The Power of Visuals
By now we have seen the photograph of mass copying in Bihar in countless number of newspapers and periodicals. The photograph of a four storied naked brick building on which people have climbed with bare hands and will power to supply ‘copy’ to children writing their papers inside. By now we have watched the video of mass copying in school after school.
See the power of visuals. This one photograph taken by Rajesh Kumar, a photo journalist working for a nondescript newspaper in Baishali, Bihar (and videos by some news channels) has triggered an outrage across the country. Suddenly everybody is talking about the rot in our examination system and the exam mafia.
This has been happening in Bihar, UP and to a lesser degree in many other states including Odisha for a long time. But this photograph and video shook us from slumber and showed us the stark reality. We can argue endlessly over who or what is responsible for this rot and take our stand. But the reality stares at us, and it is not a pretty picture at all.
Santiniketan Diary
At Santiniketan in West Bengal (where Visvabharati, now a Central University is located, where I was invited) and Bolpur, the adjoining town everything seem to revolve round one person: Rabindranath Tagore. Every third store in the market and every second hotel or lodging house is named either after him or after one of his poems. His pictures adorn every street corner. All rickshaw pullers of the town have memorized at least a dozen poems of Rabindranath, their favourite being: Amader Choto Nad ichale enkebenke (Our tiny river flows). They also double up as tourist guides to anybody to wishes to visit Shantiniketan. They recite the poem and show you a huge banyan tree and claim that Rabindranath composed it sitting under that tree. I have listened to it from four different rickshaw pullers. And from the cycle-van bound souvenir sellers, who sell Rabindranath’s busts.
Rabindranath is so very adored that that one local producer of Chau has named it KabiguruChau. So much so a familiar photograph of Rabindranath is printed on the packet. Kabiguru (as Rabindranath is widely known), if alive, probably would have fainted to see this.
Tailpiece: Hot and Cold
By end March,Bhubaneswar has become so hot that it can give Katrina a complex. But Koraput, interestingly, is as cool as MS Dhoni.
Tailpiece2: World Cup Fever
At the marriage the ex boyfriend of the bride has also come. Bdie’s father asked him, Who are you? He replied,“I got out at the semi-final. Have come to see the final”. (Courtesy: An e-mail forward)
Window Seat appears in www.orissadiary.;com
You can read it here: http://orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=58204
By now we have seen the photograph of mass copying in Bihar in countless number of newspapers and periodicals. The photograph of a four storied naked brick building on which people have climbed with bare hands and will power to supply ‘copy’ to children writing their papers inside. By now we have watched the video of mass copying in school after school.
See the power of visuals. This one photograph taken by Rajesh Kumar, a photo journalist working for a nondescript newspaper in Baishali, Bihar (and videos by some news channels) has triggered an outrage across the country. Suddenly everybody is talking about the rot in our examination system and the exam mafia.
This has been happening in Bihar, UP and to a lesser degree in many other states including Odisha for a long time. But this photograph and video shook us from slumber and showed us the stark reality. We can argue endlessly over who or what is responsible for this rot and take our stand. But the reality stares at us, and it is not a pretty picture at all.
Santiniketan Diary
At Santiniketan in West Bengal (where Visvabharati, now a Central University is located, where I was invited) and Bolpur, the adjoining town everything seem to revolve round one person: Rabindranath Tagore. Every third store in the market and every second hotel or lodging house is named either after him or after one of his poems. His pictures adorn every street corner. All rickshaw pullers of the town have memorized at least a dozen poems of Rabindranath, their favourite being: Amader Choto Nad ichale enkebenke (Our tiny river flows). They also double up as tourist guides to anybody to wishes to visit Shantiniketan. They recite the poem and show you a huge banyan tree and claim that Rabindranath composed it sitting under that tree. I have listened to it from four different rickshaw pullers. And from the cycle-van bound souvenir sellers, who sell Rabindranath’s busts.
Rabindranath is so very adored that that one local producer of Chau has named it KabiguruChau. So much so a familiar photograph of Rabindranath is printed on the packet. Kabiguru (as Rabindranath is widely known), if alive, probably would have fainted to see this.
Tailpiece: Hot and Cold
By end March,Bhubaneswar has become so hot that it can give Katrina a complex. But Koraput, interestingly, is as cool as MS Dhoni.
Tailpiece2: World Cup Fever
At the marriage the ex boyfriend of the bride has also come. Bdie’s father asked him, Who are you? He replied,“I got out at the semi-final. Have come to see the final”. (Courtesy: An e-mail forward)
***
Journalist turned media academician MrinalChatterjee also writes fiction. He lives in Dhenkanal. He can be contacted at mrinalchatterjee@ymail.comWindow Seat appears in www.orissadiary.;com
You can read it here: http://orissadiary.com/ShowOriyaColumn.asp?id=58204
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