Article on Udanta Martanda, the first Hindi Newspaper.

Hindi Journalism @ 194 years

The Sun rose and how!

Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee

Four out of the top five largest circulated newspapers in India presently is in Hindi, with a combined circulation of over 14 crores. It all started on this day, 30 May- 194 years ago.

30 May is observed as Hindi Journalism Day as on this day, the first Hindi newspaper Oodhund Martand, (or Udant Martand  in some documents, which means rising sun), a weekly was published in 1826.  Pandit Jugal Kishore Shukla (Jooghol Kishore Sookool- in some documents) edited and published it from Amar Talla Lane, Kolutola in the Bada Bazar area of ​​Calcutta (now Kolkata)  ‘in the interest of Hindustanis’. The print order for the first issue was 500. Udant Martand used a mix of Hindi dialects- Khari Boli and Braj Bhasa in Devnagari script. This weekly newspaper reached readers every week on Tuesday.

By the 1820s, newspapers in few Indian languages had been published including Bengali and Urdu. Samachar Darpan, 1818 was the first Bengali newspaper followed by Jam-e-Jahannuma in Urdu in 1822.

By the early 19th century, educational publications in Hindi had already started. However, printing in Devnagari script was still rare. It was during this time that school books started printing in Devnagari in Calcutta. Samachar Darpan, which began to appear in both Bengali and English from July 1829 on certain occasions had some portions in Hindi as well. And the demand for a newspaper in Hindi was rising in Hindi speaking areas.

Jugal Kishore Shukla hailed from Kanpur, but made Calcutta his workplace. He was a lawyer.  He wanted to talk about the rights of indigenous Indians in British ruled India. For this, he started publishing 'Udanta Martand'. In his papers, he raised the issue of equality of status of the Indians vis a vie the Europeans. He also raised issues of social inequality, besides publishing local news and news from Hindi speaking areas.

However, the paper could not get many readers, as there were not many Hindi speaking and Devnagari script reading people in Kolkata and Eastern India. He tried to send the paper to Hindi speaking states in North India. In that time he could only send the newspapers by post. It became very costly and economically unviable because of the high postal rates. Shukla requested the government to give some concession in postal rates so that newspapers could be sent to readers in Hindi speaking regions, but the British government did not agree to it. He requested postal fee exemption for eight newspapers to be posted to North India. That was also denied. Besides, no government department agreed to buy even a single copy of 'Udanta Martand'.

Thus, mainly due to financial constraints, 'Udanta Martand' could not be published for a long time, and finally, on 4 December 1826, it stopped publication. 

Years later, in 1850- Jugal Kishore Shukla made an attempt to start another paper called Samyadani Martand. But that also failed.

Udanta Martand as an individual newspaper failed to live long. However, it marked the beginning of journalism in Hindi.

***

Journalist turned media academician Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee presently works as the Regional Director of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal, Odisha.

30.5.2020

 

 

Column | Window Seat | 31.5.2020

Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 31.5.2020

The Front-page that shook the media world

As Corona deaths near one hundred thousand in USA, instead of articles, photographs or graphics that normally appear on the front page of The New York Times, on Sunday, 24 May 2020 there was just a list: a long, solemn list of people whose lives were lost to the coronavirus pandemic. There was no image- the entire front page (and many of the inner pages too) occupied names and a very short bio of the deceased person in just two or three words outlining his or her distinctive identity, for example: Florencio Almazo Morán, 65, New York City, one-man army … ” “Coby Adolph, 44, Chicago, entrepreneur and adventurer”. There was no proper headline too, like we are accustomed to see in present times. It was like the old times. Remember, the New York Times started publishing in 1851, there were no headlines, in the modern sense for a long time.

The dramatic front page startled the readers and created ripples among the media circle for its sheer newness in putting together old customs and styles.

It was meticulously planned as John Grippe writes in times insider. As USA was approaching the number one hundred thousand- the editorial team wanted to come up with something dramatic- so that it would stay in public memory for long, “something that people would look back on in 100 years to understand the toll of what we’re living through.”

Names of the deceased persons were compiled from the obituary section of hundreds of newspapers across the country. Subeditors went through the obituaries and gleaned phrases that depicted the uniqueness of each life lost.

The result was dramatic. It showed the vastness of the tragedy. It showed tens of thousands of human beings- persons you can identify with losing their lives to the pandemic. They were not there as a part of impersonal data, they were real persons in flesh and blood. And that made the huge difference.

Jamai Sasthi

Bengal (both West Bengal and Bangladesh) has an interesting brata- called ‘Jamai Sasthi’, in which Jamai (son-in-law) is the primary focus. Mother-in-law does this brata for the long life and well-being for the son-in-law. This brata has given rise to several jokes and the image of the pampered and glutton Bengali son-in-law, as lavish feast for the son-in-law is the de-rigueur.

However, Jawahar Sirkar, a public intellectual and former CEO of Prasar Bharti has an interesting take on the genesis of Jamai Sasthi.

Shasti was not just some local village deity of Bengal, as some believe, but like Sitala and Manasa, she is actually worshipped in many other parts of India, including Odisha. In Odisha she is known as Sathi.

A century ago, William Crooke, a British orientalist ((6 August 1848 – 25 October 1923) remarked “that the more we explore popular superstitions and usages, the nearer are we to the discovery of the basis on which Hinduism has been founded”. Ashutosh Bhattacharya, linguist and folklorist, said Shasti was the protecting goddess of childbirth and infants in an age when deaths during childbirth and thereafter were quite frequent. 

Shasti is worshipped in this driest part of the year just before the monsoons, and is linked to Sabitri Chaturdasi, celebrated in the month of Jyaistha on Krishna paksha. Celebrated widely in Bengal, Odisha and several other states, this ritual was for wives to propitiate Yama, the god of death, to pray for the longevity of their husbands. This must have been this trigger point— for converting this Shasti in favour of son-in-laws. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, child marriages and polygamy among the well-off classes in Bengal often led to the practice of Sati Daha, the burning alive of wives on the pyres of their husbands. 

         It was then essential for mothers and their daughters to pray for the longest life possible for the husband and son-in-law. This was certainly more important in Bengal — than praying only for their children.

Defining Image

The image of a kid sleeping over a large suitcase even as his mother is dragging it on road, the picture of tens of thousands of migrant labourers returning home and a migrant labour crying uncontrollably even as he speaks on his mobile phone- have become the defining picture of the impact of corona on the poor and marginalized people, especially migrant and daily wage workers of India.

These images will haunt us for a long time, even after the corona scare goes.

Tailpiece: Recent findings on the  Covid-19    

Recent findings on the  Covid-19  ... after extensive research !!!  

1. Only 3 persons can travel in a car... the 4th person attracts the Covid. 

2. The pillion rider on a two wheel is Covid prone !! 

3. Only 30 persons in a bus. 31st will bring corona. 

4. After 7 pm, corona takes walk till 7am. Don't venture out. 

5. If you carry liquor from shop, corona won't mind. But it will catch you, if you sit in a bar and drink. 

6. If you travel with pass between Zones you won't get it. But it will hold on to  you if you travel without pass.

 7. You won't get it, if you buy from vendor or shops. But it is waiting for you in a market. 

8. It won't touch politicians and their crony, without mask. But if it happens to see a common man without mask, it will run to embrace him. 

9. Sunday don't venture out. It is on a spreading spree ... but It is on a holiday on week days. 

10. It is waiting in temples, mosque and churches. But stays away from factories, industries, even liquor shops. 

11. It will surely catch you if you dine in hotels. But it doesn't bother if you sit there waiting to take away food. 

12. It is not invited in rich marriages with N number of guests. But in poor man's marriage, it accompanies 51st man.

 

So be careful and learn to live with it ...

(Courtesy: social Media)

 

***

Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee a journalist turned media academician teaches at the Eastern India campus of Indian Institute of Mass Communication, located at Dhenkanal, Odisha. He also writes fiction and translates poetry. An anthology of poetry, that he translated is being published on 20 June 2020.

 

 

article| Why are the migrant labourers returning home?

Odia Daily Nitidina, 23.5.2020

Column | Window Seat 24.5.2020

Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 24.5.2020

Super Cyclone Amphan

In 1999 Odisha experienced a super cyclone in which over 10,000 people perished. Two decades later, super cyclone Amphan lacerated Odisha and ravaged West Bengal, even as both the states are reeling under the impact of Corona like the rest of the country. The death toll (about 80 in West Bengal and 2 in Odisha) may have been higher but for the timely prediction by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and massive evacuation by both states.

Post-cyclone, it is time to take stock, rehabilitate the impacted people, bring life back to normalcy and rebuild the ravaged houses and infrastructure. It is a mammoth work. Farmers have not just lost crops, but livestock. The storm surge may have also lead to the ingress of saline water into the fields and homes in the Sundarbans and Bhitar Kanika. This will hit soil quality and impact productivity, and force people to migrate in search of livelihood. Reconstruction efforts are never easy; it will be much more difficult now with the states battling another challenge that has taken a toll on their finances and human resources — the coronavirus pandemic.

Both the states, especially West Bengal need generous help and support to rebuild the infrastructure and restructure the already sagging economy.

This is the time to rise over petty political bickering and one-upmanship and get down to serious rebuilding work. Every calamity also provides an opportunity- to build better infrastructure.

A reminder

Cyclone Amphan is also a reminder that oceans are warming due to rising emissions, and warm ocean water is a key ingredient for the formation of tropical cyclones. The number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal has increased by 32% in the last five years, says IMD data. The states with long coastlines have borne the brunt of the cyclones. Frequent cyclones are putting additional economic burden on the poor states like Odisha. The question remains: is there any solution?

The solutions — tackling the sources of global warming, and investing in and upgrading climate resilience and adaptation techniques — are complex processes and expensive, as the Hindustan Times editorial (22.5.20) says. It also needs tremendous political will and people’s support and participation to ensure that development is sustainable. But it has to be done; otherwise, the costs, as Cyclone Amphan has shown, will be massive and recurring. We can ill afford this.

Nine places in India to find the best mangoes!

Except in the higher regions of the Himalayas and Hill Stations in other places, summers in India are long and often excruciating. You often feel extremely thirsty and the heat kills your appetite. However, there is one thing about summer that makes us drool and not sweat – Mangoes!

It is an absolute delight to try the different varieties of mangoes that are grown in India. There are certain regions which are known for a specific type of mango produce. These are the best places to try out this amazing seasonal fruit, which defines the word delicious. It is not for nothing that mango is known as the king of the fruits.

1. Maharashtra: Alphonso

The famous Alphonso mango or Hapus is produced in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri, Raigad, and Konkan regions. Known for its sweet flavor, it is one of the largest selling variety of mangoes in India and abroad.

2. Andhra Pradesh: Banganapalli

The pulpy, meaty, fibre-less Banganapalli gets its name from the Banganapalle town in Andhra Pradesh where it is grown extensively. It is one of the most popular mangoes in south India.

3. Uttar Pradesh: Dashehri

Also known as the Malihabadi mango, the Dasheri is a mango variety extremely popular  in north India. Malihabad in Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of this type of mangoes.

4. Gujarat: Kesar

The Gujurati kesar mango is used for making the famous ‘aamras’, which literally means ‘juice of the mango’. It is known for its sweet taste, juicy pulp and saffron fragrance. Aamras is a common delicacy during summer in the western regions of India.

5. Karnataka: Totapuri

Although not very sweet in taste, the Totapuri is an extremely favorite mango variety in south India as it is used in several pickles and salads. It can be recognized quite easily due to its greenish shade and hooked tip resembling a parrot’s beak (hence the name!). It is mainly  produced in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in south India.

6. Bihar: Langra

One of  the most popular variety of mangoes in north India, the langra literally translates to lame as it was first grown in an orchard owned by a lame man in Benares (now Varanasi). It is also grown in other parts of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and even Punjab.

7. West Bengal: Himsagar and Kishan Bhog

Round in shape and sweet in taste, the Kishan Bhog is sold in large numbers in West Bengal. It is mostly grown in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. Himsagar, on the other hand, is used in desserts and drinks due to its fibre-less body and largely grown in Malda district.

8. Himachal Pradesh: Chausa

Known as one of the sweetest mangoes grown in North India, Chausas are famous for their sweet pulp and bright yellow skin. They are mainly grown in Pakistan but are also produced in Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and some other north Indian states. They are available during the months of July and August.

9. Odisha: Amrapalli

Dhenkanal district of Odisha, wher I live has an indigenous variety of mango called Amrapalli. This fleshy no-fibre mid-size mango is my personal favourite because of its sweetness and smell. And it makes world's best mango shake.

Essential Services

Only essential services to be available during lock-down.

Schools, colleges, universities and all types of education are missing from the essential list.

I realized how many years of my life did I waste on non-essential activities.

(Courtesy: Social Media)

***

Journalist turned media academician Mrinal Chatterjee lives in Dhenkanal, Odisha. He also writes fiction and translates poetry. An anthology of his translated poems will be published in mid –June 2020.

Column | Window Seat

Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 17.5.2020

Swadeshi redux

The PM addressed the nation on 14 May and besides announcing Rs 20 Lakh Crore stimulus package emphasized on being self-reliant (atmanirbhar). He focused on the importance of local manufacturing, local markets and local supply chains, saying the coronavirus crisis had taught India the importance of these key elements.

Basically this seemed like swadeshi redux with a global spin as he said, “…now, it is time to be ‘vocal about local’ products and help them become global”.

The word Swadeshi derives from Sanskrit and is conjunction of two Sanskrit words. Swa means "self" or "own" and desh means country, Swadeshi, the adjectival form, means "of one's own country".

It was a political movement in British India that encouraged domestic production and the boycott of foreign, especially British, goods as a step toward home rule.

The Swadeshi movement, which played an important role in developing Indian nationalism and eventually became part of our independence movement was initially an economic strategy aimed at preventing the dumping of British goods in India and promoting local produce. The idea was to prevent the alien government from exploiting the Indians by taking away the profit. The movement had some success. However, gradually it turned into a part of freedom movement.  Strategies of the Swadeshi movement involved boycotting British products and the revival of domestic products and production processes.

Historians say that it was Baba Ram Singh Kuka, twelfth guru of Namdhari Sikh sect who first thought of boycotting foreign goods and using indigenous produce around 1871-72.  Namdharis were instructed by Baba Ram Singh to only wear clothes made in the country and boycott foreign goods. The Namdharis resolved conflict within their community and avoided British courts. They also boycotted the British school.

This idea caught the attention of other freedom fighters and social reformers and they began this as a movement. Partition of Bengal in 1905 gave a different twist to the movement and changed its core character- gravitating towards freedom movement. As Gandhi became prominent in India’s political arena from 1918- he reshaped the swadeshi movement and aligned it to his vision of gram swaraj- or the rule of the villagers as independent unit.

Thus, although Swadeshi was originally conceived to use indigenous in preference to foreign goods and a boycott of foreign goods, it attained a much more comprehensive character and became a concrete symbol of nationalism. The PM is attempting a redux of that. The objective is not just economic revival and providing work/job and income to people; it is much more than that. 

Tail Piece 1: Who contributes more? 

Let's say you donated Rs 500 to the PM/CM fund. On the other hand, I bought alcohol worth Rs 500. 

The question is who contributed more? 

On the Rs 500 you donated, you got a 30% tax rebate. Therefore, you actually earn back Rs 150. In other words, by donating Rs 500, you made a net contribution of just Rs 350. 

On Alcohol, the total taxes (excise and GST) added up to approximately 72% of the MRP. So when I paid Rs 500, Rs 360 went to the state exchequer...and  about 12.5 pegs of a 750 ml bottle went to me. 

Therefore, not only did I contribute more, I felt high spirited doing so, while you didn't even know where your money went.

Simple analysis of micro economics 

Tail Piece 2: Ladies ki dikkattt... 

Dear Modiji, 

Yeh sab suspense mat rakho . In short hum India ki  ladies ko yeh jaan na hai ki…

 Bai kabse ayegi (when will the maid come) 

Panipuri kabse khane milegi (when can we start eating panipuri) 

Parlour ki appointment kab lene hai (when can we  visit Beauty Parlour) 

And last but not the least....

Pati kab office jana start karega (when will our husbands go to office)

(Courtesy: Social Media)

***

Journalist turned  media academician Mrinal Chatterjee lives in Dhenkanal, Odisha. He can be contacted on mrinalchatterjeeiimc@gmail.com

 

My Interview

Odia Daily Sambad, Literature page. 10.5.2020

Window Seat | 10.5.2020

Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 10.5.2020

Is there any hope for Press in India

In India Media and Entertainment Industry (M&E) is in a paradoxical situation. As per records it is growing at a brisk pace. The business is growing. So is revenue- at least till the covid 19 struck the world.

But when it comes to news media- press- the situation is bleak. It has been turning bleak from globalization days. Post globalization days the situation only worsened. The politicians, political parties and corporate money bags  with their own opinion and agenda have almost taken over media ownership in India leaving little space for independent voice. It happened across the country in almost all states- all regions.

Many media academicians and pundits feel digital could be the solution, as it less capital intensive. It takes much less capital and logistical hassle to run a news site than running a newspaper or television news channel. Digital news consumption is also increasing. But even there, survival is a big question. In India, press began to explore cyber space from only the fag end of last century. In twenty years- the space is so crowded that it is now an uphill task for all of them to stay afloat. And in a crowd- it is difficult to make one’s voice distinctive. Social media and citizen journalism on one hand and proliferation of fake news on the other made the news ecosphere to murky- that the audience is confused- whom to rely.

And then, almost out of the blue came Corona pandemic. The world knew about it on the last day of 2019. By mid-March four out of 5 of all countries of the world were fighting the pandemic. Several countries effected complete lock down. It impacted world economy so badly that as per a report published in 2 April 2020 in Economic Times- the UN has said that the global economy could shrink by up to 1 per cent in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a reversal from the previous forecast of 2.5 per cent growth. UN has further warned that it may contract even further if restrictions on the economic activities are extended without adequate fiscal responses.

Covid 19 has brought a peculiar kind condition for the press. It is the biggest pandemic in our living memory- and therefore a big opportunity for the press to disseminate information, make people aware and educate them. It also almost spells doom for media, especially print media world over as newspapers can hardly be distributed in this locked down period. This might have a domino effect. Once a reader unsubscribes a newspaper, he may not again resume it, as by the time he is used to read the digital copy, which is largely free. Newspaper distribution as a business is increasingly becoming non-remunerative. As circulation plummets- so does advertisement revenue. Digital news consumption is increasing. Compared with the week of Feb. 10-16, 2020 visits to websites and mobile apps in the “General News” category increased by 61% in the week of March 16-22, 2020. But news consumption did not bring in money to run the business. Indian Newspaper Society (INS) in their letter dated 24 March 2020, sought two-year tax holiday after “triple whammy” of Coronavirus, falling ad revenues, and customs duty on newsprint.

Several media houses resorted to salary cut, lay off and retrenchment. On March 16, the Mumbai Press Club released a statement condemning the firing of journalists across the board.

Overall, news-media is passing through a very bad phase in this decade made worse by the spread of Corona pandemic. On 3 May 2020, Press Freedom Day UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message:
"As the (COVID-19) pandemic spreads, it has also given rise to a second pandemic of misinformation, from harmful health advice to wild conspiracy theories. The press provides the antidote: verified, scientific, fact-based news and analysis."

The silver lining is people have understood the menace of fake news and the importance of getting credible news, which the traditional kind of journalism with old values- press- can provide. Therefore there will be a demand for credible news and news that contextualize and explain, makes a meaning of the mass of data.

Rabindranath Tagore

May 8 was the 159^th birthday of Rabindranath Tagore, popularly known as Biswa-kabi, world poet. Hw was born on 25 Boisakh in the year 1268 — as per the Bengali calendar — or 1861 AD, as per the Gregorian calendar.

A poet, composer, artist, thinker, philosopher, institution-builder, Rabindranath was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

He is the only person whose songs are used as the national anthem for two countries. Besides India’s ‘Jana Gana Mana’, Bangladesh’s anthem ‘Amar Sonar Bangla’ was also Tagore’s creation. He may have also influenced/inspired the lyrics/composition of Sri Lanka’s National anthem 'Sri Lanka Matha'

He was the first public figure to publicly protest against Jallianwala Massacre in 1919 and return the knighthood conferred on him as a mark of protest.

Dhenkanal-based Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) has published a monograph on the 101 anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh massacre in which there are two very well documented essays on this. E-copy of the monograph could be sent on request.

He envisaged to develop an alternative system of education aligned to Indian philosophy. Visva Bharti, which is now a Central University and a Centre of Excellence was his dream project. A study of the evolution of Visva-Bharati during the lifetime of its founder, Rabindranath Tagore, offers an insight into what this institution was intended to achieve. Rabindranath founded a school for children at Santiniketan and it was around this nucleus that the structure of an unconventional university developed through careful planning.

It had its beginning in Rabindranath's school Brahmacharyasrama which started functioning formally from December 22, 1901 with no more than five students on the roll. From 1925 this school came to be known as Patha-Bhavana.

The school was a conscious repudiation of the system introduced in India by the British rulers and Rabindranath initially sought to realize the intrinsic values of the ancient education in India. The school and its curriculum, therefore, signified a departure from the way the rest of the country viewed education and teaching. Simplicity was a cardinal principle. Classes were held in open air in the shade of trees where man and nature entered into an immediate harmonious relationship. Teachers and students shared the single integral socio-cultural life. The curriculum had music, painting, dramatic performances and other performative practices. Beyond the accepted limits of intellectual and academic pursuits, opportunities were created for invigorating and sustaining the manifold faculties of the human personality.

It gradually grew into a University.

Here is an excellent pictorial tribute to Rabindranath by Telengana based cartoonist Mrityunjay.

Tail piece: Songs strictly avoidable under current circumstances

Lag ja gale ke phir ye hasin raat (strictly forbidden )

Bahon mein chale aao (no question at all )

Tum pass aye yun muskuraye (absolute no no )

Musafir hoon  yaaron, ... mujhe chalte jana hai ( aren’t you reading govt instructions ? Just lock down )

Hold me now touch me now (are you mad! )

However, some (WHO) approved songs can be freely sung ...

Teri duniya se hoke mazboor chala (absolutely safe)

Teri galion me na rakhenge kadam aaj ke baad (that should be the spirit )

Chahunga mai tujhe sanjh sabere, lekin kabhi naam ko tere awaz main na dunga (within moral code of conduct )

Chup gaya koi re door se pukarke (your real well-wisher)

(Courtesy: Social Media)

***

This column is published every Sunday in Gangtok based English daily Sikkim Express and www.prameyanews.com