning from a model nearer, my heart seized in shock – around New youth conference where I the child was smoking! As I stood Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital. The Iwas a delegate discussing the speechless, my feet glued to the ‘gold’, more often than not, is a sovereignty issue of the Falkland ground, he walked past, puffing plastic bottle or a broken sandal. Islands. Walking towards a nearby periodically into the air, just as our How often during the debates bus stand, deep in thought about the silver-screen Romeos are portrayed and conferences that we attend, agenda and how my presentation as doing. The child was a part of do we realise the depth of the gulf Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration:

January-March 2015 VIDURA 7 Statement about ownership and other particulars about“VIDURA” the English Quarterly Newspaper, between the worlds of academic erudition and Chennai, as required to be published under Section abject poverty? Is it not true that the picture 19-D Sub-Section (b) of the Press and Registration of of the world presented in our debating halls Books Act read with the Rule 8 of the Registration of is too far removed from reality? Are we not, Newspapers (Central Rules) 1956 on most occasions, guided by the illusions we create? Even if we are not, are not our words Form IV on most occasions confined to debating halls VIDURA - Quarterly and literary outpourings? Have issues such as poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and the 1. Place of publication : Chennai like not become mere figures in social science 2. Periodicity of Publication : Quarterly records? 3. Printer’s Name : V.B.S. Mony Was the boy who brought me up short to be Nationality : Indian blamed for what he did? Was his mother the one guilty? The socio-economic aspects of an Address individual’s life are what guide his actions for No. 10/2 Second Loop Street the most part, but we, as a society, are prone Kottur Gardens to ignore this fact while considering an action, Chennai 600 085 and consequently, vilify the person committing 4. Publisher’s Name : Sashi Nair the act. The child was merely copying what he saw around him. But who is responsible for Nationality : Indian what a child sees? What is society’s collective Address responsibility? Flat 3C, GRN Akshara It is sad, but true, that in India, moral science D112, Sangeetha Colony and value education are for the most part, only Ashok Pillar Road topics of discussion over evening tea, itself a K.K.Nagar, Chennai 600 078 luxury available only to a few. In the conference that I had just attended, things like ‘freedom’ 5. Editor’s Name : Sashi Nair and ‘the right to self-determination’ were the Nationality : Indian talking points. But little do we realise that self- Address determination means little to the millions of Flat 3C, GRN Akshara our countrymen who live lives of destitution. D112, Sangeetha Colony India gained freedom in 1947. Should we not stop to ask the child who begs at traffic signals Ashok Pillar Road what this freedom means to him? Should not K.K.Nagar, Chennai 600 078 the members of our Parliament ask what GDP 6. Names and addresses of individuals who own means to that mother in Orissa who sold her the newspaper/magazine and partners or child because she loved her so much that she shareholders holding more than one per cent wanted her to live, and she, as a mother with of the total capital: an empty purse, couldn’t ensure that? It is not the khadi-clad (politicians) or the The Press Institute of India - Research Institute ‘white collars’ who will facilitate the realisation for Newspaper Development of India’s Millennium Developmental Goals, RIND Premises, Taramani, CPT Campus but the change in the lives of these unlisted, Chennai 600 113 undiscovered, uncared for and unwanted Shareholding of more than one percent of the capital makers of modern India that will make the desired difference. Perhaps our jaded social does not arise as the The Press Institute of India - consciences can be revived by these words of Research Institute for Newspaper Development, is Mother Teresa: “When a poor person dies of a non-profit society registered under the Societies hunger it has not happened because God did Act No. XXI of 1860. not take care of him. It has happened because

neither you nor I wanted to give that person < I, Sashi Nair, hereby declare that the particulars given what he needed.” above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief. (The writer is a freelance writer and a student of Political Science at the Delhi College of Arts and Sashi Nair Commerce, University of Delhi.) Publisher 20.01.2015

8 VIDURA January-March 2015 CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE When Good Samaritans can be devious, diabolical Of Evil Benevolence – the words have a chilling ring to them. At the 7th Annual Tulir-CPHCA Lecture held in Chennai recently, speakers unfolded to the packed auditorium the unnerving realities of dangers posed by travelling child sex offenders (TCSOs). Serial child abusers gain easy entry into the country, the experts warned. They pose as Good Samaritans supposedly working to better the lives of the underprivileged, and go on to abuse with impunity defenceless and marginalised children. Even if complaints come up against them, they take advantage of legal loopholes, lack of international coordination, an unsuspecting and gullible public, and sheer lack of awareness, to slip in and out of countries, to continue to feed their warped predilections. Susan Philip reports

aymond Varley, Duncan has called for representations to the believed, either by NGOs and Grant, Paul Meekin, Freddie Government of India to ensure that funding agencies or the community; RPeats, Mathew Furic, Varley’s child victims get justice). they set up operations just outside Jonathan Robinson – these are Delivering the lecture subtitled well-frequented tourist spots, so some of the names that Christine Sabotaging the Journey of that they’re not likely to be easily Beddoe, who delivered the 7th Travelling Child Sex Offenders, identified; and they usually don’t Annual Tulir-CPHCA Lecture, and Beddoe, a former director of have professional qualifications, other experts referred to time and ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, even if they say they do, and produce again in their presentations. Some Pornography and Trafficking), UK, ‘proof’. “The question is, how well of the offenders have been brought stressed the urgent need for an are we checking credentials? We to justice, others continue to evade effective international framework need real robust measures to check the law. The message the experts which allowed concerted and identities,” she said. communicated strongly was: these effective action across borders to Treat it as organised crime, men are not lone operators, one- put such offenders behind bars. Beddoe recommended, and wanted off aberrations in an otherwise While saying that it was because of a rapid response system to be put benign system. Rather, they are the work of Tulir that the mindset in place to deal with such offences. part of a large organised network of law makers, law enforcers and Police personnel should be trained of repeat offenders, and it’s time the public had changed to at least to check for multiple passports, and that governments, law enforcement such an extent that there is a desire take digital photographs of arrested agencies and the larger public took to do something, she regretted persons. No bail should be granted steps to prevent their activities, that the desire often couldn’t be to offenders. Intelligence packs rather than try, often ineffectively, translated into action because the should be built up on offenders, to bring culprits to book after the international administrative system containing information such as damage has been done. fell apart. She wanted MoUs to be credit card and bank account The timeliness of the discussion signed between countries to bring details, email addresses and mobile was underlined by subsequent child sex offenders to book. phone numbers. Names, addresses newspaper reports that Paul Beddoe, who has spent 20 years and credentials should be verified, Meekin, former principal of an working in the UK, Australia, and details of any previous international school in Bangalore, Thailand, Cambodia, India, convictions recorded. These packs who was arrested on child abuse Vietnam, Kenya and Nepal, to can be shared across borders via a charges, was employed as a eradicate sexual abuse of children, central hub set up in each country, teacher in a Kuwait school after and specialises in combatting the so that it becomes difficult for the he fled India. Raymond Varley abuse of children by TCSOs, has criminals to escape or repeat the has also been in the news – the identified various common factors offence in another place at another UK Government has turned down in their modus operandi: they time, she said. India’s extradition plea on what groom the community into thinking Beddoe is called on as an speakers at the Tulir Lecture of them as Good Samaritans, so expert advisor on child sex denounced as flimsy grounds (Tulir that complaints, if any, won’t be tourism/ travelling sex offenders

January-March 2015 VIDURA 9 Illustration: Arun Ramkumar Illustration: for national governments as by the school and orphanage route, of child sexual abuse had come to well as the Council of Europe and prey on the most vulnerable light; in all possibility, there were Parliamentary Assembly, the UN children.” She voiced her concern large numbers of Indians who World Tourism Organization, over stays being granted in cases were committing similar crimes UNICEF, and numerous travel against TCSOs in India, and the in India, but were getting away industry companies. Her evidence difficulty in extraditing offenders with it because of society’s lack as expert witness has been used to who managed to escape. Another of awareness, he said. He saw an support criminal convictions and area of concern was people of Indian urgent need to sensitise society civil matters in the UK courts. She origin, like Simon Palathingal, who about the danger of child sex abuse. is now based in London and works were caught committing offences In this, the media had an important as a parliamentary advisor and abroad under the shelter of religious role to play, he said. Just one story freelance consultant. Tulir invited organisations, and sent back home, by an enterprising reporter could her to India as part of its Technical but get away with at most a ‘slap on trigger international action, he Expert in Residence Programme. the wrist’, she added. pointed out. Earlier, Vidya Reddy, one of Advocate Gita Ramaseshan, one There should be free exchange the co-founders of Tulir-CPHCA, of the trustees of Tulir, regretted of information among countries putting Christine Beddoe’s lecture that while government had framed on such offences and offenders, in context, pointed out that TCSOs laws to protect children, the without giving weightage to can no longer be considered solely infrastructure to implement rules considerations of nationalism, from the sex tourism angle. They are was lacking. R.K. Raghavan, former patriotism and the like, because

shrouding themselves in a cloak of CBI director, said countries like UK this was a matter of humanity, nobility and abusing children, she were alive to the situation, which and it was a universal problem, he< pointed out, adding, “They come was one reason why so many cases said.

10 VIDURA January-March 2015 Analysing the mind of the ‘masculine’ Indian male In 1995, Gertrude Mongella, secretary general of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, had declared that ‘there is [a] need to look at women's issues in a holistic manner and address them as part of overall societal and developmental concerns. …It will not be possible to attain sustainable development without cementing the partnership of women and men in all aspects of life… It is now the turn of men to join women in their struggle for equality’. Nearly two decades on, the voices calling for inclusion of men and boys in the global fight for gender equality and putting an end to violence against women that affects over a billion women worldwide have only grown louder, says Aditi Bishnoi

n India, rigid patriarchal the Indian context: intimate partner relationship as well as their attitudes norms, which tip the gender violence and son preference. It’s a towards gender equality. According Ibalance firmly in the favour of well-established fact that Indian to Frederika Meijer, UNFPA India men, have severely restricted this women experience intense social Representative, “Gendered ideas positive discourse of change. Even and familial pressure to produce of masculinity and childhood today, a majority of women are sons and the failure to do so experiences are significant forced to accept and internalise increases the threat of violence and contributing factors behind men male dominance in their lives. They abandonment in marriage. using violence. This research have no real say, whether it is about Indeed, not all men think, identifies alternative expressions picking what to wear or deciding feel or respond in the same way, of masculinity that offer pointers to on the number of children they which is why the study employs effectively engage men and boys want to have. an innovative masculinity index to in achieving gender equality. It How can Indian men be moti- measure the degree of behavioural identifies triggers that could enable vated to stand up for the women rigidity, based on the levels of them to become change agents in in their lives? How can they be control men practice in intimate addressing gender discrimination.” enabled to discard their sexist outlook and help in redefining the existing gender roles? Answers to these questions lie in figuring out the mindset of desi men to ascertain what informs their actions and im- pressions of acceptable behaviour. After all, how can effective gender equality be achieved without a clear understanding of how their thinking can be influenced. The new study, ‘Masculinity, Intimate Partner Violence and Son Preference in India’, undertaken by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW), takes a look at how the average Indian male interprets the idea of ‘masculinity’ and how it Photos: PP/WFS shapes his interactions with women and increases his desire for sons. Whereas the notion of masculinity can be expressed in a variety of The traditional construct of masculinity obstructs men from standing up ways, this study explores two areas for and with the women related to them. This picture and the next are for that are particularly important in representational purposes only.

January-March 2015 VIDURA 11 dominance over their partner if she so much as even tried to step out of her traditional roles or was unable to meet the expectation of bearing sons. In fact, more than half – 52 per cent – of the 3158 women surveyed, too, talked about experiencing some form of violence during their lifetime, with 38 per cent suffering physical violence, like being kicked, beaten, slapped, choked and burned, and 35 per cent subjected to emotional violence, including insults, intimidation and threats. While Odisha and Uttar Pradesh emerged as the states with the highest incidence of intimate partner violence at 75 per cent, Punjab and Haryana followed at 43 per cent and Maharashtra at 37 per cent. “The study reaffirms and demonstrates that addressing inequitable gender norms and masculinity issues are at the heart of tackling the root causes of intimate partner violence and son preference,” states Luis Mora, The more men witness their father exercising greater influence at home in their chief, Gender-Human Rights and formative years the less likely they are to develop gender equitable attitudes which culture, UNFPA. further intensifies conventional masculine attitudes. If men with discriminatory gender views are more inclined So, how does the average Indian to use contraceptives without their towards physically abusing their male understand masculinity? permission. partner, then they are also the ones Judging from the telling responses Clearly, “being a real man” is more likely to want sons, affirms of the 9,205 men interviewed for characterised by authority, while a the study. Male children are central the study, he is convinced that woman has to prove her femininity to Indian families as they stand to ‘mardangi’ (masculinity) is all about by epitomising the qualities of inherit property, carry forward the acting tough, freely exercising his “tolerance and acceptance”. Any family lineage and participate in privilege to lay down the rules in departure from these mannerisms specific religious rituals. However, personal relationships, and, above and she would definitely risk this attitude only consolidates all, controlling women. provoking a violent reaction. their status as the custodians of Sure enough, the study shows a patriarchal values. Little wonder, Take a look: very high prevalence of intimate India’s level of discrimination * One-in-three men surveyed partner violence in India. Around against girls is among the strongest didn’t allow their wives to wear two-out-of-five men from the seven in the world, and is demonstrated clothes of their choice. study states of Uttar Pradesh, early through the heinous practice * Sixty-six per cent men believed Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, of sex selection. Indeed, even the that they had “a greater say than Maharashtra, Odisha, and Punjab latest Census 2011 data notably their wife/partner in the important and Haryana were found to be reveals the child sex ratio in the decisions that affect us”. ‘rigidly masculine’ in their attitude country has dropped from 927 girls * In the bedroom, 75 per cent and behaviour, as they firmly stated per 1,000 boys to an all-time low of men expected their partners to that women should neither be seen 918. Incidentally, while examining instantly agree to having sex if they nor heard. the extent of son preference, so desired. Moreover, over 50 per What’s more, 60 per cent admitted the study measured daughter cent didn’t expect their partners to using violence to assert their discrimination and found that on

12 VIDURA January-March 2015 an aggregate over a third of the belief that more male children can If patriarchy has hurt women men and women showed both high guarantee better financial security. grievously, then misplaced daughter discrimination and son The other aspect that plays impressions of masculinity have preferring attitudes. an essential part in intensifying damaged men. The Masculinity Undoubtedly, the traditional conventional masculine attitudes study makes an urgent call for construct of masculinity increases is childhood experiences. The more developing policy that builds the proclivity for violence and son men witness their fathers exercising men’s confidence to behave preference among men. But, in order greater influence at home in their differently. Though it makes several to be able to enlist them to become formative years the less likely they recommendations, two solutions a part of the solution, and not the are to develop gender equitable that offer the promise of real problem, a couple of factors need attitudes. Says Ravi Verma, regional transformation involve breaking the to be taken into account. Firstly, the director, ICRW-Asia, “The findings cycle of discrimination by reaching study catalogues economic stress of the study are extremely clear out to young boys with fresh ideas

as a major trigger for both violence on lasting impact of childhood of masculinity that are not based on against women and the desire for experiences. It is high time we begin power or authority, and ensuring < sons. A crisis that threatens their to seriously think how we wish to quality education for both sexes. position as the primary providers bring up our boys and also present instantly prompts them to lash out. ourselves as adults to younger ones (Courtesy: Women's Feature Service) Simultaneously, it reiterates their within the families.”

India needs to do more for its women Despite the fact that India was among the earliest countries to have had a woman prime minister and later several women chief ministers, the country still has a long way to go before achieving gender parity. Even sustaining the existing difference has turned out to be a challenge, let alone reducing the gap. According to the latest Gender Equality Index brought out by the World Economic Forum, India slipped 13 places -- from 101 to 114 – between 2013 and 2014, a poor commentary on the condition of women in the country. Surprisingly, when it comes to female political empowerment India ranks way up in 15th place but that has not translated into a better life for women in general. The country sinks right to the bottom (just above Armenia) in the 141st place in the areas of health and survival. The gender index clearly indicates that despite areas where there may be an appearance of equality, Indian society remains largely traditional and options for women are limited. Take the employment indicator. Men get paid on an average four times more than women for the same level of work. Or, for that matter, education. For every 100 literate males, there are only 68 female counterparts. No wonder, India ranks 126 in this area. Governments at the Centre and the states have over the years unveiled several ambitious women-centric programmes, but either these are useless or have not been sincerely implemented. For all the discrimination against women, the reality of their performance tells a different tale. The gender index points out that Indian women are far better budget managers than men. Not just that, they are more efficient representatives than men in that they are able to garner better resources for the community even though they are less educated and do not have the requisite work experience like their male counterparts. It is time the index is taken seriously. The Union Government should take the lead in implementing game-changing laws like enacting the women’s reservation bill which has remained stuck for over a decade now. Some states have implemented 50 per cent female reservation in panchayats but all must follow. Chiefs of private industry too should ensure more jobs for women with pay equal to that of the men. The biggest challenge is how to change the conservative and narrow mindset among sections of the citizenry who do not think twice before resorting

to abhorrent practices like female foeticide and relentlessly fan the notion that the woman’s place is only at home – to procreate and take care of the family. <

(Courtesy: Deccan Herald)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 13 Please see me as a woman, not as a prey

Harshini Raji V.P. says she is being overfed with opinions. Her head is being stuffed with too much of information about cabs and bans and rapists. She says she is afraid her opinion will go unnoticed among the millions of other women trying to scream out their rage against rapes and how loop- holed the Indian system of governance is. Why can’t a man respect a woman and give her some dignity, she wonders

en don't just molest and inside his head that women are sexy passed out walk away, in India. This beings. Then, you put a man along on a street. Harshini Raji V.P. Mhappens everywhere. Yes, with her on the billboard and tell him No, I don't as a child and as an adolescent, I that standing next to her is even sexier. think I can take advantage of a have had filthy encounters myself. Making him believe that he should be man who is drunk out of his mind All around the world, there are men with a woman to feel sexy. on the dance floor. Why do you wanting to profess their power over I am losing it. I am made to be think you can see me like that? a woman by using sexual voracity watched as a doll, wherever I walk. The problem is in the roots, as a weapon. I want to be able The hungry eyes cut into my body: first my child. Mothers always taught to understand first, is this sexual breasts, then butts, then legs. Thanks the son that it is okay to ask her hunger? Or a hunger to show we, to Tom Ford's models and Sheila ki to find the lost pair of socks, she as women, stand toothless when Jawaani, I don't really have much taught him it is okay to come home attacked sexually? clothes on – in the eyes of these men. late, she taught him it is okay to But dear media, is it not your But it just gets on my nerves when be the one making decisions. She fault? You commit the mistakes they blame women for the crime. The taught him, he is the powerful one. and you later come out and stand decline in the number of politicians who And ever since he believed that it in the streets and raise slogans. foul-mouth after every rape encounter was okay to be the one ruling over How ironic! You first put up saying, "she asked for it" has clearly women, whether she was conscious advertisements of how 'sexy’ women declined, thank God. No, I don't think I or not, whether it was against her are. Psychologically planting it can take advantage of a man who has conscience or not. Such convention may not last for long. There will come a day when he will be afraid. No, I don't mean tit-for-tat and tell him he will be scared to go out in the night, but he will be afraid of the law. Although I don't foresee this coming anytime soon, because a bill claiming capital punishment for rape is going to take a long time to be passed, there will come a day (hopefully). Until then, I beg you to

see me as a woman and not as a prey. <

(The writer is a fourth-year student of Anna University, studying Electronic Media. A blogger for many years and aspiring to become a fine gender researcher, she is also a freelance graphic designer and content writer.) Illustration: Arun Ramkumar

14 VIDURA January-March 2015 Making schooling really meaningful for girls

Anita Rampal is professor of Elementary and Social Education at the Department of Education, Delhi University, and a member of the executive committee of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). In a conversation with Pamela Philipose, the noted educationist explains why the quality of education becomes a crucial factor in retaining girls in school. If no learning is taking place, parents and the community will not be motivated to persist with sending the girl to school, she says

ccording to recent imparted is not something we can India is our research, the impact of be really happy about. A good early learning Pamela Philipose Aschool education is no school education cannot be based systems. If we longer measured by a student’s on a meaningless chalk-and-talk don’t have good systems to ensure competence in studies, but by his routine and textbooks that don’t that younger siblings are better or her motivation to study. In India, encourage students to think. looked after, then the responsibility we have not sufficiently considered What, after all, is the purpose of of caring for them falls on their this aspect. We haven’t asked learning? It is not just about getting older female siblings, which may ourselves the central question: is a job or social recognition; it is about even have the effect of taking our educational system motivating an individual’s development. Yet, them completely away from their our students sufficiently? in a lot of communities, that larger schooling. Yet, we know that if girls Undoubtedly, over the last purpose is still not acknowledged, manage to stay on in the system and few decades India has made especially where girls are access higher secondary schooling, considerable progress in terms of concerned. The presumption they often show more consistency increasing the enrolment of girls. continues to be that girls are not in their performance than their There are more schools now and going to really do anything with male counterparts. we know that in order to have their schooling and that nothing The Integrated Child Develop- more girls in the classroom it much can be expected from them. ment Services (ICDS) is one matters if these schools are close to This, in turn, impacts negatively on of the world’s largest welfare their homes, it matters if there are their self-perception and capacity interventions. It has been somewhat enough teachers, it matters if there to persist with schooling. There is useful in terms of addressing poor are women teachers. But what is also the divide between private and nutrition but has proved totally also obvious is that, even today, government schooling that impacts ineffectual in terms of education. the quality of the education being girls from disadvantaged homes We need to focus much more on disproportionately. Girls tend to get children under six. This poor start relegated to poorly-run government is compounded by indifferent schools. Often, even in relatively early schooling within the formal prosperous families, a daughter system. will get sent to a government school Interestingly, over the past few while her brother attends a better years, the highest level of dropouts resourced private institution. we have had is actually in Class So the odds are always much Two or Class Three. Children, greater for the girl. It becomes especially girls, come to school and a challenge for her to diligently then, within a couple of years, leave pursue schooling, even if things it. This is because their schooling

Photo: Ratna Bharali Talukdar/WFS are not making sense, even if she just doesn’t seem relevant to their doesn’t have support at home, even families. It is a vicious cycle. If no If a girl student is given a supportive environment to learn, she will be if she is more hungry, or more tired learning is taking place because of able to participate, otherwise she because of the additional household the lack of a proper system, then could easily slip through the cracks work that comes her way. One area parents and the community will not of a callous system. of education that is very weak in be motivated enough to send the girl

January-March 2015 VIDURA 15 measures will take only take us this far, what is needed is a major restructuring of power equations. Gender bias in school education is really a cluster of many issues. They include methods of teaching, family aspirations, and, of course, the textbooks used. So while it is true that we must have more representation of girls in textbooks, we should also have different kinds of representation. While designing the new NCERT textbooks, we found that artists would come up with the same kind of pictures – girls doing something that is very notional, or

Photo: Rekha Pal/WFS just watching, while the boys were shown conducting the experiments. A group of girls in Barmer, Rajasthan, wait for a bus to go to school, nine We had to actually keep trashing it km away. Over the past few decades India has made considerable progress in out with the illustrators, even in increasing the enrolment of girls but in order to have more girls in the classroom this day and age when there is so it matters if these schools are close to their homes. much public discussion on gender stereotyping. to school. So we have the case of the everywhere in the world make for Addressing gender stereotyping girl being placed in an indifferent greater participation. In India, this is a complex process. You find that educational environment to start is often lacking. Even though we even very young children have with and then, when the results are trying to do better in this regard very fixed notions of what a woman don’t show, it becomes an argument through vehicles like the Sarva should be doing. You will find for withdrawing her altogether Siksha Abhiyan, we know that our eight-year-old boys saying, “This from school. classrooms and curricula haven’t is not what ‘ma’ has to do, this is While there has been progress changed much; that it is still very what papa should be doing.” How in terms of girls’ enrolment, no much the old model of teachers do we address this? We can always one really knows about their levels talking down to the class. This is not write a paragraph about social of participation. There is, in fact, an approach that builds a sense of stereotypes, and leave it at that, a mismatch between the actual agency, particularly in girls. but that won’t change anything. enrolment of girls and their regular Having personally worked in Only when teachers engage with attendance. Any development the Hoshangabad Science Teaching students through conversation and within the family – an illness Programme for Rural Schools in encourage the active participation at home, a ceremony, someone Madhya Pradesh, I saw for myself of all the children, regardless of coming down for a visit – can affect that wherever teachers give a their sex, can change come about. their regular attendance. Once chance to the students, real learning The idea is to end the old top- there is a break in their education, does take place. But if the class down approach to teaching. even a short break of say a week, does not have some group activity Children, instead of being passive it becomes extremely difficult for and without children themselves consumers of information, need them to catch up. So it is not just the doing experiments and discussing to construct their own knowledge. quality of learning that is crucial, their results with each other, It’s only then can the various biases

within the system, whether of caste, but the regularity of learning. understanding does not set in. < Middle-school more or less Group work helps bridge gender class or gender, be addressed. replicates the situation at the gaps. If you don’t allow for group primary level. We find here that work, it is very easy for the girls to (Courtesy: Women's Feature Service) few teachers have high expectations fall behind. with regard to their girl students. For a long time, addressing To change this, we need better gender bias in school education curricula and a different kind of meant dealing with it at a superficial teaching. It is known that activity- level, like having more illustrations and conversation-based pedagogies of girls in textbooks. But such

16 VIDURA January-March 2015 The identity of a modern Kashmiri woman Living amidst the chaos, confusion, turmoil and trauma of a prolonged conflict, the people in Kashmir have had no choice but to endure what came their way. Countless mothers, wives, sister and daughters have spent a better part of their lives negotiating space for their menfolk and living with strife in their own way. Today, Kashmiris are looking for change – as amply displayed with the unprecedented voter turnout during the recent polls – and some enterprising women are even leading this bid for transformation. In this excerpt from The Land I Dream Of – The Story of Kashmir’s Women by Manisha Sobhrajani, published by Hachette India, meet new age women who know what their preferences in life are and are not afraid to speak their mind

y favourite haunt in created were a sell-out. Roshan had Srinagar city is Pari Mahal, carefully and tediously carved out Ma garden palace located at a niche market for the women’s the top of the Zabarwan Range. It products – exquisitely hand- consists of six terraces and offers embroidered bags, dupattas, head a panoramic view of the valley. scarves, shawls, wallets, chappals The ruins of an observatory built (slippers), etc. by Dara Shikoh, the mystic son of I sat with the women as a silent the Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan, observer, while they went about the gardens were used for teaching discussing marketing strategies, astronomy and astrology. reflecting over new trends, arguing I wandered around aimlessly for about prices and contemplating some time before settling at a spot. I whether family life was better could see a group of women having before or after they started earning an animated conversation; they their own money. Amidst all this looked like Gujjar women to me, hullabaloo, they made it a point and amidst them was an extremely to let Roshan know it was about attractive, city-bred young woman, time she got married, a suggestion as was obvious from her clothes Roshan had clearly heard many and mannerisms. I observed the times before and dismissed with

group for some time, and it was a mere shrug of the shoulders. Photo: Hachette India clear that they were bound to each After bidding the women farewell, other, and the connecting thread she then invited me to join her as ‘The Land I Dream Of – The Story was the young woman. I couldn’t she was going into town to meet of Kashmir’s Women’ by Manisha help but overhear parts of their Jahanavi, a friend of hers. Sobhrajani; Published by Hachette conversation, which revolved As we sat waiting for Jahanavi to India; Pp: 200; Price: Rs 399. around embroidery, fabric, colours come, Roshan and I exchanged brief and the like. Curiosity got the better notes on our lives. Roshan’s family conscious of the family’s social of me, and I went up to the group was one of those long-standing, position and its ability to use that and introduced myself. The women elitist families of the valley whose very position to contribute towards were amused, yet welcoming. The presence was as old and as taken the growth of her society. She young lady introduced herself to for granted as the mountains managed a part of the hotel business me as Roshan. of Kashmir. Running a chain of for her family, simultaneously From an affluent family, as was hotels along the tourist circuit in working with Gujjar women of obvious, Roshan worked with a Kashmir, and with several business the area and helping them place group of Pahari/ Gujjar women arrangements across the world, themselves somewhat better vis-à- who had been trained in basic the family was a name to reckon vis their respective families as well stitching and tailoring, and when with. While Roshan was aware of as the society at large. she coupled that with their expertise the privileges of being part of such Roshan had chosen to put at embroidery, the products they a family, she was also extremely the issue of her marriage on the

January-March 2015 VIDURA 17 Talking of liberated women and societies, I was to meet with Firoza and Sophia, friends of Roshan and Jahanavi. Firoza worked as a senior sub-editor with one of the local leading English dailies and Sophia was an aspiring candidate for the Kashmir Public Services Commission, J&K’s civil services competitive examinations. I met them at Residency Road, from where we made our way to my favourite (and one of the very few) coffee shops in town, Café Arabica. ...As we were talking, we were joined by Roshan and Jahanavi, with another vivacious woman who had ‘rebellion’ written all over her. She was introduced to Photo: Sana Altaf/WFS Photo: Sana me as Aliya, and I was told she was beginning to create ripples in the art circles of Kashmir. She was Today, Kashmiris are looking for change – as amply displayed with the a painter, and her forte, according unprecedented voter turnout during the recent polls – and some enterprising to her, was surrealism. … Sitting women are even leading this bid for transformation. with these five women – Roshan, Jahanavi, Firoza, Sophia and Aliya – backburner for two major reasons: she was the manager of the grounds, who defined the modern Kashmiri one, she was not willing to put and this pleasantly surprised me. woman, I was having difficulties aside all her work and jump into I suddenly had a mental image reconciling to all that I had seen matrimony, not knowing how it of Jahanavi taking charge of the and experienced in Kashmir over would turn out to be; also, she grounds, giving instructions for the the past decade. This new breed of did not know whether she would upkeep and maintenance, managing self-made, independent Kashmiri have the time and space to carry on high-end events and dealing with the women knew their minds well and with the same work post-marriage. administrative aspect of it. I couldn’t were not only capable of making

The second reason was that she help but look at the enterprising their own decisions, but would also was yet to meet a man willing to woman in awe. She told me it was not have it any other way. < understand and accept her passion no easy task, considering she had and devotion to her work, and who faced a lot of opposition on many (Courtesy: Women's Feature Service) would give her work its due respect fronts to come to this point. and recognition in their lives. I considered this casual meeting On this note, Jahanavi made her with Roshan and Jahanavi as my entry into the café where we had formal introduction to the new parked ourselves for the afternoon. breed of Kashmiri women, who not Young, vibrant and beautiful, she only knew how to take matters in greeted Roshan with the warmth their own hands but also how to deal of an old friend and welcomed with those matters, whether related my presence in the true spirit of to their personal lives and families Kashmiriyat. When I asked Jahanavi or the wider spectrum of societal about herself, she suggested that consciousness. These ‘modern’ Subscribe to Roshan and I come with her to her women knew what their preferences workplace... in life were; what’s more, they even RIND SURVEY Driving along the Dal Lake, just knew what options and choices to when winter was making way for make, and what rights to exercise; Only Rs 480 for summer and intermittent rain made they knew their minds well; and the valley look ethereal, we reached when to speak their mind and when 12 issues the polo grounds. … Roshan told me to remain silent…

18 VIDURA January-March 2015 Why property rights for women matter quite a lot Bina Agarwal is a prize-winning development economist and professor of Development Economics and Environment at the University of Manchester. Earlier, she was director, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi. Her work, A Field of One’s Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia,came out in 1994. She also spearheaded a successful campaign for the comprehensive amendment of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, which resulted in the enactment of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. In this conversation with Pamela Philipose, she talks about how women’s property rights have evolved in India.

or women, effective rights the welfare of their families. Many in property are critically studies reveal that women tend to Fimportant, not just for spend a larger proportion of their their economic well-being but incomes from employment or also for their political and social assets on family needs, especially empowerment. Why is women’s children’s needs, than men. command over such property An additional finding from important? Consider land. As I research I did with a colleague a have spelt out in my writings, for few years ago is the security against the vast numbers still living in domestic violence land ownership villages, land remains the mainstay can provide. We studied 502 ever- of livelihoods. It is the primary married women in the 15-49 age factor of production and the main group in the rural and urban areas source of income and welfare for of Thiruvananthapuram District in millions. Kerala, and found that the incidence There is also a strong correlation of spousal physical violence was 49

between landlessness and poverty. per cent among those who owned Photo: Manipadma Jena/WFS Even a small plot can protect neither land nor a house, but only a family from destitution by seven per cent among those who Simply getting a title to land can be providing supplementary income. owned both; and 10 per cent and 18 greatly empowering for women in a Simply getting a title to land can be per cent, respectively, for those who context where they have none. greatly empowering for women in a owned only a house or only land. context where they have none. This Apart from these benefits, given farm yields by 20-30 per cent and was wonderfully encapsulated in the feminisation of agriculture, raise total agricultural output by the words of women who received secure land rights for women 2.5-4 per cent. land titles for the first time after the are necessary for increasing farm Women can gain access to land Bodh Gaya Movement in Bihar in output. About 40 per cent of in many ways: via inheritance, the late 1970s. They were quoted as agricultural workers in India are through the state, or through the having said: “We had tongues, but women but their productivity is market. Of these, inheritance is could not speak/ We had feet, but seriously constrained by their lack especially important since almost could not walk/ Now that we have of access to land, credit (for which 86 per cent of arable land in India land/ We have the strength to speak land can serve as collateral), inputs, is privately owned. It is sometimes and walk.” technical information, and so on. argued that granting daughters These benefits of possessing Without land titles women are not equal inheritance rights will land are compounded for women, even seen as farmers and seldom fragment holdings and reduce farm who are even more dependent on benefit from government schemes productivity. This argument has agriculture than men, since men meant for marginal farmers. two problems. First, fragmentation have been increasingly migrating According to FAO’s 2011 State of can occur even where sons are to non-farm jobs. Land in women’s Agriculture Report, reducing the involved, so privileging one sex over hands not only enhances their constraints faced by women farmers another cannot be justified. Second, own livelihood options, but also in developing countries could raise the unit of ownership need not be

January-March 2015 VIDURA 19 the unit of cultivation. Families from conservative elements within often continue to farm together and the Congress. land can be consolidated in many As finally passed, the original other ways as well, including by elements of the Hindu Code Bill groups of women pooling their were unpacked, and enacted in four plots and cultivating them jointly – separate Acts, including the Hindu this has been happening for many Succession Act (HSA) of 1956 which years in parts of Andhra Pradesh dealt with inheritance. In retrospect, and Kerala. it was very helpful that there were The early 20th Century also four separate Acts, since this made saw the emergence of a number of it easier to subsequently reform women’s organisations demanding the HSA in women’s favour. For inheritance rights for women in a instance, in 2005, when I worked Photo: Landesa predominantly patrilineal context. for the amendment of the HSA to This was one of the central issues make it gender equal, the chances Women can gain access to land taken up by organisations such as of success would have been greatly in many ways - via inheritance, through the state, or through the the All India Women’s Conference diminished if issues of succession market. Here anganwadi workers and the Women’s Indian had got enmeshed with issues of identify single women eligible for Association. An important part of marriage and divorce. land titles in Ganjam district of that history was the setting up of The Hindu Succession (Amend- Odisha. the Rau Committee in the 1940s. ment) Act 2005 (HSAA 2005) was The Committee recommended in fact a landmark. It brought all to-date information, however, enactment of a Hindu Code with agricultural land on par with other and there is a strong case for provisions for stronger inheritance forms of property, and made Hindu strengthening the database by rights for women, more liberal Women’s inheritance rights in disaggregating land owned and divorce laws, etc. Encapsulated in land legally equal to men’s across operated by gender in agricultural the Hindu Code Bill of 1947, the states. The amended Act also censuses and NSS surveys. provisions were widely debated made all daughters (married and Moreover, although we now in the Legislative Assembly. Both unmarried) coparceners along with have a gender-equal inheritance B.R. Ambedkar and Jawaharlal sons in joint family property, with law for Hindu women, there have Nehru were committed to the Bill the same rights to shares, to claim been rather few efforts by women’s but it was deferred till after the first partition, and (by presumption) to organisations to use this amended general election of Independent become kartas (managers) of that law innovatively. The neglect of the India of 1951, because of resistance property. HSAA 2005 by women’s groups is The amended Act is thus a surprising, since the Act can go significant legal step forward and a long way in protecting women has the potential for substantially even from domestic violence. The empowering women. But so far HSAA, as noted, allows women we have little information on this to reside in their parental home count. In fact, we still do not have as a right and not on sufferance. systematic data across the country It is therefore time the enormous on women’s actual ownership of potential of the HSAA 2005 in immovable property. A 1991 survey empowering women is given due in seven states by development cognisance, both by civil society sociologist, Marty Chen, although groups and government. on a small sample, is indicative. In the long term, of course, It showed that only 13 per cent of it is not desirable that families women whose fathers owned land be torn apart by litigation over had inherited any as daughters, property. What we would want although Kerala did much better is a voluntary recognition by with a figure of 43 percent. We society that daughters are equal to also know from the Agricultural sons in terms of their rights over Photo: Papri Sri Raman/WFS Photo: Papri Census of 1995-96 (when gender property, especially immovable

disaggregated data were collected) property. This will need substantial Land in women’s hands not only < enhances their own livelihood that women held only 9.5 per cent attitudinal change. options, but also the welfare of their of all operational (that is cultivated) families. land holdings. We need more up- (Courtesy: Women's Feature Service)

20 VIDURA January-March 2015 How India was finally made free of polio

In January 2014, India was officially recognised as being polio-free by the World Health Organization. What were the factors that contributed to the historic outcome? For one, the country’s Polio Eradication Programme was the result of a strong partnership between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Rotary International, and the US Centers for Disease Control. It began in 1995 as the Intensive Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme under which children up to the age of five years were given additional doses of Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) irrespective of their immunisation status at the time. Deepak Gupta and Anusha Agarwal explains how effective communication helped

n early days, ‘communication’ fresh cases of wild-polio virus was used in a very limited infections were spotted since Iway because the entire effort January 11, 2011. However, while of administering polio drops to the medical experts/ immunisation babies and children was being specialists have adjudged the addressed by public sector health communication for polio immunisation teams. However, eradication as very effective, many it was soon realised that effective communication scientists point communication was certainly the to the limitations of the current

most powerful ‘vaccine’ that could approach and the “communication- Photos: WFS prevent communities from various content”. dreaded diseases, including polio. They argue that the use of The polio eradication campaign A planned communication strategy communication for polio eradi- involved well known public then came into the picture and has cation has not been strategic. While figures - like former President of now been identified as a major factor it was widely used to promote the India Pratibha Patil (seen here in the final outcome. The country polio vaccine drops, the factors administering the drops) - to encourage people to bring their has been particularly recognised responsible for the spread of the children for vaccination. for the success it saw in the polio virus - like low rates of routine innovative use of epidemiological immunisation, poor sanitation and suspicions about the motive behind data and the application of multiple lack of clean drinking water - were this repeated campaign were also communication channels for the not publicised through behaviour issues that needed to be taken on programme. change tools. This remains a gap, board. Many imagined that the It can be said that in India, because even now a large number OPV vaccine itself was the cause of evidence-based communication of communities have very little the illnesses their children suffered strategies - including through knowledge about the causes behind from, and there was even the view interpersonal communication and polio transmission. that such vaccines would cause through social channels - made a The polio programme faced many infertility in children when they marked difference in delivering challenges. The first was to identify grew up into adults. But the most effective health communication for those children aged less than two persistent rumour of all was that the the polio eradication programme. years, who lived in the densely vaccine was part of a plan to curb These efforts included participation populated neighbourhoods of population growth. Therefore, of community organisations as well marginalised communities, which reaching this critical group as government at the national, lacked basic sanitary and health became a significant strategy and a state and local levels, along with care facilities, and who had missed turning point in the formulation and professional organisations and the out in OPV rounds resulting in their implementation of communication media. Mass media campaigns getting fewer doses. Another major interventions. At all times it was combined with sustained political hurdle was to make parents aware understood that information alone will contributed to reducing the of the need for repeated doses of was not sufficient to encourage incidence of the disease, which polio drops to protect their children. the behavioural change that would in turn led to a stage where no Misconceptions about OPV and lead to the acceptance of OPV.

January-March 2015 VIDURA 21 The most underserved and proved invaluable in reaching the vulnerable groups were also the ‘unreached’. most hard to reach, and included In the apparent absence of a nomads, tribal people and dedicated, trained communication migratory populations that resided cadre with the government to for short spells of time in the sub- carry this momentum forward urban clusters of towns and cities across India, a huge social network across India. Social mobilisation was created with the local health was, therefore, included in the personnel of the districts. Local overall communication approach health authorities coordinated the and became a crucial component work at different levels, from the Schoolchildren were a part of the local of the programme. The evolving district and block to the village and outreach for the hugely successful polio strategy included reaching out to, they even made house-to-house eradication campaign. and connecting with, women as a visits and brought community community through inter-personal and religious leaders on to a interventions and selection of communication methods. In this single platform. In support of its the appropriate communication way, the importance of OPV and Underserved Community/Hard- channel. Also, primary content its benefits for young children to-reach activities, the polio pro- must include ‘benefit-messages’ was relayed to young mothers by gramme proactively engaged with and intense grassroots level social specially trained female health influential Muslim institutions and mobilisation. workers who interacted face-to-face other select institutions to build The polio campaign was also a with the mothers, and occasionally confidence in the programme good example of the integration with the fathers and the religious among minority communities. It of data-driven communication leaders in the community. was also found that folk media programmes with operational work. The entire process of evolving was very useful in increasing com- It demonstrated that policy makers a more effective system of munity awareness and enhanced should base their development/ communication for polio eradi- attendance. Mass-media campaigns health communication on cation included mass media involving movie and cricket stars empirical findings and data from campaigns to attract national and important regional and national the ground. It showed the limits visibility and general public level political figures that focused of the earlier demand-generation awareness. It included ‘brand’ on exposing the hollowness of model, because it failed to take and ‘basic message promotion’, rumours and encouraged people into account the primary ‘risk- especially using sound bytes to bring children for vaccination factors’. Therefore, while demand- from well-known celebrities like were run. There is documented generation strategies may work Amitabh Bachchan (“Do boond evidence to suggest that puppet well in the short-term in terms of zindagi ki”, two drops of life). In this and theatre shows, folk media and keeping the polio virus at bay, it way, interpersonal communication video vans, which travelled to more certainly cannot yield the desired and social mobilisation piggy- than 3500 villages in Uttar Pradesh, results if polio eradication in the backed on the mass-media and that contributed to a 20 per cent increase long term is the primary objective. in booth attendance. However, it also needs to be It showed the power of syner- reiterated that the current polio gistic communication activities. communication content is largely Integrated social mobilisation, based on promoting the OPV. interpersonal communication, Therefore, a scientific campaign in gender and culturally sensitive promoting behavioural change with interventions, mass/ folk media regard to sanitation, safe drinking

and political advocacy together water, routine immunisation and greatly contributed to the overall good nutrition is now the need of < success of the polio programme. the hour. Clearly, such a model could also A government health worker be adopted for other public health (Courtesy: Women's Feature Service) administering polio drops. Specially programmes and initiatives. trained female health workers conducted Certain select elements need to be face-to-face interaction with mothers in highlighted in this effort, including order to emphasise the importance of the development of area-specific oral polio vaccine. and tailor-made communication

22 VIDURA January-March 2015 Elevating the value of newspaper design

Veteran photojournalist D. Krishnan recently talked about the importance of photographs in newspaper design, the evolution of photojournalism, and the ethics governing the field at a WAN-IFRA conference on News Design. He left the audience with the idea that more interaction between photojournalists and journalist would make the best possible product possible. Gayatri T. Rao reports

henever we talk Journalism, Chennai. the barricade about design in Tracing the chronology of how to take snaps “Wany newspaper or pictures became a very vital part of the animal. D. Krishnan magazine, visuals form the most of design, Krishnan noted that Though he important element, and photographs initially, there was absolutely no himself had form 90 per cent of the visuals,” design element in The Hindu. An wanted the photographs to be said veteran photojournalist D. 1880 edition of the paper which he published on the front page of the Krishnan, while highlighted displayed at the conference showed newspaper, Krishnan said the then several significant aspects of his how the pages of the issue, a weekly news editor had overruled him, field of expertise, including issues then, were filled with text from saying they were too gruesome. After of reader sensitivity, ethics and top to bottom. “In 1900, sketches, asking the opinion of reporters and the need for coordination between drawing and illustrations came sub-editors, it was finally decided photographers and reporters to into play mainly for advertising. to carry the pictures, in black-and- bring out a superior product. Pictures began to be used by 1925,” white form (thus toning down their Making a presentation at a he said. But even then, the pictures impact) on the inside pages, so that, World Association of Newspapers used were usually outdated and apart from newsworthiness, they and Newspaper Publishers (WAN- badly reproduced because of the would serve as a warning to people IFRA) Conference in Mumbai, lack of technology, he pointed out. against entering the enclosures of Krishnan drew from his vast By around 1950, more pictures wild animals in zoos. experience to illustrate his talk with began to be used, on the inside A similar decision was taken real-life examples of the evolution of pages and even on Page 1, but regarding the 2011 Mumbai photojournalism, designing trends they were mostly black-and- blasts. The newspaper again took and trail-blazing policy decisions. white images. “Sports pictures a consensus decision to carry just Krishnan, who began his career began to be used from 1975 on the one of the on-the-spot photographs at The Hindu in 1978 and went on inside pages as well as the front on the first page, and publish a to become picture editor at the page. That was the beginning of number of others on the last page, newspaper, heading a team of 150 newspaper design, using pictures. accompanied by a note from the photographers spread through the By then, almost every page carried editor that the photographs were country, also had a decade-long pictures, Krishnan said, adding, by being published in order to bring stint at the Associated Press. Some 2010, colour pictures had become home to the public the effects of of the toughest assignments he has the norm, with three or more per terrorism. successfully carried out include an page. “The value of design has been On another occasion, when exclusive photo-shoot in Sri Lanka elevated by pictures,” he noted. an elephant was run over by a of the then elusive V. Prabhakaran, Designing calls for some hard train, Krishnan said he decided the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam decisions on various counts. Reader not to use the photographs (taken (LTTE) supremo, and the Bhopal sensitivity had to be kept constantly with considerable difficulty) to Gas Tragedy of 1984. At present, he in view, said Krishnan. He accompany the story, keeping in is a consultant for The Hindu in the recounted an incident where one of mind the special place held by newspaper’s efforts at digitising its The Hindu’s photographers had got elephants in Indian spirituality. photo archive comprising over 1.5 some explicit shots of a tiger at the Ethics was another crucial factor million images. He also serves as Guwahati zoo mauling an amateur which has a bearing on photography a faculty at the Asian College of photographer who had breached and design, Krishnan said. He drew

January-March 2015 VIDURA 23 the attention of the audience to two not remove any vital information photographs looked more effective aspects of the issue in particular from the image. when they were not in colour. – manipulating the picture and The layout designer should be The veteran photojournalist cropping. Adding or removing flexible enough to accommodate left the audience with the idea elements from a photograph the picture in the position that that more interaction between amounted to manipulating it, and made it most effective – horizontal photojournalists and journalist

that was simply not permissible, he or vertical, for example, said would make the best possible said. Cropping, on the other hand, Krishnan, adding that the use of product possible. < could be done in the interests of black-and-white photographs could design space, provided that it did also be a design decision, as some

PII-ICRC Best Reporting Awards presented Journalists from the Open Magazine, The Week, The Telegraph and Sahara Times Magazine bagged the top spots for the PII-ICRC Awards 2014 for the Best Print Media Article focused on humanitarian issues. A freelancer photojournalist and a photographer from The Hindu won awards in the Best Photograph category. In print category, Sohini Chattopadhyay of Open Magazine won the First Prize, while Lakshmi Subramanian of The Week was awarded the Second Prize. Pervez Majeed Lone of Sahara Times and Sumir Karmakar from The Telegraph jointly shared the Third Prize. In the Best Photograph category, photojournalist Pattabi Raman won the Second prize while the third prize went to Manob Chowdhury of The Hindu. The first prize in the Best Photograph category was not awarded this year. All the prizes were presented on November 26 at a glittering function held at the India International Centre in New Delhi after a panel discussion on the theme, Reporting on the Fate of Victims of Armed Violence. The session was moderated by guest of honour Prem Shankar Jha. The panelists, comprising the jury members, were columnists and senior journalists Pamela Philipose, Shreekumar Varma and Ranjona Banerji. Buddha’s Orphans, the piece by Sohini Chattopadhyay published in the Open Magazine in March this year, tells the story of the Rohingyas of Myanmar who have become the ‘nowhere people’ of Asia. “I wanted to tell the story of the Rohingyas, as theirs is not an oft-told or heard story. I believed I was on the trail of a good story. The award is vindication of my belief,” said Chattopadhyay. Lakshmi Subramanian had travelled to Sri Lanka to write her story, Peace and Its Price, published in The Week. Her article throws light on the displaced in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province, who are struggling to make ends meet in the aftermath of violence and say that peace has not brought them freedom. Karmakar’s entry, Fear stalks Karbi Anglong Refugees, focuses on the displaced people of Assam’s Karbi Anglong District. Lone, in his winning article, Valley’s Wonders, writes about the resurgence of hope in Kashmir as its youth make a mark in the Indian Civil Services exams. “The award is a recognition of the efforts of journalists everywhere who report pro-human. For me, it is also a tribute to the youth of Kashmir who have come out of the trauma of the violent past and overcome the odds,” said Lone. Freelance photojournalist Pattabi Raman, who contributes regularly to The New Indian Express, bagged the second place with his entry, After the War, A Bitter Peace, on the missing people in Sri Lanka. “This is the only award for both journalists and photographers and a great platform for humanitarian journalism,” said Raman. The third prize was won by Manob Chowdhury of The Hindu for a photograph of a civilian victim of a land mine blast in Khunti, near Ranchi. Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Surinder Singh Oberoi, communications advisor at ICRC New Delhi, pointed out that three of the four winning entries focused on the plight of displaced people, an area in which the ICRC does a lot of work across the globe. “The aim of these awards, when instituted back in 2008, was to motivate members of the media community to walk that extra mile to narrate untold stories,” said Mary Werntz, head of the ICRC Delegation for India, Bhutan and the Maldives. Yves Heller, ICRC delegate from Geneva, who is visiting India and was present on the occasion, applauded the winners, “These journalists, who go to remote areas across the world to bring us untold stories, give voice to those victims of armed violence who are often forgotten,” he said. Sashi Nair, director and editor, Press Institute of India, said that the PII-ICRC Awards were not only a recognition of the hard work journalists put in but also about the risks they take to bring stories to readers. Pointing out that the bar of standards had been raised this year, he said: “The awards are a salute to all journalists across India who bring

untold stories to us. The entries show that there is a lot of passion in young journalists today; they have the desire to excel and take pride in their work. If you can combine all that with honesty, truth-telling and credibility, nobody can< stop you,” Nair enthused the journalists present.

24 VIDURA January-March 2015 BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH WAN-IFRA

Your Guide to the Changing Media Landscape World News Publishing Focus

‘NATIVE’ ADVERTISING A challenge to journalistic integrity

“There used to be a very clear wall between editorial and advertising and this wall has crumbled down, and it might have crumbled permanently,” Ebele Wybenga, a journalist and author based in The Netherlands, warned a year ago. How should news publishers handle ‘native’ advertising? In WAN-IFRA’s Trends in Newsrooms Report, Wan-IFRA senior editor Brian Veseling (with additional research by Emma Goodman) looks at how some top publishers are approaching this controversial form of revenue

raditionally, journalists presentation at the International brand at large. The main benefit to and editors fought hard to Journalism Festival in May 2014 in publishers, of course, is money – Tmaintain what they called Perugia, Italy: “Native advertising potentially loads of it. “the wall between church and state” is short-hand for advertising that Sullivan wrote in an article about – a metaphor for the newsroom’s looks like editorial content. Is this The New York Times’ foray into this effective day-to-day division intended to fool the reader? Well, form of advertising late last year, between advertising and editorial. no, you could never get anyone to “The Times has high hopes for this It has always been seen as essential say that, but it is intended to draw effort, Mr [Mark] Thompson [the to a masthead’s integrity that readers into the advertising in part paper’s CEO] said he is hoping for advertisers have no influence over because it does look like editorial ‘eight figures’ – tens of millions of stories. The past year, however, content.” dollars – in advertising revenue. has seen several world famous Of course, native advertising That won’t be immediate, he said, news providers announce that isn’t exactly new to publishing. but it’s not in the distant future, they were softening their policies In the past, this kind of paid-for either.” on this. In the past six months, The content frequently appeared in While the money might be New York Times and The Wall Street print publications as ‘advertorials’ much needed these days, the Journal have both started offering or even large-scale, multi-page potential downsides to using native what is being described as “native ‘special advertising sections’ that advertising can be many, first and advertising” - the new buzzword for often seemed to be, for example, foremost of which is the risk to the sponsored content previously in-depth reports about a given editorial integrity, and this needs called “advertorials” or “branded country and its unique business to be addressed by publishers content.” opportunities. right from the start. For example, Whenever the concept is brought on the day The New York Times Intent: Draw readers into up by newspaper publishers, it announced that it was branching advertising puts their journalists and editors on into native advertising, Publisher Margaret Sullivan, public editor high alert. While native advertising Arthur Sulzberger Jr sent an email for The New York Times, described contains clear rewards for the to the newspaper’s staff saying, this potentially contentious form business side, it also carries clear “We will ensure that there is never of advertising this way during a risks to editorial integrity and the a doubt in anyone’s mind about

January-March 2015 VIDURA 25 what is Times journalism and what that the advertiser then clipped and – for objective information – but is advertising.” displayed on its Facebook page as if this is seen as compromised, it Today, some six months into The if it were an endorsement from the will be the kiss of death for news Times’ use of native advertising, paper itself. He added that this kind business.” Sullivan told those in Perugia, “The of content has also become a slippery While discussions on this issue Times has actually done it very slope towards another evil: paid are certain to last for the foreseeable well, in that it is labelling the native news. Some of the largest media future, it seems that at least for advertising very carefully and so houses in India have been caught up now, clear sign-posting and you’ll see the words ‘Paid Post.’ ” in this, he added, mentioning one transparency are a newsroom’s best Sullivan added that in her role as scandal where political candidates options when it comes to dealing public editor for the paper, her story were paying for coverage. with native advertising. from December “wasn’t meant so "We have take a clear stand against much as criticism as it was ‘Here’s paid news of any form," Varadarajan Editors note: In August, after the something to watch.’ ” said, adding that professional publication of the WAN-IFRA bodies and associations must do Report, The New York Times updated A slippery slope this. Another important point is that the way that it labelled native ads, While Sullivan has been pleased all stakeholders in the paper need making the blue bar lighter in with the way things have worked to understand that any material colour than it appears in the Dell

out with native advertising so far at that originates from an advertiser add, which ran in January, and is The New York Times, she was right in is promotional material and not pictured above. < noting there is still healthy concern journalism. If sponsored content is about the use of native advertising used, then disclaimers need to be (This article was originally published at papers throughout the world. prominently displayed, he said. in the September-October 2014 For instance, during last year’s "The bottom line is that it's edition of World News Publishing World Editors Forum in Bangkok, essential for the future of news that Focus, the bi-monthly magazine Siddarth Varadarajan, the former the readers' interests are protected," published by WAN-IFRA.) editor of The Hindu, gave an example Varadarajan concluded. "People are of a print advertorial in The Hindu willing to spend money for news

26 VIDURA January-March 2015 BOOK PUBLISHING IN INDIA Alive and kicking, and on the growth path

The economic slowdown of recent years has had no visible impact on the Indian book publishing industry. Rather, it has continued to grow pretty well and is on a faster track, says Som Nath Sapru. Avid readers in India are mostly from the middle-class group and they can't help but spend on books – be they fiction, non-fiction or educational. The publishing industry in India has been on the growth path since 2009 and it will keep growing because of the continuous literacy growth, he adds

ndia is the world’s seventh has a high growth potential, plagiarism, no largest book publishing but is operating in an extremely sense of credit Icountry and there are more competitive market, with over 16000 for quoted Som Nath Sapru than 16000 publishers in India, the largely small publishers spread paragraphs -- a huge majority of them are small across the country. With the Indian fact which everyone in the industry players and family-owned units. economy and the education sector chooses to ignore. Publishers This makes India the third largest booming, the industry is at a new publish such manuscripts with English language publisher in juncture of growth. Government minor changes in language to the world and the seventh largest of India’s inclusive and dedicated escape the issue of copyright, which worldwide, when all languages are commitment to push-up rural and involves re-writing of sentences or counted both on paper as well as adult education, besides reaching re-arranging paragraphs -- to avoid online. out to all sections of the society for copyright violation in spirit, if not The publishing industry in India the literacy growth, will translate in in letter. is largely reader-driven and is increased demand for the printed defined by a vast set of variables. material in the form of text books, Online media, e-books India is the world’s third-largest course material and exercise In spite of many of the hassles in book market and the good news notebooks. traditional publishing modes, the is that the reader base in India is Publishing is a tricky business emergence of online media is one growing at a fast pace. India has – the involvement of capital opportunity India cannot afford to always been a multilingual country investment for printing and overlook. In fact, experts pronounce and with the country set to become finishing machines and other allied Indian e-publishing industry is a hub of the largest English- requirements can give you the edge expected to grow at 35 per cent speaking population, books sales over out-sourcing of printing and per annum, offering immense will directly go up. Secondly, the finishing. There are hurdles that outsourcing opportunity. number of writers in India is also are still holding the industry from In the U.S. and in several Western increasing, with more and more attaining its full potential. You have countries, the e-book industry has new authors finding ways to make to understand that physical books grown from $78 million in sales it to the market. The middle-class have a huge bottleneck in terms in 2008 to $1.7 billion in 2011, and aspirations in past couple of years of production, distribution and estimated e-book sales will be $3.55 have fuelled demand for knowledge payments, and that is causing deep billion in 2014. The projection is the books, educational books and self- concerns to the publishing industry. market for e-books is set for a rapid help books. Avid readers, mostly Of course, escalation in the cost of increase in India too. Looking at this middle-class, keep looking for the production, particularly of paper growth, publishers are encouraged best deals in online book stores as and other ingredients, is a matter of converting p-books into e-books to well. It's people like them who are concern. try out the potential of the virgin keeping the publishing industry In India, academic and market. alive and kicking. educational publishing is “originally According to FICCI (Federation The Indian book publishing unethical”, according to an industry of Indian Chambers of Commerce industry is very attractive and insider -- lot of copyright violation, & Industry), the Indian publishing

January-March 2015 VIDURA 27 A screenshot of The Hindu website shows just how convenient it has become to download e-books and to pay for them. industry, which is worth Rs 12000 publishers have also launched book buyers have easier access to crore, is currently growing at a regional language books in Hindi, books at lower prices. Although the compounded annual growth rate Marathi and Malayalam, among Kindle India Store went live in 2013 of 25 per cent. Around 80000 new other languages. and Indian publishers sell their titles in 24 different languages are The recent trend is authors books overseas through Amazon. published every year in India. The creating Facebook pages of their FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) country is the seventh largest book titles, and tweeting and talking legislation that prevents foreign publisher in the world and the third about their books and writings companies from being majority largest English language books at every given platform and stakeholders in e-commerce retail market in the world after the US opportunity, which is so very in India has kept Amazon at bay so and the UK. Writers such as Chetan crucial and eventually gainful. far. Bhagat, whose books Five Point This kind of author participation in Indian start-ups such as Flipkart Someone and 2 States have been very marketing their titles has enhanced have made good profits. Flipkart successful; Amish Tripathi, with his opportunities that go a long way in was founded in 2007 and is, in Shiva Trilogy, and Ananth’s recent helping a book gain in numbers. all likelihood, the largest single erotic fiction Play With Me have The biggest category on amazon. bookseller in India today. On its helped keep the industry ticking in (amazon.com's Indian joint- rise to the top of the e-commerce by bringing in an entirely new set venture), which started as an online pile, Flipkart has built an of readers who enjoy a light and bookstore, but soon diversified, is innovative delivery network based quick read. Literature and fiction. This can be on decentralised nodes, couriers, According to publishing industry attributed to high-profile releases and in-house delivery teams. Quick sources, there is a growth in first- in the past few months – of Amish shipping coupled with offering generation readers who may not Tripathi’s Oath of the Vayuputras cash-on-delivery models has made have grown up reading but have and Dan Brown’s Inferno, among them the most popular choice in taken to recent Indian authors such others. The emergence of online India. as Upamanyu Chatterjee, Chetan retail has been a boon to both It is just common observation in Bhagat and others. They say that publishers and consumers in India. the Indian publishing scene that regional content is also quite It has given publishers the ability traditional publishers don't want to popular. Some of the established to bypass dodgy supply chains and hear the digital truths. According to

28 VIDURA January-March 2015 International Publishers Association (IPA), the choices offered by digital publishing can only be good news for writers. So why are traditional publishers so angry?

Digital publishing When Amazon introduced the Kindle, the only viable means of book distribution was paper. Accordingly, a writer who wanted to reach a mass audience needed a paper distribution partner. A writer could hire his/her own editor and his/her own cover design artist and could even hire a printing press to create the actual books. The distribution service is not easily available and the publishers don’t offer distribution as a regular service. If a writer wants Photo: SN/Multivista distribution, he/she has to pay the publisher a major portion of revenues for the entire publishing Children’s books printed in Chennai for the overseas market. package: editorial, copyediting, proofreading, jacket design, iBooks, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd Sources at FICCI state that printing, finishing and marketing, etc. the Indian publishing industry all bundled with distribution. Digital book distribution is produces over 100000 titles every But for every author who wanted available to anyone who wants year in English, Hindi and other and benefited from the packaged it. While in the paper world you regional languages. There was a service, there were countless others require paper, a print house with time just a decade ago when you who took it – if they could get it all the finishing machineries, used to be happy if you printed at all – only because they had no a sales team and longstanding 3000 copies of a book and it sold alternative. Digital distribution relationships with buyers at dozens out. According to a spokesperson has provided that alternative. And of retail operations, in the digital of Tata Group's publishing retail increasing numbers of authors are universe it is a push-button à la arm Trent, “today you're looking at choosing it. carte service offered by digital books which are routinely crossing What a digital publisher will publishing companies. An author so 10000 to 20000, and in some cases

advise a writer is: you price your inclined can buy digital distribution 100000 or even a million copies in book competitively. Although your for a nominal price of the book sales." < book need not be priced ridiculously he/she is publishing – the same low to sell a lot of copies, whereas digital distribution a traditional (The writer, better known as just most self-published books die publisher offers – and outsource Som Sapru, has a master’s degree in because they are priced alarmingly all other publishing functions, all Print Technology & Management. He high. With digital publishers, you for significantly less than what served 33 years with the USIS at the enjoy the best printing rates in traditional publishers charge for American Embassy in New Delhi as the industry which in turn results their packaged service. chief of publications. During 2005- in a lower price for your readers. Many traditional publishers 2011, he headed IPAMA as CEO and Digital publishers make it sure that fear that publishing is dying. No. was editor of the IPAMA Bulletin. your book is available everywhere, Publishing isn't dying; it is evolving. He then moved on to Pramod in all formats. In order to sell more Authors understand this, and are Engineering, part of the Delhi Press copies, you need to make your embracing it. Traditional publishers Group, publishers of Caravan, Sarita, book available all over the world need to collaborate with digital Woman’s Era and Alive as general in multiple formats. Your books publishers and evolve techniques manager. This is the first of a two-part are sold by major retailers such and methodology to catch-up with article. as Flipkart, Amazon, Bookadda, the speed and time as in digital Infibeam, Amazon Kindle, Apple publishing.

January-March 2015 VIDURA 29 When the reader is king

The formal essay is a starting point for many journalists. A journalist uses all the techniques usually resorted to by the literary writer as far as language and rhetoric are concerned. But in journalism, reader interest is considered more important than readability, says J.V. Vil’anilam

ll forms of writing borrow women, children, senior citizens, handwritten from one another. No working women, mothers and Acta Diurna Ajournalist or writer can be single persons. There are specialised of the first called wholly original. However, magazines for certain special century BC J.V. Vil’anilam people identify literary writing as groups, such as mechanics, doctors, summarised fictitious or imaginary, having less gynaecologists, fashion designers, the socio-economic activities of to do with exactitude than with an beauticians, photographers, cine- the day and were displayed on the imaginative interpretation of truth. matographers and other pro- walls of the marketplace in Rome. Journalists, particularly newspaper fessional groups. There are journals Waquaiah Navis or news writers at reporters, try to appeal to current for religious groups and religious the imperial courts of the Moghul public taste or reflect current persons; for believers and atheists; rulers of India prepared manu- reality. for socialists and capitalists. Some script newspapers containing The newsman’s world is not general publications may contain military and other intelligence they a world of dreams. Reporters reading material fit for all these gathered from the battlefields and are, by and large, responsible groups. Many popular publications public places. But none of these persons. They are trained at offer a potpourri of fare aimed at early ‘journalistic’ efforts were journalism schools and newspaper an assortment of readers. Some connected with ordinary people; organisations. They are people magazines carry news analyses, they were part of the royal or who have basic knowledge in book reviews, editorials on a imperial structure and meant for many areas so that they will not topical issue, poems, cartoons and the information of the rulers and make mistakes when they deal jokes. Then there will be fillers their top officials. with science, history, economics, and miscellany such as puzzles, Johann Gutenberg succeeded sociology, politics and literature. human interest stories and unusual in popularising the Chinese In other words, their knowledge pictures. invention of movable type printing and interests are universal, all- All the ingredients are mixed in Europe, and used it to print the compassing. They may not be in different formulas to create first German Bible in 1450. The first specialists. More often than not, different effects or to please different printed broadsheet which could be they are generalists but they ought audiences. Variety is the spice, called newspapers, the Avisa oder to have good grounding in writing. not only of life, but of magazines, Zeitung, came out in 1609. Pretty They ought to have endurance, newspapers and some radio and TV soon, Rome, Genoa, Amsterdam, honesty, punctuality, a nose for shows. Paris and London became big news, the power of observation, centres of printing in Europe, while and above all a sense of humour Evolution of Journalism Boston, New York and Philadelphia and readiness to learn new things Historically, Journalism evolved were the hubs for printing journals and face any situation calmly. They mainly in two streams that and books in the New World. must also have a sense of history eventually mingled and flowed as This led to democratisation of and the ability to put things in one mighty river. The first stream communication in both Europe a historical and socioeconomic originated in the economic and and the United States and the framework. political area. Pillar and rock edicts growth of the reading habit, as served as government gazettes in well as the spread of ideas — Ingredients of a newspaper stone for those who were literate political, religious and personal. As for the content in newspapers, during the time of Emperor Ashoka. The transition from feudalism to there are major divisions such as Julius Caesar published his statues nationalism, the gradual changes news, features, editorials, special and proclamations in every corner brought about by the Industrial articles, letters to the editor, and of his empire, particularly in forums Revolution in England, European magazine material. There are where Roman and other traders centres of production and in the also special publications for men, gathered to transact business. The American colonies had deep

30 VIDURA January-March 2015 sociological effects on the systems preferred. Writers with bombastic meanings are attributed to old of production which ultimately led styles are rarely popular with and established words through to the re-organisation of society, newspaper readers. Editorials are constant repetition and usage in economically, politically and usually written by persons who the new sense (examples: ‘fine’, culturally. The role of journalism can combine precise knowledge ‘gay’, etc). Readability theories and newspapers in events such as and graceful expressions. Special developed by Rudolph Flesch and the Industrial Revolution and the articles are written by sociologists, Robert Gunning on the basis of the cultural, political and economic educators, political observers, Fog Index, limiting the number of reorganisation of society was philosophers, legal experts and words in a sentence and syllables highly significant. English essayists scientists. Some of these writers use in a word, were popular among like Joseph Addison, Richard Steele the jargon of their field of expertise editors and journalists during the and Samuel Johnson in England and these may have a jarring effect latter half of the 20th Century, but and Benjamin Franklin, Thomas on the readers. now, ‘reader interest’ is considered Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Increase Journalists must take care not more important than readability. Mather, Alexander Hamilton and to use convoluted expressions in High-scoring reading material may others in America contributed situations that require only simple, be a bore; low-scoring material may greatly to the expansion of straightforward and effective be fascinating, depending on the journalism. expression. They should also guard reader, the audience. In newspapers against the use of slang and shoddy and magazines, ‘human interest’ The inverted pyramid language in their haste to file stories. stories may receive higher rating The formal essay is a starting A third rule is that writers – literary because people are interested not point for many journalists. In a as well as journalistic – must use only in other human beings but in

classic essay, the subject matter a style that is appropriate to the animals, plants, nature, and even is formally introduced at the subject on hand. The paramount inanimate objects. < beginning, supporting ideas and aim of both is to communicate ideas evidence are given in the middle with clarity and vigour. They must (The writer is a former vice- and there is a logical progression say what they have to in words that chancellor and head, Department to the conclusion(s) and summary can be understood. of Communication and Journalism, at the end. Except for the more The distinction between the University of Kerala. He received his academic journals, this structure written and the spoken language has MA English degree from the Banaras may not be found in newspaper decreased except in some English Hindu University in 1958 and has a or magazine articles, which follow newspapers of India. Spontaneous master’s degree in Communication an ‘inverted pyramid’ style. The ‘self-expression’ and ‘creativity’ from Temple University, Philadelphia, most important part of journalistic lead to sloppy and obscure writing. and a PhD in Mass Communication writing is usually placed at the Precision and style require pre- from the University of Amsterdam.) beginning – the introduction will meditation. Of course, grammar seek to answer at least three of the and syntax should not be tampered six questions: Who did What, When, with for the sake of simplicity and Where, Why and How. Subsequent popular appeal. And slang is the paragraphs will give more details lazy man’s dialect. Journalist use all in an order of declining importance. the techniques usually resorted to by This will enable news editors to the literary writer as far as language delete the latter paragraphs if space and rhetoric are concerned: pun or constraints require them to do so. play on words, rhyme, alliteration, Visit the Some feature articles may start etc. Writing a good headline for a with minor elements and progress news story or a good caption for a redesigned to the climax in the conventional picture is like writing a poem—both narrative form. are creative processes. Both juggle website of the with words to create something Language and style unusual to catch readers’ attention Press Institute Journalists are advised to write in and capture their special interest. an informal style, using words that are familiar, lively and colourful— Readability vs reader interest of India appealing to the average reader of The journalist has to walk a a newspaper or magazine. Short narrow plank between the ‘old- www.pressinstitute.in sentences and paragraphs are fashioned’ and the ‘esoteric’. New

January-March 2015 VIDURA 31 VIEW FROM THE NORTHEAST We need a credible news channel As satellite news channels in various regional languages are booming in India, churning out sensational stories, the question of the credibility of the channels becomes pressing, says Nava Thakuria

ndia has over 400 privately that it could not meet the cable nation. Today, owned satellite news and network’s demand for nearly Rs 2 the DTH oper- Icurrent affairs channels. Most crore as carriage fee, due to which ators in India television channels are registered cable operators had blacked it out tap over 40 as 'free-to-air' with the Information for nearly three weeks in September million active Nava Thakuria & Broadcasting Ministry and so are 2013. subscribers not entitled to ask the viewers for This in turn led to very poor and the money directly. This implies that television rating points. Frontier number is increasing every month. any audience can have the news TV, another news channel, also With quality transmission, the DTH and related programmes produced faced unofficial closure this year operators have empowered the and telecast by these channels for following a massive financial crisis. subscribers to select their packages free. The consumers have to pay Today, Assam hosts five privately (instead of depending on the only to the distributors, namely the owned satellite news channels whims of cable operators). India cable transmission agencies and (News Live, DY365, News Time has over 800 registered satellite direct to home (DTH) operators. Assam, Prag and Focus NE) and television channels, more than The operating costs of the free- a few entertainment and local half of which are news channels to-air news channels, most of cable channels. The channels beam in different regional languages. which are regional language ones, news and other programmes in Union Ministry sources reveal that are seemingly managed from Assamese, English, Hindi, and there are over 410 privately owned advertisement revenues. Indirectly, Bengali. news and current affairs channels, it means that the advertisers, not While the owners of the making the news broadcasting the viewers, always enjoy a say Guwahati-based private news industry in India worth around (influence) in the content of the channels allege that they have to pay Rs 20 billion. news channels irrespective of merit around Rs 20 million, which is one- The Journalists' Forum Assam and authenticity. Totally dependent fifth of their annual expenditure, to (JFA) and Electronic Media Forum as they are on advertisement cable network agencies every year Assam had earlier called for revenue, it is difficult to imagine for facilitating distribution of their reforming the distribution system how the television channels programmes to viewers, the cable of local news channels. They can pursue ethical, credible and television operators' association in wanted the transaction between impartial journalism. The closure Guwahati claims that they have the channel owners and the cable of two Guwahati-based satellite the right to receive carriage fee network operators as well as news channels recently brought to from the channel owners. Private the DTH authorities to be made light some bitter truths about the DTH service providers also taxable. When a news channel has distribution process of television allegedly ask for similar amounts to spend for everything, including channels across the country. Prime from the free-to-air news channels. production and distribution of its News, a 24x7 private news channel, Moreover, DTH operators - Dish news, and the entire expenditure stopped operations on October TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct, Airtel has to be compensated through 1, 2013, with the management Digital TV, Reliance Digital TV - advertisement revenue, the implying that it was unable to pay always select channels with the commitment of the free-to-air a huge amount of money to the sole motive of profit, irrespective of channels to the viewers can be local cable network distribution the commitment of the concerned questionable. Is it time to have agencies. It informed employees channels to the country and the few more paid news channels in

32 VIDURA January-March 2015 Jaikhlong Brahma, a Kokrajhar- based television journalist on 2nd September, 2014. Brahma was booked under several sections of the IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act 2008, and later detained under the National Security Act (NSA). The Guwahati Photo: NT High Court subsequently quashed Jaikhlong Brahma's (pictured speaking his detention under NSA, but he was to the media here) arrest led to huge With quality transmission, kept in judicial custody because of protests. DTH operators have empowered subscribers. the other pending cases. Though he has since been granted bail, he has not glorify acts of terror, strongly various regional languages, which been advised not to leave Kokrajhar argued that a journalist had the right can survive with contributions from without prior permission until to communicate with the insurgent subscribers? With a transparent further orders. He has to appear leaders as part of their job, and he and dedicated management, the before the investigating officers or she must not be penalised for it. news channels may function regularly for at least two months. Kokrajhar-based journalists, who without having to heed the diktat of The arrest of Brahma, who works met Chief Minister Gogoi, while advertisers or pander to the whims for the privately owned satellite asserting that they did not support of distributors, as aware viewers channel, NewsLive, provoked any militant group, claimed that would ultimately ensure that they massive protests by media police had no concrete evidence evolve into credible and pro-people organisations across Assam. More against Brahma and Basumatary. media organisations. than 800 people, including some They reiterated their demand that from non-media-related fields, Brahma be freed and the arrest participated in the demonstration warrant against Basumatary be organised by the Kokrajhar Press withdrawn at the earliest. Club on September 8, to demand Amnesty International, which Journalism in the Brahma’s unconditional release. joined the fray in support of time of insurgency Brahma denied the allegations the journalists, pointed out in a Working journalists, particularly levelled by the police that he was strong statement that the NSA had reporters covering insurgency- involved in “providing information provision “to detain individuals related incidents, face a two- about the movement of security by executive order without charge edged sword. Often, they face personnel engaged in counter- or trial, and (that) denies them brickbats (read threats) from both insurgency operations to militants the safeguards of a fair trial as the insurgents and the authorities of the National Democratic Front required under international law”. implementing counter-insurgency of Bodoland (IK Songbijit faction)”. Two international media persons’ operations. It goes without saying Kokrajhar-based journalists as- organisations – the International that the media has the right to serted that neither Brahma nor Federation of Journalists (IFJ) report on insurgents and can, any scribe from their locality headquartered in Brussels and the therefore, establish official contact were instigating the militants, New York-based Committee to with militants belonging to banned compromising national security. An Protect Journalists (CPJ) – also came

out with statements deploring the outfits. But the question is, does arrest warrant was issued against < this right empower them to ‘give another television journalist, Rinoy arrest of Brahma. inputs’ about the militants to the Basumatary, from Kokrajhar in authorities? western Assam, who works for the (The writer is a senior journalist Can media houses ‘forward’ mails private Guwahati-based satellite based in Assam. He is secretary of the they receive from outlawed groups channel, NewsTimeAssam, for the Guwahati Press Club.) to others, even if is in pursuance same offence. of their jobs? These and other A protest meeting organised at questions, which were debated the Guwahati Press Club urged by Guwahati-based journalists the Tarun Gogoi Government to decades ago during the heyday of release Brahma and withdraw the the banned United Liberation Front arrest warrant against Basumatary. of Assam (ULFA) , have emerged Various speakers, even while once again following the arrest of categorically stating that they did

January-March 2015 VIDURA 33 Well-told stories with substance will always score

Tele-serials from Pakistan, simple, subtle, and realistic, have captured the imagination of the Indian audience, jaded by the improbable and never-ending drama of the over-worked home- grown saas-bahu serials. Sunaina Batra and Sarita Anand explain why these serials from across the border have captured Indian hearts

e’ve had enough of Drama! breathed a whiff of fresh air with completely The Indian television the launch of the channel Zindagi by on morals Windustry in the last two Zee Entertainment Enterprises, one and values. decades has literally dramatised the of India’s primary entertainment It depicts the Sunaina Batra drama. The very essence of a soap- companies. Launched in June, 2014, rise and fall opera has been lost amidst shallow with the objective of cultural and of gluttony storytelling. The saas-bahu (mother- content exchange between India and and self- in-law and daughter-in-law) sagas, Pakistan, the channel airs award- indulgence once perceived as a very successful winning Pakistani soap operas that most of us entertainment form on Indian and has been well-received by the are victims of, television, have lost their charm. Indian audience. In fact, some of the with a climax These high-octane episodes, which shows won hearts merely because that restores were once eagerly lapped up, don’t of their simplicity and innocence. confidence in seem to appeal to the ‘sensible and Shows like Zindagi Gulzar Hain, the fairness smart’ palate of the modern day Humsafar, Maat and Kitni Girhain of life. Each audience. Baaki Hain have become highly episode of Sarita Anand With the advent of the private popular. the series, entertainment channels in the The show Zindagi Gulzar Hain in Kitni Girhain Baaki Hain, 1990s, soap operas made a mark particular was really well received. portrays real-life stories that rely with highest TRPs (television It takes a firm stand on women’s on uncomplicated concerns of rating points) across channels. empowerment and portrays the everyday life. Audiences, both urban and rural, potential of a girl in the most subtle What is it about these serials were hooked to the tele-serials. manner, against a background of from across the border that has However, over the years, the focus gender discrimination. The story captured Indian hearts to such an shifted, and in order to expand the is woven around a boy falling in extent? Several things. Here are a maximum TRP slots, half-baked love with a girl, and captures little few: ideas were presented with ever moments that seem realistic and * The serials are very simple changing storylines and characters. find a connect with young hearts and close to real life. One may The cult lately is to portray a female instantly. The elements of class easily identify with and relate to character who no longer resembles difference and marital discord are the characters. The viewer feels the woman next door, but spends also intricately handled. a strong connect instantly to the her entire day plotting and Another award winning show issues portrayed in them. contriving against the protagonist. Hamsafar rides strongly on * The content is meaningful. The vamp culture, which is a emotions of trust, loyalty, lust The beautifully penned dialogues dominant ingredient of most soap and betrayal. Its fast-paced plot are simple, but have depth. They operas on private channels on revolves around a forced marriage convey socially relevant messages Indian TV, may be identified as one of a couple who are from disparate but do so subtly – subtlety was of the crucial reasons for its lost classes, and their attempts to cope not a characteristic of the saas-bahu charm. It seems to have prompted with the union. Further, it shows operas. erstwhile loyal audiences to look how hatred and covetousness could * The serials have as less than 20 for fresh alternatives. wreck relationships. episodes each, which make them Television entertainment, suffo- The tele-series Maat is an edgy enjoyably fast-paced. You yearn for cating under stagnation, however, journey of two sisters who differ more when they end. That feeling

34 VIDURA January-March 2015 Photos: supplied by SB

A still from Hamsafar. A promotional poster of Kitni Girhain A still from Zindagi Gulzar Hain. Baaki Hai. is just the opposite of what the saas- of, and perhaps that is why the bahu dramas evoked – they just left effortlessly portray an array of Pakistani shows seem so close to you wondering when they would emotions. reality. end. * The direction of the dramas The love of the Indian audience * Most of the serials on is subtle, yet precise. Even the for these well-told stories with the channel are issue-based, minutest of details are taken care substance should give producers showcasing such concepts as in our country a cue about how to

women’s empowerment, class woo viewers back to Indian drama. differences, gender differences, < etc. Although Indian shows have also been issue-based of late - for (Sunaina Batra is a doctoral scholar example Balika Vadhu, Na Aana is and former assistant professor, Des Laado, Udaan, Diya aur Baati Department of Development Hum - the subtlety with which the Communication & Extension, Lady Pakistani serials depict an issue is Irwin College, University of Delhi. lacking in them. Sarita Anand is associate professor in * The performances on the shows the same department.) are praiseworthy and the characters Maat’s poster.

Plan to curb frivolous newspaper registrations Former Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said that the Union Government was considering stricter rules to curb frivolous newspaper registrations in the country. “We are thinking of changing the rule; if for six months a publication doesn’t start, that title will then be free,” Javadekar said. Releasing the annual Press in India report of the Registrar of Newspapers for India, Javadekar said the Press Council of India had limited powers, something the government was looking to address. The report, bringing out of which is a statutory obligation under the Press & Registration of Books Act, 1867, says the print media registered a growth of 5.95 per cent over the previous year with 5642 new publications being registered during 2013-14. Of the 99660 newspapers and periodicals registered in India, most — 40159 — are in Hindi followed by English at 13138. The total number of copies circulated in India — claimed by newspapers — this year stood at 450586212 compared with 405037930 in 2012-13. The report, prepared by analysing annual statements filed by registered publications, provides a broad analysis of the general trend of the Indian press and contains information on ownership of newspapers, analysis of daily newspapers and a language-wise study of the press, along with circulation figures as claimed by publications. The

number of annual statements received by the RNI during 2013-14 stood at 19755 against 19007 last year, an increase of 3.93 per cent. <

(Courtesy: The Hindu)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 35 A call to save an endangered art form Street theatre is marvellously flexible, and can be adapted to bring about positive change in the social and economic fabric of an era. However, to achieve the status of an effective tool, it needs committed backing and research, says Santosh Kumar Biswal

treet theatre, a vehicle of (MCRC), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Commission developmental communi- Delhi. has started Scation, is no more confided to Endorsing the academic-cum- mobilising the single discipline of Performing research approach towards street scholars to Arts. Rather, it has breached the theatre, Susmita Poddar, an expert in conduct such Santosh Kumar porous borders of other disciplines traditional media and a post-doctoral research.” Biswal such as Communication and fellow based in Kolkota points out, The educators Journalism, Sociology, Advertising “No doubt, since street theatre has need training and Public Relations and the like, educational values, its inclusion in in street theatre from professional creating a special place for itself. academic curriculums is inevitable. performers. However, any effort Its success in the academic sphere Backed with clarity and dynamics of towards this is hampered by depends heavily upon the level of communication, it can be optimally problems such as low remuneration the performers’ professionalism and exploited to suit changing times for artistes and performing groups the research that goes into staging and growing demands. But this can loosing tempo. With the spurt in the plays. However, the performers only be possible when extended cost of living, embracing such a and researches have been mired in research can be undertaken. profession has become a taxing all kinds of difficulties, leading to However, the allocation and choice. Often, plays suffer from malfunctioning of the medium. interest towards this domain, which the lack of topicality and relevance Several experts feel that modern is explorative in nature, remains to time and location. The entry technology-based mass media scant. Of late, the University Grants of professional artistes to such and economy-driven inputs in the academic curriculum are bringing about socio-economic changes. To some, street theatre can be instrumental in ushering in a new era in the social fabric and economic composition of a society. Street theatre is a vibrant, mobile and flexible form, constantly experimenting with new concepts and techniques and surviving on contemporary issues. Moreover, it is being used by politicians and students to resolve issues. So, it has moved up from traditional drama, dance and other theatrical forms and acquired a place in the discipline of Communication. However, so far as research is concerned, few students are opting for the field, according to K.S. Kusuma who Photo: Guneet Singh has been trained as an educator in Performance Media at AJK Mass Students of Andhra Loyola College staging a play - All Ka Hell - at one of the Communication Research Centre streets of Vijayawada to create awareness on anti-alcoholism.

36 VIDURA January-March 2015 Photos: Sandeep Katragadda

Students of Andhra Loyola College staging a play - Wipe Out - in a college of Vijayawada to bring awareness on gender equality. platform has been gradually that the exploitation of street plays, so that the educative purpose of

declining. Though amateur like other forms of traditional the street play can be served to the actors are rising up to fill the gap, media, will continue in the years to fullest. < the standard of the art form is come for a social agenda, provided affected. Serious and immediate it steers clear of the ugly face of (The writer is head, Department interventions are being sought to propaganda. Street theatre for of Visual Communication, Andhra remedy the situation. propaganda is not at all educative, Loyola College, Vijayawada, Andhra Subodh Patnaik, chief architect he cautions. Above all, some kind of Pradesh. He is pursuing a PhD in of the Bhubaneswar-based Natya watchdog mechanism and restraint media and disability issues in India.) Chetana theatre group, predicts need to be developed and exercised

Women-centric reports win IPI Awards Hindustan Times and The Week were presented the International Press Institute — India Award by Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar recently. The former’s series on acid attacks against women and the latter’s Jammu and Kashmir correspondent Tariq Bhat’s report on the widow village of Dardpora were judged as the winning entries. The India Chapter of the IPI also renewed its appeal to the government to review draconian laws against defamation and online freedom. Speaking at the event, The Hindu editor-in-Chief N. Ravi said that promises of two previous Law ministers to move towards decriminalising defamation and reviewing the Information Technology Act have remained on paper. Ravi, who is also an IPI Executive Board member and chairman of the National Committee said, “Criminal defamation is so easy to trigger in any part of the country and is a source of harassment of journalists and newspapers. International standards of free speech have moved sharply in the direction of decriminalisation of defamation, treating it as a civil wrong between two parties.” He added that although the Supreme Court created safeguards against misinterpretation of vague sections of the IT Act, the law — which counts insult and annoyance caused by Internet reports as illegal — still remains. Javadekar said, “Acid attacks are reflective of gender insensitivity. People need to be sensitive to gender equality for which a social reform movement is needed.” Girls need to be taught how to fight back and men need to learn to treat their female colleagues as equals, he said. Philip Mathew, IPI Fellow and managing editor of Malayala Manorama said, “After the Nirbhaya saga we had

a million mental mutinies in this country of one billion people. The peaceful mutineers jolted the rulers that led to the enactment of a new law for the protection of women. Today’s awards are homage to Nirbhaya and womanhood as < well as a tribute to the thinking, feeling youth and mental mutineers.”

(Courtesy: The Hindu)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 37 Is it curtains for Bandh Pather? With a number of factors, including government apathy and a fickle-minded public, challenging the very survival of Bandh Pather, there is urgent need to revive and preserve the folk art form, which was once a much-loved source of infotainment and held the Kashmir Valley in thrall for centuries, says John K. Babu

ashmir is as famous for sets are used, with the characters were telecast its cultural heritage as its depending on costumes, speech and in 1987 and Kscenic beauty. Folk theatre gestures to set the tone of the play, 1993. Javaid once occupied centre-stage as the and hold the audience in thrall for Ahmad Shah John K. Babu most powerful medium of mass hours together with wit and punchy has produced communication. Bhand Pather, dialogue delivery. Male actors take more than an archetypal and traditional art on women’s roles, too. a dozen television programmes form performed primarily in the The style has enough flexibility to on the folk art. ETV Urdu is Kashmir Valley, was much-loved incorporate a wide variety of themes. broadcasting a short programme as a medium of infotainment for It can highlight social evils such on Laadi Shah every Sunday at centuries. It is a combination of as child marriage and corruption, 7.30 pm. Interestingly, the artiste music, dance and drama with as well as political situations like in these shows is Rajender Raina, a satirical bent, in which social the Kashmir conflict. The plays a Kashmiri Pandit. Doordarshan traditions and evils are lampooned. talked of environmental issues and Kashmir is broadcasting Bhand A community-based art, performed wildlife conservation long before the Pather in folk play format for by a particular group called Bhands, advent of environment protection creating awareness on social it is still staged at social and cultural organisations. Each theme has themes. Ghulam Mohiuddin Aajiz, functions, but historical, social and a name. For instance, plays on president of the Bhand Theatre, economic factors are causing the environmental sensitivity are called has published four books on the artistes to bow out. Shikar Gah Pather. traditional art form. The term Bhand Pather is derived Bhand artistes, dressed in The Bhands originally per- from two Sanskrit words: Bhand colourful costumes, once moved formed in temples. The art from bhanna, a form of satire, and from village to village highlighting survived the challenges of different Pather from patre meaning dramatis social, economic and political issues. eras. With the passage of time, personae. A beautiful blend of Rulers were often the target of their however, the art lost the patronage song, dance, music and drama, the satire. The artistes, all belonging of rulers and began to fall into plays traditionally involve many to the Gharana Dar families of decline. Before Independence, characters, but one version known Wathora, are still at times invited to Bhand Pather artistes were paid as Laddi Shah features just a single perform during the Independence allowances by the government to singer who renders a type of Day and Republic Day celebrations, support their families and keep satirical ballad in a melancholy, yet as well as at Apna Utsavs and the art form alive. Zamindars witty style. The director of Bhand theatre festivals through the Sangeet (landlords) would also donate rice Pather shows is called the magun. Natak Akademi. Two artistes have and other goods to them, as Bhand Bhand Pather once enjoyed received the Ustad Bismillah Khan Pather shows were usually staged religious sanctity and royal Yuva Puruskar Award. during the harvest season. But in patronage. Kalhana’s Rajtarangini, a Vishal Bardwaj’s recent film course of time, with the abolition 12th century chronicle of Kashmir, Haider depicted Bhand Pather in the of the Zamindari System, Bhands talked about the popularity of way it once was - a folk performance came to be regarded as beggars and Bandh Pather. “Every village had reminiscent of the theatre in were looked down upon. Though a stage of its own where dramatic Shakespearean England. Many attempts were made to restore the performances were held by Bhand documentaries have also been made art form to its former glory, there artistes”. Bhand Pather caricatures on the dying art of Kashmir. Pather were too many inhibiting factors. society and exposes its weaknesses che Jaari and Bhands of Kashmir are Two of the important causes and ills. It portrays how life should two such films – the former even of the decline are neglect by the be, but is not. The storyline is won a national award. Bhand Pather government and consequent lack often humourous, and farce is an artists also participated in BBC and of funding, and the ideological essential component. Little or no French documentary films which shift triggered by the onset of

38 VIDURA January-March 2015 Photos: JB

Bhand artistes, dressed in colourful costumes, once moved from village to village highlighting social, economic and political issues. Rulers were often the target of their satire. militancy in Kashmir, which contributed to the deterioration of to take it up as they have to find caused all entertainment of a non- the traditional art form. their own funds for costumes and

Islamic heritage to be frowned Bhand Pather, sadly, has lost its other expenses. They would rather upon, though the position is in vigour and dramatic impact. There take up some employment. < contrast to the Valley’s history of are still small groups of Bhands, a tolerant Sufism. Shifting public clinging to their tattered costumes, (The writer is assistant professor, interest to media such as cinema, in a few villages. Though people like Department of Convergent radio and television, as well as the Ghulam Mohiudin Aajiz have been Journalism, Central University of encroachment of the Internet, smart trying hard to revive the dying art, Kashmir, Srinagar.) phones and digital media also the younger generation is hesitant

Sainath, Al Jazeera win Media Summit awards P. Sainath (for his reporting in The Hindu), Al Jazeera English, USA Today and Global Post were among the winners of the World Media Summit (WMS) Global Awards for Excellence, 2014. These are the first comprehensive news awards covering multiple media formats, including press, photo, video and integrated media to honour “truth, objectivity and excellence” in journalism, according to a release. Sainath won the Public Welfare Award for Exemplary News Professionals in Developing Countries, while Al Jazeera English received the Public Welfare Award for Exemplary News Teams in Developing Countries. News professionals who found honourable mentions were: Meera Srinivasan, TheHindu’s Sri Lanka correspondent; Surendra Paudel of Nepal Republic Media Private Limited, Nepal; Tan EE Long of Nanyang, Malaysia; Sheuli Akter of Ns NewsWire, Bangladesh; and Adow Jubat of The Standard Group Limited, Kenya. The honourable mentions for news teams were: This Week in Palestine; Truth vs. Hype, New Delhi Television Limited; Rural Damascus, Al Jazeera and Outlook India. Under the Media Innovation Award, the USA Today emerged winner for its story ‘Behind the Bloodshed’ (The Untold Story of America’s Mass Killings). The honourable mentions in this category were: ‘Sea Change: The Pacific’s perilous turn’, Seattle Times; Live Blog of Israel-Gaza conflict, Haaretz, Israel; 3D Animated Videographics, AFP; ‘The Change for Health’ App, The Standard Group Limited, Kenya; and ‘Putin’s Q&A’, Russia Today. The Award for New Media Reporting was won by Global Post of the United States for its story ‘Myanmar Emerges’. The honourable mentions were: ‘Chicago Under the Gun’, Chicago Tribune; ‘Meteorite hits Russian Urals’,

Russia Today; ‘Privacy and Information Security’, Al Jazeera; ‘Overdose’, ProPublica, US and ‘Mandela: The Father of the Rainbow Nation’, Al Jazeera. <

January-March 2015 VIDURA 39 MEDIA & ADVERTISING IN CHENNAI Of stalwarts and decades past

Though the 1970s and ‘80s saw a steady growth of advertising business in Madras, it was during the late 1990s that the city gained greater importance in the world of advertising thanks to the influx of a number of new MNCs such as Hyundai, Ford, Renault, BMW, Nokia, Citi Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and others. Even software giants like TCS and Infosys established large bases in Madras – all leading to increased advertising spend. R.V. Rajan takes readers down memory lane

he 1990s was also the time for the Madras-based Shriram by the Sayani when a few local brands Group. brothers, R.V. Rajan Tlike Cavin Care was putting Fountainhead, Insight Adverti- Hamid and down its roots in the marketing sing, Rubicon and others not only Amin, with headquarters in world, before giving multinationals created good advertisements Bombay. S.V. Venkatraman, father a tough fight in later years. which won awards, but also helped of actor S.V. Sekhar, was the Meanwhile, Madras had already build brands. Insights’ efforts for manager of Radio Advertising in become an important retail hub. Solidaire TV and Rubicon`s efforts Madras. L.R. Swamy & Co was also Departmental stores such as to build up the readymade garment allowed to canvass advertisements Spencers and chains like Viveks, unit operating from Ambattur near for Radio Ceylon. originating in Madras, inspired a Madras into a national brand, Color Thanks to the wide coverage lot of new entrants. New textile and Plus, are oft-quoted case studies. of Radio Ceylon in India, jewellery showrooms – Chennai Thanks to the growth of television Mayilvahanan, a popular Tamil Silks, Pothys, RMKVs, Saravanas, in the 1990s, the importance of voice, and Amin Sayani of Binaca Prince and Joy Alukkas – appeared the print media in promoting fast Geethmala fame became household on the scene that was dominated moving consumer goods (FMCGs), names in the 1960s and ‘70s. Some earlier by Nallis, Kumarans, consumer durables and other memorable radio spots of the time Vummidis and Nathellas. The services started going down from were for brands such as Gopal new retailers splurged on media early 2000. Today, the print media is Tooth Powder, Ponvandu Soap and advertising, even putting many dominated by advertisements from Woodwards Gripe Mixture, apart FMCG brands to shame in terms of retailers (jewellery/ textiles), real from Tamil ads for multinational advertising spend. estate promoters and automobile brands, like Colgate Dental Cream, The 1980s to 90s saw almost all companies apart from a whole list of Lifebouy Soap, Lux, etc. leading multinational agencies educational institutions. Consumer Though Vividh Bharathi opening branches in Madras. durable companies use the media was started by AIR in 1967 as a Thanks to the efforts of some only for promoting their discount commercial service to counter the of the best creative minds of sales during festival seasons or for popularity of Radio Ceylon, it never these agencies, the standard of announcing new launches. This reached the heights of Radio Ceylon advertising, especially print and trend has definitely affected the as an advertising medium because TV advertising, went up. The volume of business emanating from of the restrictions the government advertising business was at its peak. Madras for the print media. imposed on the duration and Many local agencies started by frequency of commercials. Radio executives and creative heads who Radio advertising broadcasting in Madras started had left multinational organisations Until the early Sixties, only print from the radio station founded also contributed significantly to the and outdoor advertising were in 1930 at the Rippon Buildings growth in the standard and quality popular. However, in the early Complex, and was then shifted to of advertising. One of the earliest 1960s, Radio Ceylon started offering All India Radio`s own premises was Gopulu, well-known cartoonist commercial services to Indian in 1938. The city has two AM and with Ananda Vikatan, who teamed advertisers, as AIR did not allow 15 FM radio stations, operated by up with Vimala to start an agency commercials to be played. Radio Anna University, MOP Vaishnav called Adwave Advertising which Ceylon was represented in India by College, All India Radio and many created some interesting campaigns Radio Advertising Services, owned private broadcasters.

40 VIDURA January-March 2015 Starting of FM stations by AIR For quite some time, even Rasna) and BPL (Home Alone) and opening up radio to the private television commercials beamed on are well known in the industry. sector has favourably impacted local DD continued to be dubbed At one stage they were flooded the medium. FM radio stations versions of the work of Bombay with assignments from all leading in Chennai offer 24x7 interesting Production Houses. The 1982 advertising agencies from Bombay. programmes for a wide-spectrum Asian Games ushred in colour Over a period of time the team audience, including youth who are television and TV spots in colour split and Jayendra started Real moving out of the print medium. came into vogue. Enter Jayendra Image, India`s leading provider Radio is most popular with those Panchpakesan, one-time-copy writer of technology in the film, video who want to tune in while they and film writer, and P.C. Sriram, and audio domains. He also are travelling. The extensive reach well-known cinematographer/ launched QCN – a digital out- of mobiles with radio facility director. Together, they started of-home advertising solution has certainly made radio more J S Films, And then the scenario provider with central monitoring popular. Because of the focused changed. They came up with some and control facility. Real Image target audience it offers, radio as good concepts and executed them also represents several global an advertising medium is bound to the demanding standards of players in the field in India and to grow. The growing popularity the Bombay advertising world. abroad of FM channels in Chennai is proof Their role in helping create famous Another Madras-based adverti- enough. brands such as Rasna (I love you, sing film producer who caught

Film/ TV advertising Cinema was a leading advertising medium of the time. Madras in the Oh, just too much advertising! earlier days not only produced Tamil cinema, but was the hub of Advertising is beginning to get on our nerves, and post-modern society Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam is beginning to suffocate with ‘the smoke of advertising’ spreading in our movies. Cinema advertising, in the public sphere. It appears that age of advertising decadence has come to form of one minute ad films in all embrace our society. Our public sphere is being contaminated by aggressive cinema halls across Tamil Nadu, advertising of all kinds. was started by the founder of AVM In many countries, smoking in public places has been prohibited by studios operating under the name law. Smokers are now not allowed to impose their choice on those who of Central Publicity, which was later do not want to inhale the smoke. Quite often, wherever there is no such bought over by Blaze Advertising, prohibition, people are usually forced to bear the hazardous consequences Mumbai. of the choice of others. It appears that the time has come for the civilized During the 1970s and 80s, film society to treat intrusive advertising the way it has dealt with the case of advertising in Madras essentially passive smoking. consisted of dubbed versions of Today, you see numerous forms of advertising – print, audio, visual, Hindi/ English spots produced in and audio visual – being thrown up into public space by all sorts of media. Bombay for famous brands. Many of The citizens are thus involuntarily exposed to advertising of all sorts in their these commercials did not connect everyday life. Why should people be forced to listen to what they do not with local audiences because want to do at all? Why should people be forced to ‘tolerate’ unbearably they not only featured North high-pitched, advertising that loud speakers in public places keep blasting Indian models but also because out? the language used was totally Advertising is often viewed as a sort of paid communication with the outdated, having been translated intention to persuade its viewers, readers, or listeners to take some action. by writers in Bombay who had But often, people are so intimidated by advertising that the very purpose is moved out of Madras decades lost. Or, they are forced to listen or read unwanted messages while seeking earlier. When S. Krishnaswamy of useful information; for example, while trying to locate an information Krishnaswamy Associates, the well- counter or an eatery in a railway station. Useful information on signboards known documentary film producer, often gets lost amidst a sea of flashy advertising. And then, of course,

you have huge, flashy billboards that distract the attention of drivers and and his brother S.V. Ramanan < entered the scene, they attempted to passers-by. create some original commercials in Tamil aimed at the Tamil audience. Yaseen P.V. Krishnaswamy even tried using (The writer is associate professor, Department of Communication puppetry animation for promoting and Journalism, University of Kerala, Kariavattom Campus, MFL (Madras Fertilizers). Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 41 the imagination of the Bombay voice or his own, before calling a M.G. (Ambi) Parameshwaran Advertising world was Rajiv professional singer to sing the jingle and Ramanujam Sridhar are others Menon, who is also a reputed -- saving a lot of time and money in from Chennai who are known for cinematographer and director. He the process. Balakrishnan (Balki), their intellectual contribution to produced some memorable ad films national creative director of Lowe the advertising field in the form of

for Asian Paints and Titan watches. Lintas, is another contribution from books on branding and advertising The Madras ad world can be Chennai (as it was renamed in 1996) based on their long experience in < proud that it nurtured some of to the national advertising scene. He the field. (To be continued) today’s celebrities during their days is also a director of feature films – of struggle. The iconic A.R. Rehman Amitabh Bachchan starrers Cheeni (The writer was chairman, Anugrah was once known as Dilip – he used Kum and Paa are two examples. Madison Advertising; past president, to compose advertising jingles Senthil from JWT Madras, who Rural Marketing Association of India; for many products in his spare conceived the Cannes-Award- and former managing director, WAN- time. He pioneered the concept winning Naka Mooka commercial IFRA India. He is based in Chennai. of composing background music for The Times of India, is another This article is the second of a for a jingle on his Casio keyboard Madras boy who is doing well on three-part series.) and recording it with a dummy the national advertising scene.

Reform ‘contempt of court’ law, urge journalists We, the undersigned journalists, writers, historians and activists from South Asia, are deeply concerned about the use of ‘contempt of court’ law to curb freedom of expression. The conviction and sentencing on December 2, 2014, of Dhaka-based journalist David Bergman by the International Crimes Tribunal 2 on charges of “contempt of court” for citing published research on killings during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971, is a serious set-back to Bangladesh’s commitment to free speech and independent scholarship. At the outset, we reiterate our belief that those responsible for genocide and international crimes during the Liberation War must be prosecuted and punished through an open and transparent process. We firmly believe that the right to expression must include the right to examine, analyse and comment on differing historic narratives. We are aware that in his blogs, posted most recently two years ago, Bergman cited figures from published research on deaths and other casualties during the 1971 Liberation War. A difference in the figures of total fatalities does not in any way diminish the truth that heinous and widespread war crimes were committed in 1971 – and Bergman’s articles stress this very point and call for evidence-based data. In his words, “There is enough substantiated evidence to suggest that whatever the exact number of deaths, a very large number of civilians were killed. Yet, at the same time, arguably it is important for the sake of accuracy that people do not claim that a particular number of people died - whether it is too high or too low - which has no basis at all in the evidence.” We are also particularly concerned about the personal attacks by the Tribunal on David Bergman. Having contributed to the Royal Television Society award winning Channel Four documentary, the 'War Crimes File', on which the Tribunal itself relied in another case to convict a war criminal, Bergman has consistently written in support of the need for war crimes trials for the atrocities and crimes against humanity in 1971. We find the court’s decision may have a chilling effect on freedom of expression with ramifications for journalists, writers and scholars throughout the region. We are concerned to note that the ICT’s governing statute does not allow any appeal against contempt orders or judgments, and allows no defence of truth, which undermines due process and rule of law. We note that the accepted standard in emerging jurisprudence around the world is for courts to avoid resort to contempt of court as this reflects negatively on public respect extended towards the court itself. We urge and appeal to the authorities concerned to reform the contempt of court law as it is a relic of South Asia’s colonial past and should be reformed in line with a broad understanding of freedom of expression. (The statement is signed by Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena, lawyer and columnist, Colombo; Kumari Jayawardena, feminist academic, Colombo; Kanak Mani Dixit, editor emeritus, Himal Southasian, Kathmandu; Aunohita Mojumdar, editor, Himal Southasian; Laxmi Murthy, director, Hri Institute for Southasian Research and Exchange, Kathmandu; Vrinda Grover, lawyer, Delhi; Uma Chakravarti, feminist historian, Delhi; Amar Kanwar, film maker, Delhi; Shohini Ghosh, Sajjad Zaheer professor at the AJK Mass Communication Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi; Kavita Krishnan, national secretary, All India Progressive Women’s Association; Nandini Sundar, professor of Sociology, Delhi University; Urvashi Butalia, director, Zubaan Books, Delhi; Siddharth Varadarjan, former editor, The Hindu, and senior fellow, Centre for Public Affairs and Critical Theory, Shiv Nadar University; Harsh Sethi, consulting editor, Seminar; Sukumar Muralidharan, senior journalist, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla; Ammu Joseph, independent journalist, Bangalore; Geeta Seshu, consulting editor, The Hoot; Jyoti Punwani, freelance

journalist, Mumbai; Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist/columnist, Mumbai; Kavita Panjabi, professor of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University, Kolkata; Sushil Khanna, professor, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta; Selvyn Jussy, head of Linguistics Department, Calcutta < University; Rajashri Dasgupta, journalist, Kolkata; and Geeta Ramashesan, High Court Lawyer, Chennai.)

42 VIDURA January-March 2015 ASSAMESE CINEMA Ably surviving against the odds

The Assamese film industry is struggling against a variety of odds – financial, technological, and competition from Bollywood. The dearth of funding is stifling its growth. However, despite daunting challenges, dedicated filmmakers are emerging, seeking to tell stories that strike a chord with people, says Bharati Bharali

ven after a century of glorious of Joymoti, only six films were poetic flavour existence, the definition produced. and an austere Eof what constitutes Indian Altogether, 19 films were made realism made cinema is surprisingly vague. To in 1950s, focusing on varied themes, Baruah’s work Bharati Bharali many filmgoers, both Indian and ranging from the mythological and a milestone international, Indian cinema is historical to the socially relevant. in Assamese limited to commercial Bollywood Puberun (The Sunrise, 1959), cinema. Assamese cinema made its movies. However, it is regional directed by renowned Bengali mark on the Indian parallel cinema language cinema that brings out the filmmaker Prabhat Mukherjee, movement with Bhabendra Nath flavour of the diverse cultures and was an Indian entry at the Berlin Saikia’s debut venture, Sandhyarag traditions of India, making Indian International Film Festival. Dada (The Evening Song, 1977). It was cinema unique. Saheb Phalke awardee Bhupen the first Assamese film to be The story of Assamese cinema, Hazarika directed his debut film Era entered in the Indian Panorama like most other regional cinemas, is Bator Sur (Tunes of the Abandoned segment of the International Film one of struggle against the gamut Road) in 1956. It was the first Festival of India (IFFI). It was also of odds that the region faces. Assamese film to use background the first Assamese film to receive Jyotiprasad Agarwala, the doyen score and playback singing, with funding from the National Film of Assamese music and drama, Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar Development Corporation (NFDC). ventured to make the first Assamese and Sandhya Mukherjee lending Saikia continued to bring laurels film in 1935, a mere four years their voices in addition to Hazarika to Assamese cinema with his neo- after Alam Ara, the first Indian himself. realistic, socially relevant films, talkie. His dedication to the cause The 1960s saw the simplification such as Agnisnan (1985), Anirban of art, combined with the deep of form and content to suit the (1980) and Kolahol (1988). understanding of the language and taste of middle-class cine-goers. Among the commercial successes form of cinema that he acquired Fourteen films were produced of the 1970s was Chameli Memsaab during his years at the Edinburgh during the period. Brajen Baruah’s (1975) by Abdul Mazid, a runaway University in the late 1920s and a Dr Bezbaruah (1969), a crime thriller hit. The melodious songs of the subsequent short stint in Germany, heavily influenced by mainstream film got Bhupen Hazarika his led him to make Joymoti, based Hindi cinema, was a big box-office first national recognition as Best on a powerful, assertive and self- hit. It was the first film shot entirely Music Director. The 1980s saw the respecting medieval Assamese in Assam with a unit of local artistes emergence of a new generation of woman. and technicians. filmmakers, such as Jahnu Baruah, By choosing to tell her story, Many of the 58 films made both in commercial and parallel Jyotiprasad defied the prevailing in the 1970s were commercially cinema. The respectability that norms that portrayed women as successful. The first colour film Assamese cinema has achieved vis- passive and submissive. The depth in Assamese, Bhaity (1972), by à-vis Indian cinema owes much to of his passion to put Assam on Kamal Narayan Choudhury, was Jahnu Baruah’s volume of work. the map of Indian cinema can be released during the period. Padum He began his illustrious career with understood when one considers Baruah’s maiden venture, Ganga Aparoopa (Expectation) in 1982. the fact that there were no cinema Chilonir Pakhi (Feathers of the However, it was his Halodhiya halls in Assam at the time and he Tern, 1976), questioned the vacuous Charaye Baodhan Khai (The had to release the film in Calcutta. model of development in post- Catastrophe, 1987) that catapulted Despite Jyotiprasad’s bold effort, in independent India. The simple Assamese cinema to the next level. the 15 years following the release and linear narration, infused with In 1987, it became the first Assamese

January-March 2015 VIDURA 43 The 1990s witnessed the emergence of quite a few promising directors – Gautam Bora, Sanjiv Hazarika, Bidyut Chakrabortty, Santwana Bordoloi and Manju Borah - who made their presence felt at the national and international circuits. Although 64 films were made during the decade, many producers failed to release their works in theatres and had to premiere them on television. It was A shot from the first Assamese film, only in the late nineties that the Joymoti. Assamese film industry showed signs of revival, with films like earned Sher Chowdhury the Best Joubone Amoni Kore (1998) by Music Director prize. Ser Along

Photos: supplied by BB Ashok Kumar Bishaya. (The Golden Juice, 1991) by Indrajit Commercial Hindi films heavily Narayan, Ko: Yad (A Silent Way, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala. influenced Assamese films at the 2012) by Manju Bora and Panoi- turn of the century. Manju Borah’s Jonki (2001) by Dilip Doley and film to win the Swarna Kamal Akashitorar Kathare (2003), a Narayan Seal are significant films (National Award for Best Feature feminist film, got Tarali Sarma in the Mishing language. Film). Indra Bania, who played the the National Film Award for Best With such feathers in its cap, it protagonist in the film, received the Playback singer. Manju’s Ai Kot Nai is lamentable that even after 80 Best Actor Award at the Locarno (2008) was adjudged the Best Film years, the Assamese film industry International Film Festival. In the in the National Integration category. is struggling against a variety of 1990s, Jahnu Barua continued to do A few young directors like Sanjib odds - financial, technological, battle for the cause of meaningful Sabhapandit, Suman Haripriya, and competition from Bollywood. cinema with works like Bonani Arup Manna, Chandra Mudoi The dearth of funding is stifling (The Forest), Firingoti (The Spark) and Moirangthem Maniram made its growth. As it has not received and Hkhagaraloi Bahu Door. socially relevant films dealing with the status of a full-grown industry, Moloya Goswami, who essayed the human relationships and values. financial assistance from the role of the protagonist in Firingoti, The current decade started on a corporate sector is limited. Many received the Best Actress award. dismal note, with just three films artistes and technicians prefer Suprabha Devi became the first being made in 2010. Although 33 popular and lucrative Assamese woman film director of Assam, films were made till 2013, only a theatre assignments to working for through Nayanmoni in 1983. couple of them were commercially the film industry. successful. Baandhon (2012), a film Films produced in Assam are by Jahnu Barua, became the first often victims of the exhibitor- Assamese film to get a multi-city distributor nexus. A regional release outside Assam. To define film that is doing decent business Assamese cinema as films produced for and by the majority Assamese- speaking people is a fallacy. Assamese society is a melting pot of diverse cultures and social heritage, with several tribal communities speaking languages not understood by others. Feature films in languages other than Assamese started with a Bodo film, Alayaron (1986), by Jwngdao Badosa. Gautam Bora’s Karbi language film Wosobipo (The Cuckoo’s Call, 1990) received the Swarna Kamal for Best Film by Manju Bora. a Debutant Director. The film also Bhabendra Nath Saikia.

44 VIDURA January-March 2015 ethnic languages, the situation is (The writer is an assistant professor even grimmer. in the Department of Communication Improvement in form and and Journalism, content, technological advance- Gauhati University. Her research ments, better publicity and focuses on eco-criticism, documentary incorporation of film studies in films and science communication. academic curriculums might boost She is also engaged in various state the industry. However, despite universities as resource person. She daunting challenges, dedicated is news reader on All India Radio, filmmakers are emerging, seeking Guwahati, and a news editor for to tell stories that strike a chord Doordarshan Kendra, Guwahati.) with people. As long as these young Jahnu Barua. filmmakers keep their dreams alive,

the Assamese film industry will is often removed from theatres continue to live. < when a big-budget Hindi movie is released. For those making films in

Make impunity matter: World Editors Forum chief There has never been a more dangerous time for journalists. They are being killed and imprisoned worldwide in record numbers. They face daily threats, attacks and intimidation from private individuals, non-state actors, and government officials who seek to silence them. Crucially, the overwhelming majority of these crimes are committed with impunity - those responsible for 9 out of 10 journalist murders go unpunished. The failure of justice perpetuates a cycle of violence that has seen no let up in the years since the compilation of these grim statistics began. Spurred by a climate of impunity, powerful criminal elements persist in their attempts to silence the press. While journalists continue to be targeted, the governments and institutions supposed to protect them continue to fail. An insidious culture has set in that has turned journalism in many parts of the world into a deadly profession. Nowhere more than in Iraq is this reality so pressing. Since 2003, 100 journalist murders have been committed with total impunity, making the country - according to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists – the world’s worst offender. Coupled with neighbouring Syria where over 60 media employees have lost their lives since the beginning of the current conflict, the region is easily the world’s most deadly beat for journalists. As these states continue to fragment and radical militancy, sectarian violence and persecution afflicts millions, the lack of basic justice and the rule of law is - literally - killing journalists, the very people expected to make sense of the unfolding chaos. As an industry, we have a key role – and obvious interest - in ensuring the Plan is effective. We must do more to inform ourselves as to how to protect our journalists and communicate the dangers. We have a responsibility, as guardians of freedom of expression, to hold our governments to account in their efforts to do better. The deaths of our friends and colleagues, wherever they may fall, must outrage us and in every instance we must demand justice. No one else will do this on our behalf. Journalists are not only killed when they make the front pages. And in the past decade, 90-percent of the 713 recorded deaths have become double victims – victims of criminals and victims of inadequate justice - yet only a handful have made it into the collective conscience. We must ensure all media have access to the resources to better protect their journalists and their newsrooms. We need to get over our tendency not to address industry issues within our pages and on the airwaves. While I agree with the sentiment that the media are not the news, the stories of our

murdered journalists certainly should be. This is why I appeal to you to contact the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, to inform us of how best we as an industry can tackle impunity and guarantee the safety of < journalists worldwide. Together, we have the best chance of silencing those who wish to silence free journalism.

(Excerpts of a letter from Erik Bjerager, president, World Editors Forum, and editor-in-chief and managing director, Kristeligt Dagblad, Denmark.)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 45 A tribute to two of a kind: a poet and a footballer

A Poet, A City and A Footballer is a film in which the dynamics of death unfolds in varied manifestations. It celebrates people filled with the vibrancy of life even after they have survived death-like situations. Shoma A. Chatterji reviews Joshy Joseph’s interesting ‘film-within-a-film’ on poet and filmmaker Gautam Sen and one of India’s greatest footballers P.K. Banerjee

“Life is for the living. Death is for developing the right skills for the The voice the dead. Let life be like music. And game. On the other hand, one precedes the death a note unsaid.” ― Langston also encounters the low-profile visuals that Hughes, The Collected Poems Gautam Sen who begins to shoot a show Laboni, Shoma A. Chatterji documentary on the great footballer once married Poet, A City and A Foot- and a feature film with a superstar at to Gautam, baller, a film-within-a-film, the same time after being diagnosed talking about how a Bohemian- Ais created, orchestrated and with fourth-degree terminal like Gautam does not understand synchronised by national award- cancer of the lungs. This is another the pain that affects those close to winning documentary filmmaker manifestation of death. Gautam him who are not Bohemian and Joshy Joseph, an immigrant to knows his days are numbered. But hence cannot fathom the Bohemian Kolkata by virtue of his govern- he is determined to complete both mindset. ment job with the Films Division. films before the final summons The film is broken up into four It was occasional filmmaker and arrive. Sadly, he could not complete parts and PK comes almost in the gifted poet Gautam Sen who either. last segment. The mood of the discovered that he was suffering Gautam and PK are bound also film changes completely once PK from terminal cancer when he had by a throbbing city that seems enters, as he invests on the viewer just begun to shoot a documentary sometimes to be in the throes of his charm, chatting with his star on P.K. Banerjee (himself recovering death and sometimes wakes up to friends from the world of football, from a severe paralytic attack), one processions, crazy fights, Chinese narrating funny anecdotes. of the greatest footballers India breakfast places and colourful Gautam himself sits wearily on a has produced. Gautam, however, banners floating in the breeze. It chair wondering what went wrong passed away before he could is the city of Kolkata. “The trigger as PK’s larger-than-life image finish the film. While Gautam, the happened when the jury asked unwittingly takes over the entire filmmaker-within-the-film becomes Gautam whether he would be able scenario. Earlier, the documentary the ‘subject’ of Joshy’s documentary, to shoot due to his ill-health. The shows clips of Gautam actually PK is the subject of Gautam’s film- question invigorated his spirit. But shooting the feature film. “The within-the-film. While Banerjee has the idea of making a film struck narrative technique adopted to been cited by FIFA as the Indian V.S. Kundu, director general of the hook the viewer is a constant shift Footballer of the 20th Century, Sen Films Division, who was in the jury of perspectives, from my film to is known among his close friends and is now the creative producer of the film Gautam was dreaming more as a Bohemian poet who A Poet, A City and a Footballer,” of, then the shooting of the film lived life on his own terms than says Joshy, who has won five on P.K. Banerjee and the fiction as a committed filmmaker, though national awards, one of them for film. At times all these multiple he did win the national award for Best Writing on Cinema. perspectives converge – blurred, a documentary on witch-hunting. The film meanders across the mingled or separated. But I also The two individuals are bound by night sky against the backdrop of the wished to signal to my viewer a their different brushes with death. Kidderpore Docks, panning across a somewhat linear comprehension The larger-than-life personality pensively reclining Gautam passing because I am a Malayali making of PK infuses the viewer with his a hand over his shaven pate post one this rooted and organic Bengali throbbing energy as he is escorted of his many chemotherapy sessions, film,” explains Joshy. He has by his nurse right on to the football with actress Laboni Sarkar’s voice- shown Gautam’s body wreathed field, to mentor youngsters in over reciting one of his poems. in flowers but has kept away

46 VIDURA January-March 2015 A film festival full of life and energy The 19th International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) held in Thiruvananthapuram opened the eyes of this much-travelled film critic to the active and participatory role the audience can play not only to bring a film festival to life but also to give it a different dimension altogether. Like every other film festival of international standard, the IFFK has acquired a certain distinction having sustained itself and having gathered strength over the years in terms of selection of films, organisation of the festival, choice of different juries and, of course, the hospitality and public relations departments. Like every year, the responsibility was vested in the founder-organisers – the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. A total of 142 films from 38 countries were scheduled for screening of which A still from Nayanchampar Din 14 were in competition for the prestigious Golden Crow Pheasant Award. Ratri (The Tale of Nayanchampa). Indu Srikent was the new programme director. The late G. Aravindan, who was instrumental in giving a great impetus to IFFK, was chosen for a special dedication. The nonagarian Sri Lankan actress and filmmaker Sumitra Peries was specially invited to deliver the Aravindan Memorial Lecture. This year, the festival was revamped completely by the new committee formed under the leadership of Rajiv Nath, chairperson of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy, Indu Srikent, and the IFFK advisory board chairman, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who returned to the festival after a gap. There were sessions on Indian Cinema Now, Malayalam Cinema Today, Turkey as Country Focus, Jury Films, Contemporary Masters in Focus, Retrospective, French Connection, Chinese Films, World Cinema and Latin American films. The Indian Cinema Now Section featured seven films – in Bengali, Hindi, Marathi and Tamil. The films were 89, Ek Hazarchi Note, Blemished Light, Gour Hari Dastaan, Myth of Kleopatra, Pannaiyarum Padminium and The Tale of Nayanchampa. The Bengali film, 89, a surrealistic psychological thriller directed by Manoj Michigan, turned out to be an audience-favourite, with delegates sitting on the aisles for the film and others waiting outside and making some noise for not being allowed in. This was the trend over the rest of the festival. In the segment New Malayalam Cinema, the films revealed a new trend in both form and content. Abrid Shinde’s 1983 that offers a perspective of a young man’s journey through fantasy cut short by the ‘grounded-ness’ of real life. N.K. Muhammad Koya’s Alif is about Fathima who constantly reminds us that modernity and so-called development is one among hundreds of scapegoats of the gender-biased social system. Calton Towers directed by Salim Ahmed Lal tackles a father’s struggle to cope with the sudden death of his adult son in a sudden fire because when the son was alive, and how the father and the son did not get along and the father failed to understand or sympathise with

the son. Veteran filmmaker P. Sukumaran Nair’s Jalamsam revolves around a man released from prison returning to his native land where freedom beckons him. <

Shoma A. Chatterji Photos: Oindrilla Hazra Pratapan, KSCA A performance outside a theatre, and (right) a young group having a whale of a time at one of the venues.

January-March 2015 VIDURA 47 from exploiting the tragedy with his camera. In one scene within the larger film, Joshy asks Sen whether his choice of making a documentary on PK was motivated by the contradiction between himself – the undisciplined, crazy Bohemian who lives life by his own rules – and his subject, PK, who lives within the rigid discipline of sports. Joshy explains that the question came from the director, Kundu. “I have no clue why Gautam was attracted to his subject, PK. I was more charged by how this would bring Photos: supplied by SC its own tensions. I could sense rich raw material for my film. It was a A still from A Poet, A City and A Footballer. contradiction difficult to handle for Gautam. You can see the drama in important. What is more important The camera was wielded by the fourth chapter,” he says. is what the world around is thinking director of photography Mahesh “I liked the title because it about you. For me, as a filmmaker Madhavan, who does not know a pronounces the three characters and as an individual with two levels word of Bengali. Is it a reflective lucidly. Also, in a manner of of functioning – as I also write – film, a tribute to Gautam Sen, or a speaking, it will prompt the both dimensions are important,” tribute to Death as dependent on discerning viewer to imagine the Joshy elaborates. The way Gautam the perspectives of the two people

probable contradictions and allow accepts the certainty of the final exit who have experienced it at close him/ her to make his/ her own with stoic calm is as amazing as PK hand? Perhaps the film is all < of connections to it. I personally feel recounting anecdotes in his bright these and more… that Gautam was definitely a better red T-shirt, just after a brush with poet, compared to Gautam, the death. (The writer is a freelance journalist, film-maker. So, I call him a poet, in A Poet, A City and A Footballer author and film scholar based in the sense that it leaves a sense of the is the most difficult film Joshy Kolkata. She writes widely on cinema, incomplete journey of an artiste. says he has ever made. “But believe gender issues, media and human He did not consider himself a poet, me, I had to constantly turn down rights for print and online media. She even in the film. But what one thinks Gautam’s invitations when he kept has won the national award for Best of oneself as a public person is not calling me whenever he wrote a Writing on Cinema twice, the Bengal new poem or shifted to a new Film Journalists Association Award, room with a different view. The and a Lifetime Achievement Award first day’s shoot was a disaster. A from Laadly-UNFPA in 2010.) filmmaker himself, Gautam was conscious of the movie camera which impacted his behaviour. The second time, I hid myself while my crew pretended that they were waiting for me to begin the shoot. My director of photography shot him without his knowledge when Gautam was speaking naturally to his assistant Subhashish, spelling out his conception of the documentary on PK. These are the richest moments in my film, but the process was not only very difficult but also very painful,” Joshy Joseph. sums up Joshy.

48 VIDURA January-March 2015 ONCE UPON A TIME Of impromptu kutcheris and coffee mornings

T.T. Srinath looks back on a childhood spent with his grandfather, T.T. Krishnamachari

was barely seven when my us. On one such occasion when she inducted into grandfather, T.T. Krishna- was performing for AIR Delhi and Lal Bahadur Imachari, was elected for a was accompanied by her husband, Shastri’s second term to the Lok Sabha in Iswar Iyer, and her son, Lakshman, Cabinet as the 1962 and re-joined Jawaharlal she suggested to my grandfather information Nehru’s Cabinet, this time as that we have an impromptu and finance minister. While his tenure kutcheri (musical soiree) in the broadcasting T.T. Srinath was fraught with much political evening at home. My grandfather minister. activity, I want to write, not about asked his secretaries to mobilise Apparently, his essay to contain deficits, but a group which included eminent she was a reluctant entrant into about ‘behind the scenes’ goings-on bureaucrats such as S. Ranganathan, politics. The Commonwealth I witnessed as a young boy. comptroller and auditor general Ministers Conference was On several mornings, his Cabinet of India, S. Boothalingam, L.K. organised in London and Indira colleagues such as Humayun Kabir, Jha, H.V.R. Iyengar, all senior ICS Gandhi was requested to attend. who lived two gates away from officers, and Dr (Col) R.D. Iyer, She was, so I recall, reluctant to do our house, No. 3, Motilal Nehru medical superintendent of the so and Lal Bahadur Shastri told Marg; Lal Bahadur Shastri, who Safdarjang Hospital. DKP sang with my grandfather, “TT, you are like lived three doors away and liked aplomb and entertained several a father to her, accompany her my mother’s South Indian coffee; requests. She sang with abandon. and look after her.” In true family Mahavir Tyagi, who lived down the Sadly, there is no recording of that fashion, I went with my grandfather road, close to Claridges Hotel; and eventful evening. with a bouquet of flowers, to give to Sardar Swaran Singh, would drop At my grandfather’s dinner table her, at the airport, before she left for in at 7 am. for their morning brew. once, were gathered luminaries of London. Such was the simplicity They would occasionally be joined South Indian industry such as T.S. of politicians and their disarming by Nehru himself, who would come Krishna of the TVS group, V.M. attitude in those days. Once I was in an unescorted car. Loganatha Mudaliar of Tarapore travelling with my grandfather, No one was allowed to enter Shipping, K.R. Sundaram Iyer and in his official car, a Plymouth, when they were engrossed in his son S.R. Subramaniam from driven by his chauffeur, Dhani deep conversation, yet I have the Enfield family, V.S. Thyagaraja Ram, and outside the gate stood a heard from the house help who Mudaliar of Thiru Arooran Sugars, gentleman, dressed in a traditional served them that “Desh ke bare and Subbiah Chettiar, an equally South Indian dhoti waiting to meet mein baat kar rahe h ain” — they prominent industrialist. Also at that the finance minister but was not are talking about the country. On dinner table was seated a Swedish allowed to by the security staff. one occasion, when the late Tamil diplomat, who later became my My grandfather’s secretary, N.R. leader, K. Kamaraj was visiting, I aunt, Stina Vasu. Suddenly, a small Reddy (who was almost like a son had occasion to overhear him saying mouse ran past my aunt’s feet and to him) asked my grandfather if to my grandfather “Unakku Hindi she squealed. Subbiah Chettiar we could stop the car and enquire theriyathu, eppadi samalikkare?” — spontaneously said to her “Are who the gentleman was. My You do not know Hindi, how are you frightened of eli kutti (small grandfather agreed and Reddy you managing? Such was the easy mouse)?” Such was the innocence Uncle, as I used to call him, asked banter between them. of good-natured humour. the man his name, got his details The inimitable D.K. Pattammal Prime Minister Nehru had and asked him to come to the would often visit Delhi and stay with passed away and Mrs Gandhi was ministry.

January-March 2015 VIDURA 49 one of India’s largest industrial spring manufacturers. Such an accomplished gentleman was humbly waiting outside the gate for an audience with the finance minister. As I write this piece, I realise that as grandson of a powerful finance minister (who himself would have become prime minister, even if only for a few days, in place of Gulzarilal Nanda, when Lal Bahadur suddenly died, if he had not quit the government a day or two before Lal Bahadur’s demise), I saw from close quarters famous film stars and industrialists, coming home almost every day, seeking from the finance minister reprieve, most often small favours and I appreciate the struggle men like my

Photo: The Hindu grandfather must have had to cope with, not succumbing to largesse Those were the days. T.T.Krishnamachari (second from right) flanked by Nehru and handouts they must have been and Kamaraj. tempted with. Indeed tough is the

life of a man in power for he can Many years later I heard from outside the gate was Somappa, easily be tempted by lucre. < Reddy Uncle, before he passed on, founder of Stumpp, Schuele & that the man waiting so humbly Somappa, and Deccan Springs, (Courtesy: The Hindu)

‘Hope for better days to come’ The Indian Media and Entertainment Industry is expected to grow at a rate of 14.2% during 2013-18, as per FICCI- KPMG study on the industry during 2014. The print media industry will grow at CAGR of 9% during 2013-18. The big hope for the future growth of the M&E industry continues to be digital. With a fast growing internet user base of over 300 million internet users, the potential of the industry to enhance engagement with customers and generate revenue from digital media is indeed vast. In terms of print media, the rise in literacy rates, significant population growth, the rise in incomes in smaller towns and the entry of big players in regional markets is likely to drive future expansion of regional circulation and readership across India. Examples of national players launching regional print editions include – The Hindu launching a Tamil edition, Times of India launching a Gujarati edition NavGujarat Samay and Dainik Bhaskar’s entry in Patna. Recent advertising trends of print media in the country discloses several pointers. A close look at advertising pattern of major verticals which drive advertising in print media reveals that, the contribution from verticals like Automobiles, Retail, and Consumer Products have been steady with growth over previous year. The verticals like BFSI, Education, RealEstate, while marginally declining during the middle of year has begun to signs of improvement. Telecom products, FMCG, Textile and Clothing and Political Ads have increased their advertising for print media over previous year significantly. To sum it up, it can be stated that in last few months, foundation of the industry was strengthened to position for

growth as the economy improves. The expected proactive measures of new Government at the centre and stabilizing inflation rates in recent months have given hope for better days to come. <

(Excerpts from an article by Suresh Srinivasan, vice-president, The Hindu, which appeared in exchange4media.)

50 VIDURA January-March 2015 HISTORY OF KONKANI JOURNALISM Establishing a special identity

Konkani is spoken mostly in the state of Goa and also by people of Goan origin in the states of Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and in other parts of India. Though 2nd Century inscriptions in Konkani have been found as well as references to the language in texts as old as the 13th Century, Konkani got added to the list of national languages only in August, 1992. It became the official language of Goa after prolonged agitation in 1987. Mrinal Chatterjee has more

he slow growth and late Portuguese, English and Konkani. script in 1987 recognition of Konkani has It was the first journal out of Goa to is an important Mrinal Chatterjee Tmuch to do with the history of accord any space to Konkani. milestone Goa, which was under Portuguese Several Konkani newspapers for Konkani rule till 1961. Portuguese was thus and periodicals have been Journalism. Goa has had several the official language and it was published in Goa in different English language publications, spoken widely. So was English. scripts.Vauraddeancho Ixtt (Workers' which include: O Heraldo (The Because of its proximity and Friend), a weekly magazine in Herald), Goa's oldest newspaper, dependence on Maharashtra (the Roman script was published in formerly a Portuguese language size of Goa is just about an average 1933. It is published till date. In daily owned by Fernandes district in other states), Marathi 1907, B.F. Cabral started in Mumbai Publications, a local printing was fairly well spread. So, Konkani a daily newspaper in Konkani enterprise that grew out of a could not develop its individual titled Sanjechem Noketra. In 1908, stationery shop, The Navhind Times, identity. Honarato and F.X. Furtado started published by the mining house of The Portuguese rulers O Goano. With the publication of the the Dempos since 1963; and the deliberately tried to impede the monthly, Dor , in 1914 in Karachi by Gomantak Times, which changed development of the local language Father Ludovico Pereira, a new era hands from its earlier owners from and literature. Absence of a separate began in Konkani Journalism. This the mining house of the Chowgules script for Konkani also hindered its monthly was later on edited by to the politically linked Pawar development. Konkani used to be Father Moreno de Souza. family, based in the neighbouring written (still is) in several scripts With the liberation of Goa a new state of Maharashtra. In addition, including Roman, Malayalam, era dawned in Konkani Journalism. The Times of India and The Indian Kannada and Perso-Arabic. Felicio Cardozo came out with Express are also distributed to urban However, since 1987, Devanagari his weekly Goycho Sad in Roman areas from nearby Bombay and has been taken as the official script. script. Jagdish Vagh, Amrut Kansar Bangalore. A Goan edition ofThe Though the first printing press Manoharrai Sardesai, A N Mhambro, Times of India started publication in in India was established in Goa in Suhas Dalal, Gurunath Kelekar, June 2008. 1557, the first publication from Goa Yeshwant Palekar, Chandrakant The lone English monthly is Goa titled Gazeta de Goa in Portuguese Keni, Suresh Kakodkar, Hema Today, edited by Vinayak Naik.

was published in 1821. The earliest Naik and Datta S. Naik came out Other English publications include Konkani journal was not born with periodicals. Zag by Ravindra The Goan, Goa Messenger and Goan< in Goa as one would expect. It Kelekar is one of the best magazines Observer. was published from Poona in still published monthly. Maharashtra in 1889 and was A great event in the intellectual (The author heads the Eastern India christened Udentechem Sallok. It was life of Konkani speakers was the campus of the Indian Institute of Mass bilingual, published in Konkani and establishment of the daily, Rashtramat Communication, Dhenkanal, Odisha. Portuguese languages. Its editor was in 1963. Though it was a Marathi This article is the eleventh in a series Edward Bruno DSouza. It started daily it carried a supplement in on the history of regional language as a monthly and then became a Konkani every Sunday titled Somar journalism in India that has appeared weekly. It closed down after five and prominent writers contributed in this journal.) years. In 1895 came O Liberal, the to it. The publication of Sunaparant, journal of Aleixo Casimiro Lobo in a Konkani daily in Devanagari

January-March 2015 VIDURA 51 Book Review

A look at how Hindi fi lms mirror the times

short, the Hindi fi lm has another avatar beyond the ‘entertainer’ tag. Film scholar M.K. Raghavendra’s recently published book The Politics of Hindi Cinema in the New Millennium att empts to examine Hindi cinema from that perspective, tracing the changes in society, its att itude and also the ingrained politics embedded in reel stories churned out by Mumbai’s production houses. The book is a compilation of essays, writt en at diff erent periods of time since 2002 and refl ect on the trends within the popular Hindi cinema umbrella. In the introduction to the book, the author claims that while the political aspect has been writt en about much, his approach “diff ers... in the analysis off ered [which is] almost entirely textual,” as against the general tendency to examine the ‘eff ects’ showcasing cinema’s role in the interactive public space. Bollywood as a product or brand name, got credence only at the turn of the New Millennium, the author points out, a large contributing factor being the earnings from the overseas market. He writes, “By and large, Hindi mainstream cinema is addressing the global Indian in a much larger way today than it did when it was only ‘mainstream Hindi cinema’.” Talking of ‘mainstreaming’, the author gives a comprehensive overview of Hindi fi lms since Independence to the fi rst decade of this century in the introductory chapter which helps to understand the theme of the book. Additionally, it gives the The Politics of Hindi Cinema in the New reader a tool to jock the memory about some of the Millennium well-known Hindi releases in the recent past. What is more interesting is that the author’s analysis off ers an Author: M.K. Raghavendra opportunity to take a new look at the familiar fi lms Publisher: Oxford University Press and their signifi cance as political statements, which Pages: 264: may not be apparent at fi rst glance. Price: Rs 895 This is done by dividing the chapters choosing a representative fi lm in the particular time/ genre but with liberal reference to older fi lms in that category. Hindi cinema, now broadly referred to as Bollywood For example, the book begins with the chapter on the (though there are detractors to this nomenclature) is ‘Hindi ‘B’ movie’ taking the example of Raaz (2000), a undeniably intertwined with modern Indian culture. horror fi lm but a money-spinner. And then it goes on to There are strong regional cinema traditions across examine The Adulterous Woman through Jism (2003) the country but Hindi cinema overrules all with its to Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006). “What makes it pervasive infl uence and, more recently, it has been interesting… is the absence of a similar motif [of the reaching out to the expat community across the world. adulterous/murderous wife] in the older melodramas However, apart from its song-and dance routines, where the woman protagonist was, by and large, family dramas with liberal doses of melodrama, an emblem virtue or fi delity.” This is an insightful Hindi fi lms have another aspect which often goes observation as the writer dwells on the infl uence unnoticed except perhaps in the academic circle. In of American noir cinema on this genre of fi lms. Also,

52 VIDURA January-March 2015 socially, they reflect a shift, albeit in urban India, to he writes that his “enquiry into the politics of the a more Westernised lifestyle through exposure to mainstream Hindi film in the New Millennium began a wider world after the economic liberation of the as an attempt to unravel the concerns of cinema but 1990s. increasingly touched upon the implications of the In this mode, the 15 chapters in the book focus political currents in India.” He feels that globalisation on different aspects of popular Hindi cinema – and economic outcome have divided Indian society youth films as a mode of dissent (Rang de Basanti, as never before, making the urban and rural two etc), reservations of the middle-class concern (Page different segments and popular cinema often reflects 3, Fashion, etc), Politics and Enterprise (Rajneeti), that change. “It is perhaps this celebratory aspect of Friendship (Dil Chahta Hai, Zindagi Na Milegi the mainstream Hindi film – when the underlying Dobara), and so on. It is indeed an interesting way predicament is the nation dissolving that gives one of looking at societal changes and evolving values the greatest cause for disquiet because it reflects the in the country as reflected through the ever-popular outlook of influential segments of the Indian public.” Hindi films. Of course, the fact that that films, the M. K. Raghavendra’s analysis may not meet with most modern of the arts, influence current society universal agreement but it throws up many questions has often been harped on. But taking the cue from the and scope for a further look at the popular cinema

popular cinema of Bollywood to make the point of of India. That itself marks the book as an important the gradual change in societal mores and introduction work in the segment of serious film studies. < of new elements thereof, places the book both in the academic domain of film studies as also in the easy- Ranjita Biswas read category. The latter because, while reading about a film contextually, the avid movie-goer would (The writer is a Kolkata-based journalist. She is also immediately recall it, the plot, etc, making him/ her a short story and children’s fiction writer and prize- take a new look at the past experience through the winning translator of fiction. She has six published books.) author’s eyes with his nuances of interpretation. In the concluding chapter, as Raghavendra sums up the theme and the contexts of the films chosen,

Printing takes a leap to 4D In a first, researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have used a technology called four dimensional (4D) printing to create a structure that can change shape without external intervention. The new technology marks an advancement over 3D printing that allows one to print a range of items including toys, chocolates or medical devices, all while sitting in a living room. The so-called four dimensional printing involves 3D printing items that are designed to change shape after they are printed. “We can now generate structures that will change shape and functionality without external intervention,” lead study author Dan Raviv was quoted as saying by Live Science. The researchers printed the shape-shifting 3D structure using two materials, a stiff plastic, and a ‘secret’ water absorbent material that could double in volume when submerged in water. The researchers printed up a square grid and found that when they placed the grid in water, the water-absorbent material could produce a broad range of shapes. “The most exciting part is the numerous applications that can emerge from this work,” Raviv added. “This is not just a cool project or an interesting solution, but something that

can change the lives of many,” he said. The scientists noted that such 4D-printed items could one day be used in everything from medical implants to home appliances. The study appeared in the journal Scientific Reports. <

(Courtesy : Business Line)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 53 A SON REMEMBERS HIS FATHER A gentleman crusader on a cycle

y father B.G. Verghese, was always accessible – and to all. lied, his grand- known simply as George – My father believed in joint father Dewan Mand to his extended family responsibility and, as children, both Bahadur Dr in Kerala as Boobli (or baby) – my brother and I got our hands V Verghese, passed away on 30 December, 2014, smacked for the other’s misdeeds. much loved ending a rich and remarkable life Truly was I my brother’s keeper. and feted by lived ‘without regrets’. Growing And he mine. the Mahajarah up, I rarely saw him. He belonged There were no arguments of Cochin, and to that post-Independence tribe of at home. The one time I got a great patriarch Vijay Verghese nation builders for whom ‘family’ modest spank was for borrowing of a vast Syrian meant every underprivileged and a superhero comic when I was 10. Christian disenfranchised person in the This went against his injunction, family. country. ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender Then there was Arthur Foot, Buried under newspapers each be,’ but I believe it had more to do the first headmaster of The Doon morning as he scribbled notes with his fear that comics would School who decided that the crisp and circled incorrect text, he was corrupt my English entirely and Himalayan air and wooded valleys a formidable man to approach reduce my vocabulary to Thwack, offered the perfect setting in which and one of few words. The most Pow, and Wham! to fashion young souls steeped in he seemed to say was, “Hmm,” He had a wry wit and chuckled their own culture but brought up which animated my mother no when he found my brother and I in in much the manner of an Eton or a end. He led by example rather his rattling cupboard one evening, Harrow. And it was Doon that really than verbose instruction and we apparently headed for Mars. The created the man who was to become watched carefully for clues. Yet he nascent Indian Space program was my father with his eclectic blend alas dismantled and my father’s of Gandhian principles, Christian Cambridge ties preserved for values, Buddhist abstemiousness, posterity. spirit of adventure, and the best of Simplicity was his credo. So liberal democratic traditions. when he contested the elections He aimed high but kept a low post-Emergency in 1977 he chose profile, he outlined bold strokes but as his emblem, the humble cycle. explained them in simple terms, He brushed aside my collegiate he fought the good fight with attempts to build a ‘brand’ for him. righteous indignation but never After all, this was the common raised his voice in anger or malice, man’s transport. While at the Indian and he never compromised on his Express, he sometimes cycled to integrity. work, often in tar-melting Delhi In the Sixties he toured the coun- summer heat, causing cars to try to see firsthand the emergence screech to a halt as startled junior of modern India as seen through journalists scrambled to give him its Nehruvian ‘temples’ of industry a lift. He would have none of it. and mega dams. The results of this

Photo: VV When I headed off on my first teen pilgrimage were contained in his date, he saw me off, on a cycle. 1965 book Design for Tomorrow. I I asked him once who the most asked him what his main takeaway formative people in his life were from this exercise was and he said, The legendary B.G. Verghese. and, without hesitation, he rep- simply, “The enormous diversity of

54 VIDURA January-March 2015 will bend and tell me that you love me And I shall sleep in peace until

‘Always polite and to the point’ you come to me < My most memorable encounter with B.G. Verghese was when he had just resigned as the editor of Hindustan Times, then the leading newspaper of (This article by Vijay Verghese Delhi and joined the Gandhi Peace Foundation in Deen Dayal Upadhyaya was written for Doon School’sRose Marg off Bahadur Shah Road facing one of the busiest traffic inter-sections Bowl magazine and sent to this in the city. He was going to his new office on a bicycle. He was then living in journal for publication by Rahul an apartment building at the junction of Barakhamba Road and Ferozeshah Verghese, his brother. Vijay Verghese Road very close to Bengali Market where I lived. He did not see me because I is a journalist and publisher who has was in my car, an old and rickety Ambassador. I also met him professionally lived in Hong Kong for the past 30 in his office in the Gandhi Peace Foundation where he had a large room years where he now runs the online allotted to him. Dancing Wolf Media. He started Though a comparatively junior special correspondent of The Statesman, I with The Times of India, Delhi as had several meetings and telephone talks with him between 1966 and 1969 a reporter and moved East to work on when he was Mrs Indira Gandhi’s press adviser with the rank of a secretary various newspapers and magazines.) in the Government. He was available on the phone even at 11 pm, and always polite and to the point. Verghese was very kind to me personally. He

once asked a senior colleague for my age. When he replied 45, he merely remarked "too late". He evidently had a big job in mind for me for which I< turned out to be over-age.

(M.B. Lal, retired bureau chief and assistant editor, The Statesman.) C.K. Prasad is India.” It was something he fought that was the beginning of a great lifelong to preserve and protect. friendship and union that lasted PCI chairman It was the core DNA of a united unbroken for over 60 years. They India. were inseparable, my mother always Quoted in a recent BBC interview distinct with a colourful flower in Justice Markandey Katju will on The Doon School, he said Foot her hair, her sense of drama and be replaced as chairman of Press reminded the boys they were an fun a wonderful counterpoint to my Council of India by former Supreme elite but there was no place for father’s quiet resolve. Court Judge C.K. Prasad. Justice elitism as they were committed to Tribal uplift and the emancipation Katju’s three-year term ended on the “service of those less fortunate of women concerned him greatly as October 11. Justice C.K. Prasad is than you.” No doubt following this did the socio-economic liberation a retired judge of Supreme Court exhortation, at Hindustan Times he of the Northeast. While down with of India. He completed his four- had the paper adopt the village Dengue and recovering at home he year term in July this year. Justice Chhatera as a novel experiment in awoke, fevered, at 5am one morning Prasad is a Science graduate from developmental journalism. and bemoaned the plight of women Magadh University. In November Humble and self-effacing, he in the country. This far outranked 1973, he was enrolled as an practically wrote himself out of his the searing joint and muscle aches. advocate and practised in civil, memoir and I had a struggle on my He was not a hugely religious constitutional, criminal and service hands to convince him to run his person but was a man of Faith with matters at the Patna High Court. portrait on the cover. unshakeable moral certitude. He In 1989 he was designated senior So understated was he I may had a rich baritone, forged at the advocate. He was appointed well have ended up with a different Trinity College Cambridge choir additional advocate general of father. When my mother was that gave beautiful shape to gospels, Bihar in December 1993. He offered a scholarship to the USA, Paul Robeson classics, and his held various offices including my father moved his courtship into signature ‘Danny Boy’ that we hope the office of the vice-president of

the English Speaking Union of high gear by asking her, “Have you sends him on his way… < considered any other alternatives?” And I shall hear tho' soft you Commonwealth. “Like what?” she enquired. “Like tread above me And all my grave me,” he blushingly responded. And will warmer, sweeter be For you

January-March 2015 VIDURA 55 REMEMBERING B.G. VERGHESE (1927-2014) One of Journalism’s brightest stars ever EDITOR’S NOTE: Veteran during his illustrious career that work as well as conduct. His journalist B.G. Verghese was a regular began in 1949, even serving as journalist colleagues recall how contributor to Vidura. As editor of this the Information Advisor to Prime he would walk in with a copy of journal, I established contact with him Minister Indira Gandhi between the newspaper marked red all about four years ago, requesting him for 1966 and 1969. He was the editor over. Done with the morning post- a piece. He promptly replied, attaching of Hindustan Times from 1969 to 1975 mortem examination of the paper, a copy of one of his columns that had and that of The Indian Express from he would dictate “Notes” on the appeared in a mainline newspaper. 1982 to 1986. After that, he had been day’s edition listing errors for an He would occasionally send articles associated with the Centre for Policy internal circulation later. without me asking. Once, in Chennai, Research and writing books and His several books included India’s after an hour-long speech at an evening articles for several publications. North-East Resurgent, a scholarly programme, I walked up to the stage to “In Shri B.G. Verghese, we lost account of the situation in the meet him and get him to sign his book an accomplished writer and an Northeast states; Waters of Hope on (First Draft: Witness to the Making insightful thinker. May his soul the untapped water resources of Modern India) I had bought. He rest in peace,” said Prime Minister in the Ganga and Brahmaputra was visibly tired and any opportunity Narendra Modi on Twitter. basin; and Reorienting India: Rage, I had of a reasonably long conversation Verghese was recovering from Reconciliation and Security on was gone. The following morning, I a bout of dengue but had been managing India’s diversities. He received from him an email with a copy severely weakened, according to also wrote a biography of Ramnath of his speech for use in Vidura. He his son Rahul. He was not active Goenka, the founder of The Indian generously gave advice when I sought in the last few days and breathed Express. His last major work it. But more than anything, he would his last around 5.30 pm Tuesday. was First Draft: Witness to the Making always reply to every email I sent. Verghese was admired for his of Modern India that came out in Right till the end. A month or so before he passed away, he responded saying he was still unwell. Here (extracts only) is how some of India’s mainline newspapers recorded his death:

The Indian Express “Journalism for him is zestful,” wrote the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation in its citation for the 1975 award to B.G. Verghese. “Yet his sense of public duty is strong.” One of the most widely respected editors and an inspirational figure to several generations of journalists, Boobli George Verghese died at his Gurgaon house Tuesday. He was 87. He is survived by his wife Jamila and sons Rahul and Vijay. Distinguished journalist, prolific Photo: Express archive author, unwavering activist, Verghese at the launch of First Draft: Witness to the Making of Modern Verghese donned many hats India.

56 VIDURA January-March 2015 2010. He kept working till the very The Times of India recalled Nayar, and reminisced, last and even travelled to Guwahati A booming voice, genial air, and a "When I was seriously ill two years in the first week of November to gentleman among journalists: that's ago, George called to say, 'Why do attend a conference, according to how nearly everybody who knew you want to go alone? We'll all go his son Rahul. Till very recently, B.G. Verghese - George to his legion together'." he used to be seen driving his of friends and admirers - would After he left journalism, Verghese own small car to conferences and remember him. Except of course emerged as a civil rights activist seminars. those who were at the receiving end and worked closely with such “A meticulous researcher, a prince of his intense journalistic scrutiny, doyens of journalism as Nikhil among human beings and a prolific his caustic wit and muscular prose. Chakravartty, Ajit Bhattacharjee, writer gifted with extraordinary Beyond editing newspapers, Nayar and Chanchal Sarkar. fluency, B.G. Verghese was also Verghese authored several books, Verghese lived his beliefs. In his an abiding friend of the Northeast apart from innumerable 'fact- autobiography, First Draft: Witness who tried tirelessly to change finding' reports as the chairman of to Making of Modern India,he wrote Delhi’s mindset toward that deeply Editors' Guild: from militant attack that when he contested in 1977 as an divided region,” said Sanjoy on media in Manipur, alleged independent backed by the Janata Hazarika, director of the Centre Kunan Poshpora mass rapes Party from Mavelikkara, he spent for North East Studies and Policy in J&K to Gujarat riots in 2002. Rs 34500 as his election expenses, Research at Jamia Milia Islamia Veteran journalist Kuldeep Nayar fulfilling his vow that he would University. Born in 1927 in Burma remembers Verghese from the time not spend a penny more than the (now Myanmar) where his father he was the officiating resident editor mandated sum of Rs 35000 that was serving in the Army, Verghese of The Times of India in Delhi. "After could be spent on elections then. was educated at the Doon School, the debacle in 1962, the Mulgaokar St Stephen’s College and Trinity committee noted the government The Hindu College, London, before he took had received bad press. It was then After being discharged from up a job with The Times of India in decided that the office of the prime hospital, he was staying with his son Mumbai. minister must have a press advisor. Rahul. Mr. Rahul told The Hindu That's how George came to be that one of the last things his father The New Indian Express Mrs Gandhi's press advisor, some said was, “I have a lot of unfinished In a condolence message, Vice- time after 1966." Nayar remembers business.” Mr. Verghese was born President Hamid Ansari said that Verghese was among the first editors in Maymyo, Burma, now known in Verghese’s demise, “We have to speak about journalistic ethics and as Pyin U Lwin, Myanmar. He is lost a fearless commentator and a responsibilities. "He was also a big remembered for his editorial titled prolific writer who made valuable votary of language journalism," said “Kanchenjunga, here we come” contributions to the national debate Nayar. "George had a role to play in in Hindustan Times after Sikkim on important issues of public the launch of Navbharat Times (the merged with India in 1975. In the interest and concern”. Hindi newspaper from TOI stable)." editorial, Mr Verghese had called Verghese reportedly became a His work on water and defence the operation “less than proper.” journalist by accident, joining The of big dams for power generation He had to leave Hindustan Times

Times of India as an assistant is well-known, an issue on which after that due to his criticism of Ms editor after completing his he took on writer Arundhati Roy Gandhi. < studies at Cambridge. A soft- saying, "Her poetry was charming; spoken gentleman, he was a the facts were wrong." Within the much respected figure in Indian journalistic fraternity, Verghese's journalism, known to be accessible exit from two newspapers he and a mentor to several juniors. edited, The Hindustan Times and The He has published a number of Indian Express, are now part of lore. books, including a biography of In the first instance, K.K. Birla, the media baron Ramnath Goenka proprietor of Hindustan Times, upset calledWarrior of the Fourth Estate. over his criticism of the Emergency, He turned a trenchant critic "sacked him at the staircase". But of Indira (Gandhi) during the Nayar believes Verghese was Emergency and even contested removed for the wrong reason: he as an independent candidate in wasn't condemnatory enough! "He Kerala, but lost. was critical, but not loud enough,"

January-March 2015 VIDURA 57 REMEMBERING RAGHAVENDRA RAO (1932-2014) When moisture softened the camera-eye

What distinguished Raghavendra Rao in his over 30-year career as a photojournalist was the ever-present moisture in his eye. The human predicament moved him constantly, as did any form of beauty. His eyes would well over and the moisture would seep into his camera lens to soften the contour of every frame. The resulting image would directly appeal to our heart, reminisces Sadanand Menon

n the cramped, cynical world often displayed prominently on the of the daily media, journalists front page. When I joined Indian Iusually do not let the events Express as a rookie in 1973, one of the day touch them. Photo- of my motivations had been the journalists are even tougher. Their memory of the brilliantly shot and eyes are glazed. Nothing fazes dramatically displayed front-page them. There is no waste of emotion photos accompanied by the credit or sentiment. They have seen it line, ‘Photo by K.N. Raghavendra all — death, destruction, violence, Rao’. mayhem. A brutal war or a bloody Despite the age gap, it did riot leaves them untouched. not take long for us to become They are witnesses to the worst friends and he was quick to pull aspects of the human species. A me into a close circle of journalist photo assignment is merely an colleagues. These were constant opportunity to push and hustle and acts of generosity from his side, secure a scoop over all opposition. whenever he spotted some specific This is where Raghavendra talent or skill in a junior colleague. Rao was different. He was a It was always a pleasure to see Rao compassionate visual storyteller accompanied by a shoal of younger Photo: The Hindu archives/Kothandaraman and generous teacher. He was colleagues, constantly learning from compassion personified. It was him the art of extending the circle of impossible for him to click a picture companionship and conviviality. Raghavendra Rao on assignment at without getting involved in the life Meenambakkam airport, Madras, in of his subjects. When the camera Deep focus 1980. was not enough, he could also write Later he worked for a while with abundant sensitivity and in in India Today magazine’s southern and eventually, yet unobtrusively, elegant prose. There are many bureau, during the time Raghu Rai photographed them. The resulting pieces he penned under the nom was photo editor of the magazine. essay of pain and loss, told through de plume of Sai Prashanti that had During this period, I accompanied the wizened faces of these villagers, readers wondering who the author him with my camera on several spoke far more eloquently of what was. assignments. On one such trip to a had happened than our pictures of cyclone-affected hamlet in Nellore material havoc. Front-page shots district in Andhra Pradesh, I got to In the early 1990s, Rao helped set Raghavendra Rao’s career see from close his process of work. up the photo department of Business in photojournalism began, in While some of us were busy Line, the newly launched business the late 1960s, with The Indian framing very graphic (and, perhaps, daily of The Hindu Group. He Express,Madras. He went on to ‘sensational’) images of devastation was responsible here for recruiting become its chief photographer by wrought by the cyclone, Rao set and training several young the 1980s. During this period he about looking for people who had photographers and inspiring them. shot some dramatic photo-essays been affected by the calamity. He Rao’s oeuvre spanned politics, for the paper and his work was spoke with them, consoled them street life and portraits of artists.

58 VIDURA January-March 2015 His series of pictures of Carnatic and discussions. His greatest joy, develop his own native creative musicians is still a rage among though, I believe, was when he was instincts. music buffs in South India. He has engaged with children, motivating In an era when photography several solo photo exhibitions to or exciting them or when he was has become both ubiquitous his credit. The animated face and tending the plants in his garden at and aggressive, when virtually hands of an M.D. Ramanathan is his home, Rasa, in Injambakkam. everyone seems to have an image- as close an experience of getting With children he was an instant making device at their fingertips, to hear his music than actually raconteur and with plants a caring when millions of images are being hearing his music. A shot of dancer nurturer. produced and uploaded by the Chandralekha against the sea and Rao (82) passed away after a hour, when the assault on our sky on Elliot’s Beach is an essay in phase of being unwell, at his son’s ocular sensibilities has reached movement. Rao came from a school home in Ahmedabad. Just a couple its nadir, one thinks back on a of photography that believed of years ago, he had helped conduct photographer such as Raghavendra more in emotion, intuition and a photo-workshop for me during the Rao with a sense of wistful longing; spontaneity, rather than conscious occasion of an exhibition in memory to a time — not too long ago — preoccupation with technical of our common friend, the artist, when photography represented not details. In many conversations we photographer, designer Dashrath just sight, but also insight; when a had, he would always hold firm Patel. During that time he had photographer-journalist, like Rao, to the belief that the mechanics of spoken lovingly of his childhood saw it as his professional task to the medium should not be allowed days in Mandya, Karnataka, and amplify not only the vision of his to overpower the poetry of the how he picked up nationalist readers, but also their heart. expression. and anti-imperialist sensibilities in We will miss the ‘wet’ prints

those pre-Independence days. It he used to show us with such Instant raconteur was an early formation that was excitement. < Raghavendra Rao was also an to also affect his photo-practice, as influential teacher and, for many he carefully skirted around ideas (Courtesy: BusinessLine) years, interacted with younger derived from Western masters professionals through workshops and showed the courage to

REMEMBERING RAJAN DEVDAS His lenses chronicled US-India relations

Rajan Devadas, one of the most admired Indian-American photojournalists whose lenses chronicled US-India relations for more than half-a-century, died of cardiac arrest at the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington on Friday. He is survived by his wife and eight children. He was 93. In a career spanning more than five decades, Devadas, a Padma Shri awardee, covered the US visit of every Indian Prime Minister — from Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh — besides photographing every US President — from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush. He could not cover Narendra Modi’s visit in September. For several decades, he worked as an official photographer of the Indian Embassy in Washington. In 2002, the Padma Shri was bestowed on him. Devadas, who was born in Rajan Devadas. Thiruvananthapuram in 1921, spent much of his childhood in Varanasi, Uttar

Pradesh, and studied at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). After working as an administrative assistant at the BHU, he came to the US in 1955. <

(Courtesy: The Hindu/ PTI news report)

January-March 2015 VIDURA 59 REMEMBERING RAGHAVENDRA RAO ‘Take pictures for yourself, you will find peace’

Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury shares precious lessons learnt from his mentor, Raghavendra Rao would tell us: “Visualise your print before you shoot your picture.” After I was inducted into his team at BusinessLine in 1994, Raoji told me: “Don’t take your camera. Go and look at the world around you. Observe life closely; absorb every object in your mind and think about it. Relate it with the issues, the agendas, government proposals... Then go back again with your camera. You will come back with great images of simple acts of life with great thought.” These Photo: Bijoy Ghosh words have remained the guiding principle for me and many others A more recent picture of the photojournalist, philosopher and thinker. whom he patiently mentored. ne day, Raghavendra Rao her perspective. We thought we were stuck assigned me to shoot a When he passed on, he was with business journalism, which Opicture of a fragrance outlet. surrounded by all his children and is considered not-so-lens-friendly After three days of struggle, I came grandchildren at the home of his and monotonous. But he would up with a simple picture of a woman younger son in Ahmedabad. Though say, “Look into the eyes of the street choosing her fragrance at a cosy conversations had become difficult vendor, the worker, the executive. outlet. But I was not very happy towards the end, there is no doubt You will then understand each with the result. I printed it out and he responded to vibrations around one’s plight. Capture the mood sent it to him with a note saying, him. For vibrations lay at the heart with a sense of poetry. Narrate it ‘I am not happy’. A week later, of his life and work — including through the play of light. Make it I was stunned to see the picture 21 years at Indian Express, Chennai, interesting.” on the Life page of BusinessLine. and about 10 at BusinessLine. Almost He was unconventional, The picture was spread across six until the very end, he was a mentor contemporary, yet steeped in columns, divided into six strips. to people of all ages, particularly tradition. He had a rare sense of I called him to ask how he did it. photographers, with whom he visual narrative. He was partial to He just said: “You were not happy shared everything he knew and had vertical perspectives. To my why, with the frame, so I wanted to make learnt. he remarked with a smile, “Usually, it interesting.” Raoji, as he was popularly you see things horizontally. A K.N. Raghavendra Rao was not known, would read the light like a vertical viewpoint creates an only a photojournalist. He was musician examining his notes. To abstract sense in your mind… gets a philosopher and thinker, and him, compositions were like chords special attention too.” He ended mentor to seven photographers to a musical instrument. And it our last conversation saying: “Write

at BusinessLine. He imbued in this didn't end with the photograph: he your words with your pictures. team of young photographers his took special interest in giving each Take pictures for yourself, you will < belief that the camera doesn't take image the display it deserved. In find peace.” pictures, it is the photographer who those days, when we shot on film composes the image through his or and printed on bromide paper, he (Courtesy: BusinessLine)

60 VIDURA January-March 2015 REMEMBERING ROBIN WILLIAMS An actor with outstanding improvisation skills

The man who made one forget one’s woes for two hours finally could not rescue himself from the throes of depression. Robin Williams, one of the most versatile actors cinema has produced, passed away in August 2014 in his Northern California home. He reportedly took his own life. Shoma A. Chatterji traces the life of the actor

obin Williams acted in Jumanji (1993), Jack (1996), The improvised. He could address more than 50 films over an Adventures of Baron Munchausen himself to a universal audience Routstanding career, slipping (1989), Dead Again (1991), The where children received him with smoothly into roles as diverse and Birdcage and the Secret Agent their own brand of naïveté and as demanding as those he played (1996). His first tryst with comedy adults admired and adulated in films like Mrs Doubtfire; Dead was in Popeye (1980), directed by him for his ability to cater to their Poet’s Society; Good Morning, Robert Altman. But this turned out sensibilities. Beyond films and Vietnam; Awakenings (1990), to be a disappointment. His second television, Williams also used his Casablanca; and The Fisher King role as a young writer in The World talent to raise money for charity, (1991). He was never a romantic According to Garp brought out which sheds light on his qualities hero in the mould of syrupy his power as a talented actor. His of kindness and generosity. romance, nor was he a dynamic earlier film roles in The Survivors William McLaurin Williams was action hero. But he could play (1983), The Best of Times (1986) and born in Chicago on July 21, 1951. both bright, entertaining roles Club Paradise (1986) were panned He was born into a rich family but and dark, edgy ones manifesting by critics and audience as mediocre by his own admission, was brought psychological maladjustment in at best, but whether the films were up by a housemaid. His comic takes films such as Insomnia and One- mediocre or he was, is not very were first inspired to entertain and Hour Photo. Williams won Oscar clear. His portrayal of the Russian please his mother. The family later nominations for his roles in Good saxophone player who defects in moved to the San Francisco Bay Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher Paul Mazurksy’s Moscow on the Area where he completed his High King; and Dead Poets Society. Hudson (1984) is unforgettable but School. After majoring in Political There were many others, such this remains marginalised because Science, he won a seat in the College as The World According to Garp not many saw it and his latter roles of Main to study Theatre at Julliard (1982), Moscow on the Hudson more or less eclipsed his earlier in New York on a scholarship. He (1984), Hook (1991), Patch Adams ones. studied Theatre for three years (1998), Flubber (1997), Toys (1992), It was his role as the an anti- under John Houseman and others. authority GI disc jockey in Good He came back to San Francisco with Morning, Vietnam (1987) that the aim of making it as a dramatic brought out Robbin Williams’ actor, but all his attempts were in outstanding skills in improvisation vain. He then decided to do stand- within a performance. Another up comedy and supplement his exceptional ‘performance’ was his income by working at an ice-cream voice which he lent to Disney’s parlour and bar-tending. When animated classic Alladin, The nothing seemed to work, he moved genie’s role was written exclusively to Los Angeles and became a with Williams in mind. regular stand-up comedian at clubs If a segment of film buffs labelled and on television shows like the him a comedian for his flair for Richard Pryor Show and America comic timing and the ability to make 2-Night.

Photo: SC his audience laugh, he was no less Happy Days was a popular an actor who deserved accolades television show at the time. The Robin Williams. for pure drama, both scripted and producers decided to add the

January-March 2015 VIDURA 61 character of an alien to the show and Williams won the audition. A guest appearance on a 1978 episode brought him such a huge flood of fan mail that the network created a spin-off series called Mork & Mindy. His performance as the good-natured alien from the planet Ork gave him ample chance to improvise, one of the biggest challenges any comic actor must face all the time to entertain viewers and keep them hooked to the show. The character hit such high levels of popularity that it led to the production of a talking Mork Doll which spoke the Orkian language Williams had created for his character in the series. There was no turning back. Williams was bestowed the Chicago international Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. He became addicted to drugs and alcohol from time to time, but got himself admitted to rehab repeatedly. This seemed to work for some time, but depression would soon set in. “More often than not, the comic act is a defence mechanism or a compensatory tool to overcome personal crises, childhood trauma or a sense of deprivation and hurt. By overcoming the personal sense of loss, by making people laugh, they manage to push back their own fears and insecurities. Besides, the analogy of being lonely in a crowd applies more than to other performers to comedians. The applause gives them such a high. Greater the applause, more deafening the silence after the applause and more the hollowness that seeps into the being,” writes journalist Aruti Nayar. Robin Williams’ suicide provides a deep insight into how hugely talented artistes who have made their fans laugh till their sides split get sucked into the lack of happiness in their personal lives – real or imagined. He is not the first such performer

whose life ended in a tragedy of his own making. Nor, sadly, will he be < the last.

62 VIDURA January-March 2015 OTHER NEWS

Vikatan Group chief passes column in the newspaper. In his later years with the newspaper, as the senior away most member of the editorial team, Sampath assisted S. Balasubramanian, the the editor in managing the editorials for the day, chairman of the Vikatan group of finally seeing them off on the page after scrutiny. publications, has passed away. MCS was an old school journalist who was meticulous He was 78 and is survived by his in his commitment to accuracy, contextualising and wife, a son and six daughters. fairness. As an editorial writer, he was clear-headed, Son of film producer and owner sceptical about big claims, nuanced, and able to deal of Gemini Studios S.S. Vasan, with complexity skilfully and to present a persuasive who founded the magazine, argument with ease. But he never shied away from S. Balasubramanian. Balasubramanian made many expressing a forthright opinion on issues that revolutionary changes in the mattered. And as a coordinator of editorials, willing content of Ananda Vikatan and persuaded Tamil to put in long hours, he was considered the safest pair writer Jayakanthan, who had been writing till then of hands any editor could wish for. only in smaller magazines, to contribute to Vikatan. (Courtesy: The Hindu) Junior Vikatan, a pioneer in the field of investigative journalism, was his brainchild. He also introduced a Kiran Vadodaria is scheme to identify talent among college students in Tamil Nadu and many journalists now dominating INS president the field are actually the products of the ‘student Kiran B. Vadodaria of Sambhaav Metro was journalists scheme’. elected president of the Indian Newspaper Society Balasubramanian was arrested and lodged in for 2014-15 at its 75th annual general meeting held jail for three days for a privilege issue in the Tamil in Delhi. He succeeds Ravindra Kumar of The Nadu Assembly in 1987 after he refused to apologise Statesman. P.V. Chandran (Grihalakshmi) is the deputy for a cartoon on legislators published on the cover president, Somesh Sharma (Rashtradoot Saptahik) is the of the magazine. “He was not averse to the idea of vice-president, and Mohit Jain (The Economic Times) apologising. But wondered why he should do it after the honorary treasurer for 2014-15. V. Shankaran is the Privileges Committee decided everything without the secretary-general. giving adequate opportunity to explain his position,” said S. Ashokan, Editor, The Hindu in Tamil and a former editor and publisher of Ananda Vikatan. He Deepak Lamba to head WWM was released after protests across the country. He later Deepak Lamba, president at Bennett, Coleman filed a suit in the court against his wrongful arrest. and Co (Times Group) will be taking additional The Madras High Court decided in favour of responsibility of heading Worldwide Media (WWM) Balasubramanian and even awarded compensation. as the CEO. This was confirmed by Lamba. He will “After encashing the cheque, he framed it and kept be replacing Tarun Rai who was the CEO since 2008. it as a memento along with the cartoon drawn by WWM that initially began as a 50:50 joint venture R.K. Laxman, in support of the Vikatan cartoon,” said between the Times Group and BBC Worldwide in Ashokan. India was later on bought over in October 2011 became (Courtesy: The Hindu) a wholly owned subsidiary of Bennett Coleman and Co. It currently has 13 magazines, including Femina, M.C. Sampath is no more Filmfare, Lonely Planet, Top Gear and Good Homes. M.C. Sampath, retired senior associate editor of The Hindu, Jwalant Swaroop is CEO, passed away after suffering a Sakal Media massive cardiac arrest. He was Jwalant Swaroop has been appointed as the CEO 78. He retired from The Hindu in of Sakal Media Group. He will be heading one of 2012 after serving the newspaper the largest independently owned media businesses for 50 years, not counting the in Maharashtra. Swaroop joins from Oshoyana five years during which he was Consultants where he was CEO for a period of two and the part-time correspondent M.C. Sampath. a half years. Earlier, he was the COO at Lokmat Media in Chengalpattu. Joining the for more than a year. Sakal is a Marathi-language daily organisation in June 1961 as a staff reporter, he rose newspaper by Sakal Media Group and is its flagship to become an editorial writer and a senior associate newspaper. editor. He was also in charge of the Book Reviews for some years. For long, he was writing the Religion

January-March 2015 VIDURA 63 Registered with The Registrar of Newspapers for India under TNENG/2009/27484

Annual Subscription Advertisement Tariff for VIDURA for VIDURA A JOURNAL OF THE PRESS INSTITUTE OF INDIA Inland: Full Page: B&W: Rs. 5,000 T.C. No. TN/ENG05025/22/1/2008-TC R. Dis No. 1593/08 4 Issues Rs. 200 Colour Rs. 10,000 12 Issues Rs. 500 The Press Institute of India - Research Institute for Newspaper Development Half Page: B&W: Rs. 3,000 Second Main Road, Taramani CPT Campus, Chennai 600 113 Tele: 044-2254 2344 Telefax: 044-2254 2323 Colour Rs. 5,000 Overseas : USD 30 Director & Editor Sashi Nair [email protected] Mechanical Details Page : 185 mm x 255 mm Material (images / pictures Assistant Editor Bleed : 210 mm x 280 mm in 300 dpi and text in 600 Susan Philip Vertical half page : dpi) as a PDF fi le (created Assistant Manager 93 mm x 255 mm in CMYK), can be sent to & Editorial Coordinator Horizontal half page : [email protected] R. Suseela 185 mm x128 mm or by CD to our address [email protected]

Design & Layout V.Anandha Kumar

Senior Manager - Accounts Read every month & Administration N. Subramanian [email protected] by logging on to www.pressinstitute.in

Manager - Accounts, Administration A journal that looks at social & Library Services R. Geetha development issues in India, [email protected] human interest stories and Offi ce Assistant people who defy the odds B. Rajendran

Published by the Press Institute of India The Press Institute of India does not take responsibility for returning unsolicited material. It may not always be possible to reply to senders of unsolicited material. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily refl ect the views of the editor or publisher. Annual Subscription Advertisement Tariff for Grassroots Full Page: B&W: Rs. 5,000 Every effort has been taken to assure that the accuracy 12 Issues Rs. 180 Colour Rs. 10,000 of information contained in this publication is based on 36 Issues Rs. 500 reliable sources. All trademark and trade names mentioned Half Page: B&W: Rs. 3,000 in this magazine belong to their respective owners. In case Please note that the cheque Colour Rs. 5,000 of error editor / publisher shall not be liable for any loss or demand draft or at par or prejudice caused to the reader. The publisher reserves cheque payable in Chennai, the copyright of the materials published in the magazine. for the subscription amount No part of the articles or photographs can be reproduced should be drawn in the without the prior permission of the publisher. All disputes name of Press Institute of will be subjected to the jurisdiction of Chennai only. India ONLY and NOT in the name of the magazine. Material can be sent to Published by Sashi Nair on behalf of The Press Institute of India - Research Institute Mechanical Details [email protected] for Newspaper Development, from RIND premises, Second Main Road, Taramani CPT Campus, Chennai 600 113 and printed by V.B.S. Moni at Print Shop Private Limited, Bleed: 275 mm x 350 mm or by CD to our address 4/310 Gandhi Street, Kottivakkam, Old Mahabalipuram Road, Chennai 600 096. Editor: Sashi Nair 64 VIDURA January-March 2015