Through The Lens
"Friends, I seek your company in welcoming on stage Chintan Abhyankar, the winner of the photo journalist award of the year. Please put your hands together for a guy whose relentless pursuit of blatant and unbiased truth has not only helped us achieve unimaginable circulation, but has also helped us cement our place in the journalism history as an organization that stands for truth and nothing but the truth!" Just as Vivek Subramanyam, the editor-in-chief of Voice & Views, leading English daily, finishes speaking, the whole room is filled with the sounds of thunderous claps, applauses, cheers of men and women alike and wolf whistles.
A young man, wearing black Florshiem shoes, black chinos with white and maroon-checked half-sleeve shirt, and sporting rimless spectacles, gets up as his ID card dangling off his neck reveals his name "Chintan Abhyankar". He walks towards the left side of the stage and climbs the stairs and walks toward the center of the stage while waving to the huge audience gathered in front of him sitting right under his nose. He then turns sideways towards his left and sees his editor-in-chief Vivek waiting with a trophy and his left hand stretched out for a handshake. Chintan now waves to the crowd, drawing a huge wolf whistle and a roar from the crowd of fellow colleagues, and then receives his trophy while shaking hands with Vivek and posing for a photograph.
"A few words from the winner, am sure?" says Vivek while looking at the audience and gesturing Chintan with his left hand asking him to speak to grace the occasion.
"Ahem! (Clearing his throat) Feels quite special and funny too in a weird way, you know! But Thanks lot fellas! I mean it feels really special to have been adjudged the winner of this prestigious award, yet again and feels supremely buoyant to face the fact that I've been delivering some quality work for the last 4 years. Though, I came to this organization with the intention of being a writer kinda journalist, but ended up being a photo journalist. I have no qualms really when I look back at how my career has shaped in this company. As the saying goes "a picture says a thousand words" and that's exactly what my job is and I feel like a person who really has the power to influence, to capture, and to manipulate people's thoughts and evoke reactions. After all, how many people really read a paper cover-to-cover? But a large part of the reading population does stop to look at the pictures and if they find it interesting, well, they surely give the article a dekko! So, in that sense, I'm really proud and happy with the way things have gone thus far. And the most gratifying aspect really has been that I in some way have been instrumental in helping the company realize its business objectives and organizational goals. So in the end, I'd really wanna thank the management, my entire team, the editorial staff and also, though conspicuous by its absence but an extremely integral part of my success, my readers! Thanks a lot, folks!!" Just as Chintan finishes his 2 and a half min address, the entire auditorium explodes into a thunderous applause. The sound is deafening and the reaction – unanimous! Each and every member out there in the audience absolutely spell bound.
The time is 6.30 in the evening, when Vivek calls this a day, a rather early day for his staff – a little unusual. But then, the day had precious little to offer of work. None of the staff was in the mood to work considering this had been the day of felicitation for one of their colleagues.
"Chintan, would you care to join me for a drink? Actually, I'm taking a few fellas out to the pub, you know! So?"
"Sure Vivek", replied Chintan!
Chintan, Vivek and a few others (2 guys named Ashok Bansal and Prakash and a girl named Aparanjeeta) walked out the office building. They took the lift, while Aparanjeeta just excused herself to go back to the office to pick up her pullover and her clip. She went to the washroom, and just splashed the cold water on her pretty face and then took out a couple of tissues from the tissue holder and wiped off the extra water off her face while the others made their way to the parking lot.
(Alarms chirped, as both Vivek and Chintan unlocked their cars)
"Hey, let's go in my car! Why do you want to take both?" asks Vivek, while making room for Ashok and Prakash to sit in the car.
Chintan: "Ah, it's alright Vivek! I'll come by myself, you know. Easy to get back home and besides, I don't want to keep you late."
Vivek: "Alright! Then take Aps along with you" Am sure you won't mind giving her a drop back home.
Vivek closes the front door and the back door is pulled from the inside by Prakash. Vivek goes the other way and opens the door while he sees Ashok settle comfortably in the front seat. He sits and closes the door while Ashok is fiddling with the front dashboard and the holder of the car looking for CDs. Vivek inserts the car key into the ignition socket and starts the engine and then pulls his seat belt as the others do the same. He then pulls out a compilation disc that reads "Guitar Gods". CD is inserted and the song "Blowin' in the Wind" starts as they pull out of the parking lot.
Chintan puts his right hand into his trouser pocket as he feels his phone vibrate. He fetches his phone and the display screen reads "1 Unread Message". He opens the message and it is from Vivek. "We are catching up at Hard Rock Café. See ya'll there soon." After reading the message, he checks out the time on his phone screen and sees the time is 7.10 pm. "Gosh! Where the hell is this lady, man?" He dials out Aparanjeeta's number. He can feel the ring nearby and senses that she is on the come. He sees her appearing on sight and she is running frantically sensing that she might be delaying everything… As she runs towards Chintan who is waiting by the car, he asks her to slow down and sticks out both his hands gesturing her to relax and walk.
"Shit! I'm sorry, I really am! I know I am late and I kept you waiting, but I really am!"
"Hey, that's ok! Relax! We still have the whole night to ourselves, alright? So, get in the car and we shall move!
Both of them get in the car and wear their seat belts. Chintan starts the engine and Aps is looking for a CD. She finds a Taufiq Qureshi compilation and puts it in. "Its just 15 mins drive from here, we should reach soon. Just give any of those guys a buzz to find out where exactly are they?"
Aparanjeeta's phone rings. She picks up the call and "Yeah! We're on our way and should be there in 15 mins. You guys got a table?"
"Ok great! We'll be there soon"
20 mins later, a black Maruti Swift pulls over at the parking lot of the swanky mall, and the door opens. Aparanjeeta and Chintan both step out the car and close the door. The car locks click. Both make their way through the crowded mall and try to find their way to the Hard Rock Café. Aparanjeeta stops and asks a guy, visibly sloshed, the way to the pub. He points her in the right direction.
"Hi! Our friends are inside." Says Chintan.
Chintan and Aps make their way into the pub and find the rest of the gang seated right in front of the bar counter. Vivek and Ashok wave out to both of them. "Hey guys!!" says Chintan and Ashok immediately shoots back "What took you love birds so long?"
"Ah! Nothing much, man! This lady, you know, took her time to sort of…"
"No wonder! She looks stunning!" shoots back Ashok.
"Mate! We'd need 3 beers, and what will you have Aps?"
"Vodka. Uh... Make that grey goose!"
"And what about you the-man-of-the-day?"
"I'll have a Coke"
"Alright, so get 3 beers, a grey goose and a coke. Also get a mashed potato with cheese and a garlic bread too, thank you!"
The music just picks up in tempo as the Voice & Views gang gets into the party and unwinding mood. The waiter arrives to our table with our drinks. Three pints of beer are laid on the table and opened one-by-one and then the waiter asks the lady as to what she will prefer the vodka with… "Ice, that's it! Replied Aps.
Everyone turned towards Aps and she was like "Guys! What's the matter? Can't I just have vodka on the rocks?"
Mm hmmm… Everyone looked kinda puzzled and felt challenged enough by a lady who was ready to gulp down vodka on the rocks! "Cheers everyone!" said Vivek as he invited everyone to get on with the proceedings.
The glasses and the bottles rose in the air with all of them just touching each other to make a sound and then everyone took their sip.
"Ah! Feels so freakin' good!! Seriously guys, what would the world have been without booze, friends and rock?" blurted Vivek.
Few more sips and Aps had knocked off her vodka. She called the waiter and ordered a repeat, but this time with a Sprite. Before the waiter could march on to get the lady's order, everyone had finished their drinks including Chintan. Vivek asked the waiter to hold on and ordered for a repeat, but before he could finish speaking, Prakash, while filling his mouth with a bite of the garlic bread, changed his order – he ordered Black Label on-the-rocks as if he wanted to prove a point to the Ms. I-Can-Dare-You-Guys!!
The waiter disappeared to get their drinks, while the music switched on to the Eagles track "Frail Grasp on the Big Picture". Ashok, who had been reasonably less hyperbolic by his normal standards, spoke… "Guys! You know what? We need to congratulate Chintan here… It's only his perseverance and his single-minded devotion towards his career that has got him here. For the 4th consecutive year, he has won the "Photojournalist of The Year" award and that is no flash in the pan."
Just as Ashok completed his little "Honor-the-winner" speech, Vivek opened up a small and a little confined round of applause… Vivek said "Guys! To continue from where Ashok left, I'd like to add an important point that according to me is the key to success in this highly competitive and globalised flat world – and that is how well a person aligns his thought and behavioral trajectories to the organizational policies, values, core beliefs and vision."
The waiter arrived at the table and placed the drinks and went off. Aps and Prakash just looked at everyone and smiled a bit and gulped down their drinks. They didn't have words for the occasion and nor did they have the interest. An hour later, Chintan called for the check. Everyone picked up their stuff and got ready to leave while Chintan paid the bill. Ashok excused himself for a moment, as he went to the loo to loosen himself. Rest everyone walked up to the parking lot and waited near their cars. The pattern of departure was the same as that of arrival.
Chintan got into his car and started the ignition, as Aps opened the door and took the seat. She sat in front with Chintan. He started the car and waited at the exit of the mall for Vivek's car to arrive. Vivek's car arrived and they bid each other good bye and then sped off. 20 mins later, the car stops outside a working women's hostel. The front door of the car opens and Aparanjeeta steps out. She waves out to Chintan who is sitting in the car. "Hey! Thanks for the lift, ya! Reach home safe and just shoot me a message once you get back home"
Chintan waves her good bye, pulls over the windows of his car and steps on the gas to get home.
Another 30 mins, and outside a huge building, a blaring honk wakes up a guy dressed in sky blue shirt and the navy blue trousers with a dark blue sweater. His uniform had his ID card that read "Charan Singh" from "Doberman Securities". Charan Singh woke up from his little slumber and came running to the gate and opened it to let the car in.
"Bhaiyya! Kya baat hai? Aap security guard ho… Sone ka kya matlab hai? Pagaar kya aapko sone ki milti hai kya?" screamed Chintan at the momentary lapse of this old security guy.
The car now makes its way to the basement parking lot and finds its designated point of parking. Chintan turns off the engine and then picks up his belongings and shuts the door of his car. The alarms chirp signaling the door been locked while Chintan makes his way towards the lift. He opens the lift door and closes it. He presses the floor number 23 and waits patiently inside the lift as it takes him up to his floor. He constantly scratches his head and then puts his hand in his pocket to fetch his phone.
"Aparanjeeta Calling"
He picks up the call.
"Hey, I have reached and just opening the door. You take care and have a sound sleep, ok?"
The flat door opens and the dim lights of the living room are switched on. It's a swanky studio apartment. The walls are adorned by the some fine paintings and some posters of famous media organizations and some very famous global media leaders. The wall is painted in the shades of pastel black and pastel gray to give the house a metallic-walled lounge bar feel. Towards the center of the living room there is a wall mounted Sony Bravia 42inches LCD TV and a Blu-Ray DVD player.
He makes his way to the bedroom which also doubles up as his study. In his bedroom-cum-study, the walls are adorned by the posters of Rupert Murdoch, Vineet Jain and Kelly Packer… Right above the study table, his degrees, nicely framed, are pasted on the wall… There is also a quote spray-painted on the wall – "Only the lame play the blame game! Man makes his own destiny" On the table, lies a figurine of "He Man – The Masters of the Universe" and a small wheel—shaped memento. Chintan walks into his room and undresses and walks into the loo. He washes himself and then comes back and changes into his track pants and a t-shirt.
He puts his right-hand index finger in between the spokes of that wheel-shaped memento and then spins it. After doing so, he walks to the kitchen and lights up the gas and makes a cup of coffee for himself. He fills the cup and then goes to his study. He picks up his laptop and his cup of coffee and walks up to his verandah and sits there under a dim light on his brown leather bean bag. After plugging his laptop to the charging socket, he sips his coffee and waits while his laptop boots up.
He connects to internet using the Wi-Fi router while sipping the coffee. He logs on to his photo blog and takes another sip… He reads the comments the visitors have made on his photo stream. He is at it for another 1 hour and then keeps the laptop aside and then gets up to keep the cup in the kitchen. He comes back and takes his laptop and closes the hood, keeps it on the study table and goes to bed.
The table-side digital clock reads 7.45 am as the alarm buzzes. He gets up from the bed and walks up to the main door and picks up the newspaper and then switches on the TV. He turns to the news channel and then goes to the bedroom and washes himself and brushes his teeth. Once done, he comes to the kitchen and makes a cup of coffee. He reads the paper and also watches the TV news side-by-side. He stumbles on the news item that screams "Riots Hit Pipalpur". The newspaper is ablaze with the headlines and so are all the news channels.
Looking at the newspaper and sensing the intensity of the matter, he runs to his room and takes his mobile phone out and reads the message. "Reach office ASAP! Emergency! Need to discuss your action plan!!" The message was from Vivek. He runs to the bathroom and takes a quick shower and dresses up and rushes out to the basement car park. Ignition starts and off he goes… 45 mins later after beating the mad traffic, Chintan reaches his office. He parks the car and collects his laptop, and his office bag that contains his usual – the camera, the lenses and the works… As he juggles to manage his sweater, the laptop bag and also his office bag, he reaches the elevator. The elevator reaches the basement and he gets into it. He instructs the elevator to go to the 7th floor by pressing the button. The elevator stops at the 7th floor and he gets out.
In the office, Chintan scampers through the maze of cubicles and a crowd of people to get to his cubicle. He dumps his stuff there and rushes to Vivek's cabin. Vivek is standing by the window, looking at his wrist watch, obviously expecting Chintan's arrival. He turns around after listening to the knock on the door. He is filled with a mixed feeling of anger and relief. He signals Chintan to come in while also signaling at his watch asking Chintan to have a look at the time.
"Man, what the hell? I have been trying to reach you for so long and your phone, hmmm, unreachable…!"
"Actually, I just got up later than usual. Sorry for not responding… but anyways, tell me what's you got for me?"
Vivek switches on the television and both the guys look at the news.
"I saw this! It's been all over the news… What is my piece of the action?"
"Alright, here is what I want you to do! I want you to go on the field and cover the massacre. The brief is simple and clear as always!!"
The door of the cabin closes as the two men talk. Outside everyone is running around and trying to get hold of their assignments. Field reporters rush towards the field, the news briefing meetings happen as they always do, the news bytes keep coming in, and after half an hour the door of the editor-in-chief's cabin opens.
Chintan comes out of the room, and calls Aparanjeeta and Prakash to his cubicle. "We have to leave for Pipalpur in another couple of hours, max! You guys go home and pack some clothes and stuff that you'd need."
Both Aps and Prakash look perplexed with this whole scene of Chintan ordering them, but then they had never been left with any choice; so today was no exception. Both of them nodded their heads in affirmative and left the office premises.
1 hour later, Chintan was at his desk cleaning his camera for the next big event, while Aps and Prakash made their way to his desk. "We're done, boss!" said Aps trying her best to hide her sarcasm and even managing to since Chintan barely looked at her face.
"When are we leaving?" asked Prakash.
"We leave right now" replied Chintan.
Chintan's phone rang. It was from an unknown number.
"Hello! Yes?"
"Haan ji! Mera hi naam Chintan hai aur woh taxi maine hi book kari thi"
Chintan signals to both his companions that the cab has arrived and they shall make a move. All of them pick up their stuff and move towards Vivek's cabin, where Chintan says that the cab has arrived and they are starting. Both Aparanjeeta and Prakash step out of the cabin and just as Chintan is stepping out; Vivek calls his name out and signals thumbs up to him.
They reach down and board their luggage in the cab. The cab starts and Prakash takes the meter reading and they are on their way to Pipalpur.
Aparanjeeta asks Chintan if they have any brief or anything to play with and Chintan says – "the usual"
Both Aparanjeeta and Prakash look at each other. The cab hits the highway and they stop a few kilometers on the highway for lunch. "Welcome Dhaba" reads the board where they have parked for lunch. 45 mins later, they are on the move again.
"Bhaiyya, aur kitna der lagega pahunchne mein?" asks Chintan.
"Sir, abhi aur 3 ghante lagenge" replies the driver.
3 and a half hour later, they reach a police barricade. The cops stop the cab and ask the passengers to verify themselves. All the guys flip their ID cards and also show the other necessary documents proving that they are press people and have come here to cover the news. The cops lift the barricade and allow the cab to pass. They make their way to a hotel and get down. They take their luggage out and walk to the reception and ask for a room, a big room where all of them could stay. The receptionist gives them the key of a suite and has the bellboy follow them with the luggage.
They reach the room, unpack the stuff and connect their laptops and start surfing the net. After reading a few latest updates, they decide to move to the location. Chintan picks up his camera and lenses and stuffs his bag and so do the others. They get ready with their laptops and their PDAs.
They reach the small square of this little dilapidated but substantially populated town. The town square has a police barricade and the curfew has been placed. This is the time where it has been relaxed so that people can come out and pick up the daily groceries and the necessary stuff. Chintan unpacks his camera kit and attaches the lens and starts clicking. This is the primary Muslim locality and it's in shambles. The sole mosque in this area has been stoned and a part of it also been burnt. Though, a larger damage had been averted; but still it appeared burnt. The flags lay in the trash cans and were either semi burnt or fully burnt. Chintan began clicking pictures of this site and also supervised the work that was being done by the other 2 members. Aparanjeeta and Prakash were trying to find people who would talk on the camera or have testimonies. Prakash fixed up the tripod and started recording the video footage of the whole area under police supervision and he also zoomed in towards the area where the RCVs were parked. He captured an image of a team of paramilitary forces sitting at a Dhaba, having a cup of tea and sharing smokes and jokes to make the day a lighter one.
Aparanjeeta opened her laptop and started penning notes on the scene and also created a layout for the picture of the paramilitary forces and she gave a caption "Life Claws to Normalcy as Paramilitary Shares a Light Moment". After 45 mins, Chintan signals both Aps and Prakash to come towards the area where civilians are buying their stuff and ask for their permission for an interview.
A guy called "Rashid Abbas" nods in approval when asked for an interview. He has Prakash remove the camera from the tripod and take the shot hand-held as it would, per Chintan, give the interview a hurried and a sort of edgy feel. Prakash obliges and Aparanjeeta starts asking questions.
Aps: "So, bhaiyya! Yeh bataiye yeh sab shuru kaise hua?"
Rashid: "Humein to kuch nahi pata, madam! 2 din pehle tak sab normal tha… Pata nahi sab
achanak hi hua…"
Aps: "Phir bhi… Kuch toh??"
Few more questions are asked and the interview goes on for 25 mins, but very less comes out in terms of information. The only thing that comes out clear is that the situation is under control due to efforts of the law and order machinery and the cops. Chintan clicks some more snaps of scene that is primarily disturbing in nature – he clicks the pictures of kids being scared and moving about in a very scared fashion and the cops laughing… After about 2 hours of field work, they head back to their room and start working on their deliverables.
Just as Aps and Prakash are about to start editing and compose their work that needs to be sent to the head office, Chintan calls them and asks them to hand over their recordings and rough drafts and layouts. Both of them look puzzled and deny handing over their work to Chintan. He reminds them that he is the lead and they have to work under his guidance. Looking at continued protests from both of them, he eventually dials Vivek's number and has them speak to him. They reluctantly hand over their work to him.
Both the fellas step out of the room and leave the lead alone to do the work. Chintan starts editing the layout and connects his camera to the laptop and transfers the images clicked to the computer. He fills in the blank spaces with the pictures he had taken and edits the captions originally filled in by Aps.
He tweaks the captions, writes the story and also transfers the video footage over to the base command after editing it suitably according to the brief.
Later at night, both the team members come back to the room after dinner and go to bed. At around 12.30 in the night, Chintan's phone buzzes. He has an unread message from Vivek.
"Buddy, that was perfect"
Next morning when they get up and switch on the TV sets and receive their newspapers, both Prakash and Aparanjeeta are aghast at what they see… Departmental enquiry begins on the select paramilitary officers and that the state government is being questioned for inaction. Headlines read "Normalcy Miles Away, While Law Enforcers While Away". They realize the person behind this but don't say anything. Aparanjeeta sees Chintan emerging out of the loo after shower. She suggests that there is a Hindu locality too where we should go and cover the event. Prakash suggests the same. Chintan agrees and they leave to Sanatan Nagar just about 20 mins away from where they are placed.
In Sanatan Nagar, the sight is no different from the sight the trio encountered a day back, however, something was fundamentally different here… They got back to work replicating the same roles as they were doing a day earlier. Prakash and Aps did face the initial reluctance from the people in terms of an interview. All this footage was still being captured on the camera. After a few attempts, however, the civilians did speak and the answers – pretty similar. No body had an idea as to how the entire issue started. But everybody claimed that the situation was kinda getting back to normalcy and that the due credit must be handed out to the law enforcers and the state government.
Chintan takes a walk down the lane inside the housing complexes and residential society and clicks some pictures there.
The night, he gets at the system again and edits the stories, the photographs and the captions and sends it to the head office again.
The next morning shakes up both – Aparanjeeta and Prakash – completely. They open the newspapers and switch on the news channels and they see a fresh segment of riots hitting the city which was initiated by burning down of the houses in the residential society whose pictures Chintan had clicked the day earlier. Even the RCVs are torched and the cops being stabbed and being burnt alive on the roads. The central government has asked for the impeachment of the state government and accuses it for the communal carnage being unleashed in the city.
2 days later, as the riots continue to flare up, a fresh incident breaks the news again – the Ganesha temple located in the Hindu locality being stoned. Rioters throng the temple with petrol bombs and torches threatening to torch the temple down. Looking at the intensity of the matter, the home ministry gives the orders of shoot to kill – if deemed fit.
The next morning, the newspapers and the news channels scream their lungs out with the headlines about police atrocities and government's policy of politics of hate and ethnic cleansing. Few days later, Aparanjeeta calls up Vivek and tells him the scenario out here, but to no avail.
After a period of 25 days, the riots in Pipalpur come to a halt thanks to a diplomatic solution reached at by the religious heads of both the communities. The trio of reporters is summoned back to the head office. Aparanjeeta and Prakash are promoted as senior correspondents and Chintan is also promoted as Special Correspondent.
Chintan comes back home and dumps his luggage and gets to his room. He looks at all the certificates and the posters of the media barons… He looks at himself in the bathroom mirror and then smiles. He comes out to his study and puts his finger in the wheel-shaped memento and spins it.
The next morning in the office everyone welcomes the trio with a huge round of applause. The official weekly meeting is called. Everyone walks into the board room and some also walk in with a cup of coffee and sandwiches and what not… Vivek walks into the room and sees all waiting. He picks up a green marker and walks up to the white board and draws a curve. He gives the entire team a low down on the soaring readership and increased circulation that the newspaper had achieved during the Pipalpur riots and the kind of eyeballs they managed to garner. Everybody is congratulated for the hard work and is asked to prepare for the challenges that lay ahead.
After the meeting was over, Chintan went over to his desk and opened his daily letters and couriers pile. He appeared visibly happy and pleasantly surprised to open a particular letter. This letter came from Convergence Media Studies, Chintan's college. They had invited him to be a guest lecturer for a day and talk on journalism and photo journalism and the works. The letter was written by Mr. Prabhu, the professor of Journalism at the institute. He immediately calls up his former prof…
"Sir, Hi there!"
"Yeah, I just got your letter. It's an honor to be a guest lecturer at my own institute"
"It'll be an exciting opportunity to speak to the young minds and so on…"
"Cool… I'll just respond to the letter via an email and confirm my presence. Coming Friday, isn't it? Consider it done."
Chintan hangs up the call and then gets up from his desk to fill up his coffee mug and on the way bumps in to Aparanjeeta. Both wish each other congratulations for the promotion and move out of each other's way.
Friday @ Convergence Media Studies:
The time is 8.15 am when Chintan's car pulls outside the college. He gets up and closes the car and starts climbing the college steps while looking at them and reflecting on his college days. He wishes the security guard and makes his way to a desk that read "Ramesh Prabhu – Dept. of Journalism". He stops over by that desk and sees his journo prof neck deep into the newspaper.
"You're still the same, sir! Aren't you?"
The words startle Mr. Prabhu and he springs to action noticing Chintan standing right in front of him.
"Chintan, you're here! It feels so good to see you after such a long time."
"The feeling is mutual sir."
"Boy, look at you! You've developed amazing grace and poise. Someone looks like a professional journalist now, eh?"
"Thank you sir! It was all possible because of you. Had it not been for those assignments and those stringent deadlines that you prepared us for, I wouldn't be standing here.
The nostalgic conversation continues and right at that moment, the Dean Ms. Samarth reaches the college. She sees Chintan standing there and greets him. They all go to the dean's office and have a sandwich and a coffee each.
The time reads 9.00 am, the class is filled with the students and Chintan is summoned in.
"Sir, the projector is connected", says Victor, the office boy.
"Ok! I'm there in just a moment."
The class door opens and Chintan makes his appearance and all the students turn back to look at him. He walks through the audience and reaches the center of the room. "Mmm… where is the switch to the projector?" He asks himself and then eventually locates it. He switches the projector off and turns to the class.
"I am sure you've been at the receiving end of a lot projector-driven classes and you're used to taking down the notes frantically, right?" asks he to the entire class.
Everybody nods their heads in unison and off he goes again "Awesome! Well, that's not really much of a surprise coz' I was also a student of the same college and I have studied under Mr. Prabhu. So, I'm not gonna use this damn contraption here and neither am I giving you notes. In fact, I have nothing to teach you. I have things to share with you. Hence, feel free to shoot questions at me and you'll get them answered."
He takes a pause of 5 seconds to sip water and shoots again "Does that work with you guys?"
All the young ones nodded in unison.
Chintan begins talking about the media industry as it is today as opposed to what is being taught in the classrooms.
"I am sure what Prabhu sir has been teaching you and also the other guest lecturers is that the media is and shall always act as the society's watchdog. They should always give people what they deserve to know in order to make informed and educated choices about the circumstances. Media is you know…" He goes on while talking and does so in quite an animated manner when he is interrupted by a student…
"So, you mean to say that Media isn't all that?"
"Let me finish dude!" retorts Chintan.
"Well… According to me and this is something that you're likely to discover for yourself is that – Media is an industry."
Another student cuts Chintan right at this juncture and says "Yeah, we're aware of that! FICCI and Industrial and Commerce Chamber calls Media as an industry and certifies it as one of the fastest growing and the most lucrative one at that!"
Chintan shoots back again "Bingo! That's a good amount of knowledge to have. But what I mean is little different, guys! I am not calling media an industry because a chamber of industries certifies it as so! I call it an industry because that is what it has emerged to be in today's globalized and consumerist market.
Everybody in the audience is shocked and a little perplexed.
Chintan cares to explain this as a result of the mixed and exasperated expression on the faces of his audience…
"Alright here it goes. How many of you read The Times of India?"
Most of the hands in the room go up.
Then he rephrases his question – "All of you consume some or the other form of media, right?"
Everyone says a loud and an emphatic yes!
"Great!"
"Now have you observed the kind of news and stuff churned out on those media forms?"
"Mmm hmmm…" says everyone.
"What are the most common topics discussed in the context of media forms? And I am not even talking about any of the rocket science terms. These terms that I am talking are the ones that even you guys talk about in your monthly newspaper meetings…"
"Circulation" reply the students.
"Exactly" says Chintan.
The talk goes on for another half an hour before the break is called for. All the guys go to the pantry to eat and grab a cup of chai and Chintan tags along. He sees the students in an animated discussion. After the break is over, they gather back into the classroom.
2nd Half of the Discussion:
"So Chintan… Based on your earlier points, would it be unreal to imagine an ideological corruption and fabrication of truth and so on and so forth?" asks a student.
"Well let's just pit two situations to understand this better… Imagine a scenario in an office…
You're given an assignment and a brief… Aren't you expected to deliver the outcome along the lines of the brief…?"
"Yes!" comes the reply.
"The answer to your question lies in the answer you just now gave" replies Chintan.
Another question crops up "Does that ever lead to a news item or a story which has a particular slant towards a particular party or an ideology?"
Chintan looks silently at the guy who asked that question.
After few more questions the session comes to an end. All the students get up and give Chintan a huge round of applause. They thank him and shake hands him with him. He gets up and moves towards the white board and writes down his mail ID for further correspondence.
That Night:
Chintan gets back home and changes into his night dress. He goes to the kitchen and prepares a cup of coffee for himself. He goes to his study and looks at his graffiti and his certificates. He spins the wheel-shaped memento and looks at himself in the mirror. He has a crooked smile on his face as he sees his reflection in the mirror. He comes back and fetches his laptop. He goes to his usual place – the verandah. He sits on the bean bag and opens his laptop. He connects to the net and transfers the pictures he had clicked as a part of his Pipalpur assignment on to his photo blog. He captions them and writes the story around the pictures as little snippets that could lead the blog visitor into the picture and the story. He just glances over to the right hand side of his blog page and he smiles looking at the hits received by his blog. However, one thing that catches his eye is the comments on his previous photostream. Though there are a few comments that praise his photography skills and what not, there are other strings of comments that decry him and his approach to his profession.
He keeps the laptop aside and then gets up to go to the kitchen. He keeps his coffee mug in the wash basin and then returns to the verandah to fetch his stuff. He picks up the computer and then goes back to his study-cum-bedroom. He sits on the study desk and opens the laptop again. The entire room is blacked out with only the table lamp switched on. He connects to the net again and revisits the blog. He reads the comments people have made on the photographs and the snippets. He gets down the writing a little piece as his justification for the kind of approach he has towards his work and why he feels strongly defensive about the same.
2 months later, Chintan is summoned into Vivek's cabin. Inside the cabin, he introduces Chintan to a man dressed in perfectly well-ironed black suit and wearing a well-shined black leather shoe. He is visibly busy talking to someone on his BlackBerry. Vivek gestures to Chintan asking him to sit down. Chintan sits down and gulps down a glass of water. The man now finishes his call and turns around to find Chintan sitting in the cabin. He looks towards Vivek with expectant eyes…
After a formal round of introductions and handshakes, Vivek sees the big shot off his cabin and then gets back to the task at hand. He sips his by now cold tea and starts talking to Chintan.
"Hey, who was that guy?" asks Chintan.
"Him? He is a big corporate honcho. He is the HR director of a leading company. A big pocket, you know. He could be big for us too…" replies Vivek
"Big for us? What exactly do you mean?" a quizzical expression runs around Chintan's face.
"Alright, so here is the deal. Next week, he is gonna have to fire a few people from his company thanks to the whole economic slowdown stuff and all… Now you know this is gonna give rise to extreme reactions across the spectrum."
"That's quite obvious" replies Chintan.
"The problem doesn't end here… There are also a few people in the top management who are gonna get fancy hikes. So now you know the dilemma?"
"What do you want from me?"
"The usual" replies Vivek.
Next week:
The headlines on Voice & Views reads "FinCorp Slashes Heads; Recession Leaves Financial Giant Scarred". In the night, Chintan reaches home and changes into the night attire and plays with his memento. He gets to his study to do his usual mail and blog check. He opens his blog and is startled to find the heated comments on his today's headlines.
People are agitated at the one-sided article that found its way in to the front page of Voice & Views. One of the comment writers had also posted the link of the other leading newspaper which also carried the story where FinCorp had announced fantastic hikes to the top management. Before he could respond to the comment, his inbox is bombarded with emails criticizing the uni-dimensional attitude and slant of the newspaper and the staff. He gets ready to write his response to the mails and comments, when his phone rings. He picks up his mobile and he has a worried expression on his face. He is perplexed. He comes back to the desk and looks at the responses and the mails and shuts the computer down. He hits the bed.
Next morning, in the office, Vivek calls him to the cabin and asks him to leave right at that moment to the head office of FinCorp where a protest is likely to take place. He comes out of the cabin and asks Aparanjeeta and Prakash to pack the gear and move to the location. At the location, they see a huge gathering of ex-employees amounting close to 250 on the roads with placards in their hands and shouting slogans, while the office gates are closed and closely guarded by the cops, the office security, etc. The cops are ready with the lathis and water canons and tear gas and stuff. The protest which starts off with silent demonstrations gains ferocity when a few of the disgruntled employees try to force their way through the chained gates and are hit and pushed back by the cops. It becomes violent and the lathi charge soon kicks in. Chintan and his crew unpack their cameras and stuff to start clicking the pictures and right then Chintan notices a young girl and he is stunned.
Before he could process what he had seen, the leader of the protest calls this young girl and provokes her to be a human sacrifice… She is bathed in petrol and then burnt. Aparanjeeta and Prakash start clicking the pictures as they see Chintan standing there frozen. He is stunned and chilled by the ferocity and brutality that was on display here. He calls off the entire assignment. He asks both of them to go back to the office and then turns back only to see the girl being taken to a hospital in the ambulance. The cops somehow, by force, manage to have all the protestors leave the premises. He calls and verifies the information and gets the hospital address where the girl had been taken to.
He goes to the hospital only to see that the girl was being taken to the operation theater. She had multiple burns and needed to be operated on. He asks for the surgeon and speaks to him. On inquiry from the hospital staff, he reveals that the girl in the operation theater is his sister.
He asks permission to have a word with her. He goes into the ward and his sister just looks at him with her face burnt. She had anger and disgust on her face.
Chintan comes back home, calls Vivek and informs him that he has taken the rest of the day off. At home, he dumps his stuff in the living room and comes to his study and looks at all the posters and certificates. He stares at them with a blank face. His eyes are red and face sweaty. His hands shaking and he is cold. He goes to the loo and looks at himself in the mirror. He washes his face and comes out of the loo only to lay his eyes on the wheel-shaped memento. For the first time, he doesn't spin it. He settles down on the study table and looks at the He-Man toy and the quotes on his wall.
He gets up, goes to the living room to fetch his laptop and comes back to his study table. He opens his laptop, connects to the net and checks his mail. He has an unread mail from Vivek. The mail says "Hey Chintan! Need a story tomorrow morning on the protests outside FinCorp. The brief is usual!"
He logs into his blog and he sees some of the comment writers had posted some links on his blog. He opens those links and sees the horrific pictures of the protest and the girl burning. He gets up, goes to the loo and washes his face again. He goes to the verandah and stands there looking at the sight of the city right under his nose. He feels claustrophobic. He opens his mouth wide and tries to breathe. He takes giant panic breaths. He screams and then cries. He comes back to the room and lies down on his bed. He closes his eyes and then in another 10 mins, he wakes up with a cold sweat on his face. He wipes it off and then goes back to his study table. He opens his laptop and starts writing. He mails the story to Vivek.
The next morning, Vivek calls him to his cabin and trashes the story in front of him. He rubbishes the story. Vivek demands an explanation, but Chintan just walks off his cabin and goes back home.
Back home, he gets a call from Aparanjeeta. He cuts the call. He doesn't speak to her. Aparanjeeta then goes into Vivek's cabin to ask the details and reasons for Chintan's such behavior. They talk for sometime and then Aparanjeeta comes out.
He connects to the net and visits the blog. He connects his camera to the computer and transfers all the pictures that he had taken in various assignments. He starts writing relentlessly. He ends up writing around 13 articles and opinion pieces on his approach towards his work, the reasons and also the mission and the vision of his organization. He puts them as notes on Facebook, Orkut, Twitter and other popular social networking media. Not only that… He also records video confessions of his ideological compromise and statements of his editor-in-chief during the incidents and is about to upload them on YouTube just when his door bell rings.
He gets up to go to his door and sees Aparanjeeta standing by the door. He opens the door and allows her inside. She comes in and asks him about the matter. He is moist eyed and also filled with rage. He takes her to his room and tells her everything. He also shows her his posts and the video recording. She lends him a comforting hand and goes to the kitchen and makes a couple of cups of coffee. She comes and sees Chintan standing in the verandah and staring at the city down there. She hands him over the coffee and talks him out of this situation. She suggests that whatever he is doing is right and that he should have always had this approach. She says that she sensed this coming during the riots and it eventually happened. But she also warns him of the consequences of doing anything in haste. She says Voice & Views is a popular media company and that they also have deep pockets. They can refute all the charges and that Chintan has no evidence to prove them guilty of ideological compromise. She suggests that Chintan comes to office the next day and carry on his work like normal times and that together they will do the expose.
Chintan cools down after the rationale given by Aparanjeeta and relaxes. He shows her the door and then goes to bed.
The next morning, he gets ready to get to work. He starts his car and just as he pulls out of his apartment, his car is blown away by a speeding truck.
At Voice & Views, Aparanjeeta is summoned into Vivek's cabin.
"Hey Aparanjeeta, Here is an assignment for you. I want you to go there and report. The brief is usual."
"What's in it for me?" asks Aparanjeeta, as the doors of the cabin are closed and Prakash looks on.
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