Window Seat | Mrinal Chatterjee | 13.10.19
End of Print Edition?
Mumbai and Ahmedabad editions of the English
daily DNA (Daily News and Analysis), launched in 2005 was shut down on 10 Oct.
2019. Its digital edition, however, is alive and kicking. In fact- it was a
conscious management decision to go digital as the young audience ‘prefer
reading us on their mobile phones rather in print.” The management of DNA would
have us believe that “only medium is changing, not us. Instead of your
doorsteps, we will now keep travelling with you wherever you are.”
DNA happens to be the first large daily
newspaper to close down its print editions and go digital. It might trigger a
trend in India, which thus far have been witnessed in western countries. Will
it sound the death knell for the print media? Or, print media will rediscover
itself and reposition itself? Will the engagement quality be the same? Will
there be a change in impact of newspaper in its digital avatar? It requires
serious research to find out the answers.
But one thing is sure- the media ecosphere of
India is poised for a big change.
Change in Rural India
During the puja vacation this year I went to a
village deep inside rural Odisha. And I am telling you with responsibility that
rural Odisha is witnessing sweeping changes. As I observe the way people engage
with technology, luxury items, and rituals of religious ceremonies - changes
are visible. Social behaviour pattern is changing. So is the perception of
power structure. Food habit is undergoing a radical change. So is the sense of
fashion and entertainment consumption. The urban-rural divide in terms of life
style and world view is narrowing down at a faster rate than you can imagine.
The aspiration level of the average rural youth is rising at a never before rate.
Their bond with the village and extended family, which used to be the hallmark
of rural life, is slackening; if not breaking off.
How
will the changes manifest in terms of socio- economic terms? I really do
not know. But manifest it will.
Durga Idol in relief
I went to a village named Punanga in Jagatsinghpur
district of Odisha and found an idol of Goddess Durga made of cement being
worshipped. Made in relief style, the idols are permanently placed at the puja mandap. For those uninitiated in art
forms- relief is a
sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid
background of the same material. The term relief
is derived from the Latin verb relevo, which means to raise. To create a sculpture in
relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised
above the background plane.
 |
| Photo: Mrinal Chatterjee |
As the idols are made of cement- unlike the
clay idols, these are not immersed in water. So, no making
of idols every year, no noisy immersion procession, no immersion of clay idols
with chemical paint into water bodies. It is so environment friendly.
If only other puja mandaps adopt this
tradition- water pollution due to immersion of idols could be reduced to a
large extent.
Lemon Power
In many parts of Odisha, people take their
vehicles for puja on Vijaya Dasami day. For some reasons, the logic of which I
fail to understand lemon is a necessary article for such puja.
After the puja of the vehicle the priest would put two or four lemons at the wheel and ask the driver to crush it by slowly driving the vehicle over it. One would find hundreds of crushed lemon in front of temples and puja mandaps. It is believed that it wards off evil eye and facilitate safe journey of the vehicle.
After the puja of the vehicle the priest would put two or four lemons at the wheel and ask the driver to crush it by slowly driving the vehicle over it. One would find hundreds of crushed lemon in front of temples and puja mandaps. It is believed that it wards off evil eye and facilitate safe journey of the vehicle.
When I told my friend ‘this is blind belief and
a waste of lemon, which should be consumed and not crushed on road’, he accused
me of being a non-believer. He said even Rafale jets were fortified with lemon
power. And the reason Vikrant failed in its mission to land on moon intact- was
that it was not fortified with lemon power. The evil eyes of Pakistan made it
fail.
Tailpiece: Prophetic Lines
If a
nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never
will be, said Thomas Jefferson the third President of the United States (from 1801
to 1809).
How prophetic!
How prophetic!
***
The
author, a journalist turned media academician lives in Central Odisha town of
Dhenkanal. An anthology of his weekly column Window Seat, published in 2018 has been published as a book. Write
to him to get a free e-copy. mrinalchatterjee@ymail.com
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