Monday, May 15, 2006

My first post

Have been thinking of doing this for almost a year now.
The idea behind the blog is to air and share my views on all the goings-on around us --messy, murky, happy, nice... so far, i would circulate among some discussion forums and personal e-groups.
now, I am hopefully on to a bigger canvas. With your support.
I plan to work this more like a diary, so i hope you will bear with me and let me know what you think. Let me begin with today.
Today, I met Dr Parthasarathy, a genial person and former secretary of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. Two days ago, when I called for an appointment and told him we had met once, he praised a sterling piece published in a daily in 2002 and asked me whether I had written it. I promptly denied. How couldnt I! I rarely ventured into atomic energy and when I did, I didn't think they were sterling pieces. Today, he showed me that piece. And of course, it was mine. I was thrilled to see how well I had put across the issue of radiation in medical establishments practising nuclear medicine.
The piece had stirred up controversy and landed up as a Parliament question as everyone got alarmed at the absence of nuclear safeguards. I now remember the background of the story. It was not too well received in my office. The reporter who covered the beat was naturally resentful about the fact that someone else wanted to step on his turf. The story went inside and did not have my byline. (I hadnt taken any, I recall)
It is at moments like these that you feel all your thousand odd years in journalism were well worth it. When someone remembers you by your clipping written long ago! AND when you find you had done justice to your job even then!
The feedback to my stories was tremendous when I worked with a non-Mumbai paper like The Statesman. Trust the Bongs to read every word in their paper carefully. Journos like me live to see these days...after all, what's the point of our writing if someone somewhere is not reading it.. I hope you are!
More when we meet next.